Matt Dinniman on the ending of Dungeon Crawler Carl: "I have no idea how it's gonna end, I'm just as excited to find out as you guys"
We interviewed the author of the literary series of the moment to discuss its reception, his plans for the story's conclusion, and what lies beyond his characters in other projects.
If there's one book series everyone's heard of these days, but not so many have actually read or really know what it's about, it's Dungeon Crawler Carl, written by Matt Dinniman. The plot is rather far-fetched, but it's a read that's half as much fun as it is absorbing, and it's no surprise that you could devour several of the eight volumes published to date in English in one sitting. But to bring Carl's story - and that of Princess Donut, his cat - to a conclusion, you'll need more paper.
During our coverage of the Celsius 232 2026 Fantasy, Horror, and Science-Fiction Festival, which this year celebrated its fifteenth edition, Matt Dinniman was one of the featured authors attending this event in the city of Avilés, in northern Spain, which for a week becomes the world capital for these genres, encompassing literature, video games, and even cinema. You can watch our exclusive interview with Matt Dinniman below.
Naturally, we discussed how he feels about the warmth shown by fans and their love for his story, which has just seen its sales figures updated, having sold over 14 million copies worldwide and been translated into 29 languages. The publication schedule for the original English version of Dungeon Crawler Carl is naturally ahead of the other translations, and it will be English-speaking readers who find out Carl's fate first... but it won't be complete next year.
"So the most recent book in English it was 'A Parade of Horribles' and it's doing very very well. It's the penultimate book, Book Nine is the last book, but it's gonna be so long it'll be split into two volumes. But it's really the last book, and I think people are pretty excited about what's gonna happen", Dinniman said.
There's still a long way to go before this ninth book hits the shelves, so we asked Matt for a little sneak preview. But, surprisingly, his response was that "it hasn't happened yet."
"Well I don't know I haven't read it yet. I don't know I don't plot my stories out I have no idea how it's gonna end. I'm just as excited to find out as you guys.
"It'll be explosive though, I'm sure."