Dungeon Crawler Carl

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Dungeon Crawler Carl
DungeonCrawlerCarlBook1.png
Cover used for the ebook, audiobook, and self-published version of the first entry
AuthorMatt Dinniman
Cover artistLuciano Fleitas
LanguageEnglish
Genre LitRPG, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher Ace Books
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
ISBN 059382024X

Dungeon Crawler Carl is a science fiction and fantasy LitRPG book series written by American author Matt Dinniman. It was initially self published by Dinniman on Royal Road, until the first six books were acquired by Ace Books in 2024. [1] The series follows Carl, a Coast Guard veteran, and Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's cat, as they are forced to participate in a deadly, intergalactic game show where Earth has been transformed into a massive dungeon crawl. [2]

Contents

Premise

The series begins with the sudden arrival of alien entities known as the Borant Corporation, who restructure subterranean Earth into a multi-level dungeon for their game show. Humans and various Earth creatures are given the option to become "contestants" in a live-streamed, gladiatorial game show, Dungeon Crawler World, or otherwise stay on the surface of the Earth which has just been stripped of all modern amenities.

Carl, having just been cheated on by his girlfriend and left with her cat, Princess Donut, decides to enter the dungeon and finds himself thrust into a deadly competition with uncountable viewers across the galaxy watching their every move. Upon entering the dungeon, all "crawlers" are given a virtual HUD along with an assignment of stats representing their physical and mental abilities which can later be increased and various other enhancements. Early in the first novel Princess Donut becomes able to communicate with humans due to a special consumable item known as a Pet Biscuit that Carl received for bringing the first cat into the dungeon. The biscuit also enhances Princess Donut's base stats, causing the dungeon to view her as the leader of her and Carl's two person group, which she dubs the "Royal Court of Princess Donut". As the series continues, Carl and Princess Donut encounter several other dungeon crawlers that become both enemies and allies of the Royal Court.

The dungeon levels are filled with traps, puzzles and monstrous creatures ("mobs"), all designed to test the contestants' strength, cunning, and teamwork. As Carl progresses through the dungeon, he gains experience, levels up, and acquires new skills and equipment, typical of LitRPG stories. Carl also learns that there is an ongoing power struggle between the corporations that run the various seasons of Dungeon Crawler World, which has caused the Borant Corporation to speed up the competition in order to stave off its competition from acquiring it.

The series is known for its dark humor, over-the-top violence, and the unlikely but endearing partnership between Carl and Princess Donut.

Development

Matt Dinniman at the 2025 AuthorCon in Williamsburg, Virginia, holding a plush of Princess Donut. MattDinniman.jpg
Matt Dinniman at the 2025 AuthorCon in Williamsburg, Virginia, holding a plush of Princess Donut.

Dinniman began writing Dungeon Crawler Carl in December 2019 and started publishing the series on Royal Road. Due to the series' popularity, he began self-publishing the series on Amazon in 2020. [3] While writing the series, Dinniman drew upon his experience playing MMOs such as RuneScape , as well as the concept of in-game chatting, which he noted "adds another element because there’s all these different dynamics happening at once." [4] Prior to writing the series Dinniman espoused a desire to write a novel with a death-game setting; he also wanted to include a tortoiseshell-colored Persian cat after seeing one at a cat show, where he was working as an artist. Per the author, he did not initially plan for the cat to be sapient and that this developed as Dinniman continued the series, as he tends to create and embellish the story as he works. This eventually led to the creation of Princess Donut as she is presented in the series, a character that Dinniman has stated is vital to the series. Dinniman is known for his interaction with his fanbase and allows his Patreon subscribers to impact some limited elements of the story by voting on the outcome of external factors such as lootbox content. [5]

The series includes some dark and comedic elements. In an interview with Grimdark Magazine Dinniman stated that it was difficult to maintain the balance between these two elements and that rather than automatically write a comedic scene after each dark one, he instead relies "on the characters themselves to get from point A to B, and humor is oftentimes a major coping mechanism." [6] Dinniman initially kept track of the series' characters and storylines via a spreadsheet that grew up to 198 pages, requiring the use of a second spreadsheet to track the content on the first. The size of the spreadsheet eventually crashed Dinniman's computer, causing the author to hire someone to create a Notion database for better ease of use. [5]

In 2024 Dinniman stated that he planned for the series to span ten books, but that "nothing is set in stone". [7]

Publication history

Early publication and Ace Books

Dinniman began publishing Dungeon Crawler Carl on Royal Road in 2020 and self-published the first entry in the series on Amazon on October 2, 2020, in ebook and paperback format. [3] [4] He would continue in this form until 2024, when print rights to the series were picked up by Penguin Random House, who released the first volume through their Ace Books publishing wing on August 27, 2024. [8] Ebook rights to the series are still held by Dinniman, who continues to self-publish the entries via Amazon. [6] As of 2024, seven novels in the series have been published, most of them self-published before the series was picked up by Ace Books. [2]

In response to questions about whether the publisher would make changes to the series, Dinniman responded that the story would remain the same but that the series had undergone rigorous edits and that the releases would contain parts of a bonus novella set in the universe, Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret. [6]

Audiobooks

The main audiobook adaptations of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series have been narrated by Jeff Hays, who has produced the adaptations via his company Soundbooth Theater. [9] Dinniman has stated that Hays's narration of female characters is so convincing that he has had people ask him if Annie Ellicott, a Soundbooth Theater artist, was an uncredited narrator for the first book. [5] Some guest narrators have appeared on the audiobooks, such as Travis Baldree and Patrick Warburton in book six. [10]

Per Dinniman, sales of the audiobook adaptations of the novels have surpassed the physical and e-book copies of the series and that much of his fanbase first experienced the series via Audible. [5]

In addition to the main audiobook version, the series has a separate production called an "Audio Immersion Tunnel", with a full-cast, original sound effects and music. [6] According to the author, these will not be replacing the existing audiobooks and are a separate product.

Series entries

No.TitleRelease datePages (1st edition)Audio lengthISBN
1Dungeon Crawler Carl21 September 2020 (2020-09-21) (Paperback) / 2 October 2020 (2020-10-02) (Kindle)444 [11] 13 hrs 31 mins [12] 979-8688591507
2Carl's Doomsday Scenario2 January 2021 (2021-01-02)362 [13] 11 hrs 28 mins [12] 979-8588333764
3The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook19 March 2021 (2021-03-19)532 [14] 16 hrs 54 mins [12] 979-8724495066
4The Gate of the Feral Gods14 June 2021 (2021-06-14)584 [15] 18 hrs 3 mins [12] 979-8520410171
5The Butcher's Masquerade19 February 2022 (2022-02-19)730 [16] 23 hrs 33 mins [12] 979-8418566102
6The Eye of the Bedlam Bride14 June 2023 (2023-06-14)692 [17] 26 hrs 46 mins [12] 979-8396866379
7This Inevitable Ruin7 November 2024 (2024-11-07)722 [18] 28 hrs 40 mins [12] 979-8344591230

Second publication

Starting in August 2024, Ace Books took over publishing the paperback and hardback versions of the books. Each book contains a passage of the multi-part novella Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret. [19]

No.TitleRelease DatePagesISBN
1Dungeon Crawler Carl27 August 2024 (2024-08-27)464 9780593820247
2Carl's Doomsday Scenario24 September 2024 (2024-09-24)384 9780593820261
3The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook11 March 2025 (2025-03-11)544 9780593820285
4The Gate of the Feral Gods11 March 2025 (2025-03-11)608 9780593955970
5The Butcher's Masquerade8 April 2025 (2025-04-08)720 9780593955994
6The Eye of the Bedlam Bride13 May 2025 (2025-05-13)832 9780593956014
7This Inevitable Ruin23 September 2025 (2025-09-23)880 9798217190041

Sales and reception

In a review of the first book for Locus, Gabino Iglesias criticized some jokes, and found the book repetitive, but wrote that "the important thing here is that the novel never becomes boring" and that the "shortcomings are easy to overlook". [2] Tonya Cherry of CKRM favorably reviewed the series, praising the audiobook narration and calling the series "a wild ride that blends humor, action, and a touch of heart, making for an unforgettable journey." [20]

As of December 2024, the first four books published by Ace had sold almost 55,000 copies. [21] In March 2025 the seventh book in the series, This Inevitable Ruin, ranked #2 on The New York Times' Best Seller List for Audio Fiction, [22] while the fourth book, The Gate of the Feral Gods, ranked #9 on the Best Seller List for Hardcover Fiction. [23]

Adaptations

Television adaptation

In August 2024, it was announced that Universal International Studios, in collaboration with Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions, acquired the rights to adapt Dungeon Crawler Carl into a television series. [24] Christopher Yost is set to write the series adaptation. Dinniman expressed excitement about the adaptation, while Erica Huggins, President of Fuzzy Door, described the project as aligning with the company's vision for genre-bending storytelling. [24]

Webcomic

In 2025 Dinniman announced that a webcomic adaptation of Dungeon Crawler Carl was in development and would be published through Webtoon. The project was done in partnership with Aethon Books' Webcomic Branch and Laurel Pursuit and the first episode was published on July 17, 2025. [25]

Graphic novel

Dinniman has stated that work has begun on a graphic novel anthology set in the Dungeon Crawler Carl universe. The stories would include mention of Donut and Carl, but would focus on other dungeon crawlers and their experiences. Michael Moreci and Brett Bean have been attached to work on the graphic novel's story and artwork. [26] Funding for the graphic novel will be raised via a crowdfunding campaign and the novel is to be released through Vault Comics. [27]

Board games

On July 29, 2025, Renegade Game Studios announced that they had partnered with Dinniman to develop a tabletop role playing game set in the Dungeon Crawler Carl universe. The game is scheduled to release in 2026. Renegade also announced plans to develop board games and deck building games for the series in the future. [28] [29]

References

  1. Nguyen, Vivian (October 14, 2024). "LitRPG Goes Mainstream". Publishers Weekly . 271 (39): 41. ProQuest   3115836594.
  2. 1 2 3 Iglesias, Gabino (January 10, 2025). "Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman: Review by Gabino Iglesias". Locus Online . Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Dinniman, Matt (2020). Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1. Dandy House. ISBN   979-8-6885-9150-7.
  4. 1 2 "Online and role-playing games inspired WA author's fantasy series". The Seattle Times. 2025-03-07. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Dungeon Crawler Carl creator Matt Dinniman says LitRPG is just getting started". Audible Blog. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Tabler, Elizabeth (2024-09-06). "An Interview with Matt Dinniman". Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  7. Phipps, C. T. (2023-08-04). "Interview - Matt Dinniman, Author of Dungeon Crawler Carl". BEFOREWEGOBLOG. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  8. Dinniman, Matt (2024). Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 1. Ace. ISBN   978-0593820247.
  9. "Sound Off: What's New in the Audio Market". Publishers Weekly . 271 (22): 44–80. June 3, 2024. ProQuest   3062954100.
  10. "Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride". Soundbooth Theater. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  11. "Dungeon Crawler Carl". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dungeon Crawler Carl Audiobooks". Audible . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  13. "Carl's Doomsday Scenario". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  14. "The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  15. "The Gate of the Feral Gods". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  16. "The Butcher's Masquerade". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  17. "The Eye of the Bedlam Bride". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  18. "This Inevitable Ruin". BookScouter . Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  19. "Dungeon Crawler Carl". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
  20. Cherry, Tonya (March 5, 2023). "Dungeon Crawler Carl!". 620 CKRM - The Voice of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
  21. Maher, John (December 16, 2024). "TK: Berkley Is Having a Ball". Publishers Weekly . 271 (48): 8. ProQuest   3144435659.
  22. "Audio Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - The New York Times". The New York Times. March 1, 2025. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  23. "Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - March 30, 2025 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  24. 1 2 Whittock, Jesse; Goldbart, Max (21 August 2024). "Universal International Studios Buys Matt Dinniman's 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' With Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door & Chris Yost Attached". Deadline. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  25. Lemons, Jordan (2025-07-16). "Dungeon Crawler Carl's Long-Awaited Webtoon Debuts With Exclusive Trailer & Sneak Peek". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  26. Dinniman, Matt (August 1, 2025). "Matt - Surprise, motherf*ckers! New graphic novel announcement!". Facebook. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  27. "Vault to Publish 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' Graphic Novel". icv2.com. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  28. Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (July 29, 2025). "Renegade Partners with 'Dungeon Crawler Carl's' Matt Dinniman". ICv2 . Retrieved 2025-08-14.
  29. "Renegade Game Studios brings Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl to a Tabletop Near You!". Renegade Game Studios . July 29, 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-14.