Author Matt Dinniman originally started self-publishing his sci-fi/fantasy LitRPG series “Dungeon Crawler Carl” in 2020, with the series currently up to 7 books. While fans love the printed editions of these stories, the series has really exploded thanks in large part to Audible’s cinematic audiobook versions of the novels. Narrator Jeff Hays brings this unique world and story to life, portraying all of the characters in such an immersive, captivating and entertaining way.
For those unfamiliar with the book series, here is the description for the first novel, from Amazon:
The apocalypse will be televised!
A man. His ex-girlfriend’s cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.
In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth – from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds – collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.
The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.
Only a few dare venture inside. But once you’re in, you can’t get out. And what’s worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it’s game over. In this game, it’s not about your strength or your dexterity. It’s about your followers, your views. Your clout. It’s about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.
You can’t just survive here. You gotta survive big.
You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that “it” factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That’s the only way to truly survive in this game – with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.
They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it’s anything but a game.
I wasn’t familiar with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series when Audible announced that they were going to be promoting it at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. When I saw they were going to be holding a panel, press room, and an offsite for the book series, I instantly redeemed one of my monthly Audible credits for the first book and started listening. I was captivated right from the start, from the The Running Man (1987)-meets-D&D type story, to the fun pop culture references, the sarcastic humor, and more—it had me hooked!
Audible’s offsite event for Dungeon Crawler Carl was a blast—you can read about in my San Diego Comic-Con 2025 – Day 3 Recap.
In the press room for the series, we got the chance to speak with author Matt Dinniman & Audible audiobook narrator Jeff Hays. Check out that interview below.
If you haven’t started listening to these books yet, certainly check out the first one on Audible. You won’t want to put it down, and will definitely want to continue along with the series!
