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Author profile

Matt Dinniman and his books

Matt Dinniman is a writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He began publishing Dungeon Crawler Carl in 2020. His standalone novels include Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon and Operation Bounce House.

Novelist
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Biography and criticism

Deadly games in Matt Dinniman’s fiction

Dinniman writes about people who find themselves inside games built for someone else’s benefit. A talking show cat, a battlefield healer, and a rancher each have different ways to survive.

Where to begin with Carl and Donut

Start with Dungeon Crawler Carl. The early floors give Carl and Donut time to learn what the game expects and how much they can get away with. Even the choice of whom to work with matters in a dungeon where the audience can see much more than the contestants. The series eventually gives those viewers, sponsors, and organizers reasons to pay attention that reach beyond the next monster fight.

The first novel is the one reviewed here. The reading order gives the opening situation of each sequel, from the Over City’s quests to the races in A Parade of Horribles.

My review of Dungeon Crawler Carl · The eight Carl novels in reading order

Two standalone novels

Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon puts a muralist named Duke inside a private virtual-reality game. The role he has to learn is a healer’s, keeping enormous creatures alive while the people who brought him in use the game to hurt him. Its premise puts the horror of being trapped in a body that can feel everything at the center.

Operation Bounce House follows Oliver Lewis, a rancher on the colony of New Sonora. People on Earth can pay to pilot the machines sent to evict the settlers. Oliver has old agricultural robots to work with, and the fight is over whether he and his neighbors can keep their homes.

Matt Dinniman’s official book list

FantasyScience Fiction

Where to begin

The Matt Dinniman book reviewed here

Cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl
Reviewed on this site

Dungeon Crawler Carl

4.5 / 5

Matt Dinniman uses an alien reality show to put a talking show cat and a Coast Guard veteran on the same survival team.

Reading order and buying help

Reading guides featuring Matt Dinniman

Reading orderDungeon Crawler Carl books in order

Books on this site

Matt Dinniman reviews and guides

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