Order of Matt Dinniman Books

Matt Dinniman is an American author of LitRPG, fantasy and horror novels. He writes the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. He is from Gig Harbor, Washington. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Matt was an artist who drew cat pictures for a living. He studied at the University of Arizona. Aside from writing, Matt is part of two bands, where he plays bass.

Matt Dinniman made his debut in 2005 with the collection Trailer Park Fairy Tales. His first novel was The Grinding in 2013. Below is a list of Matt Dinniman’s books in order of when they were originally published:

Publication Order of Dominion of Blades Books

Publication Order of Dungeon Crawler Carl Books

Publication Order of The Shivered Sky Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

If You Like Matt Dinniman Books, You’ll Love…

• Shirtaloon
• Zogarth
• Brandon Sanderson

Matt Dinniman Synopses: The Grinding is a horror novel by Matt Dinniman. Six months ago, Tucson, Arizona, became the epicenter of an unprecedented catastrophe—a towering, flesh-woven monstrosity known as The Grinder. Formed by a horrific process that absorbed tens of thousands of humans and animals into its ever-growing mass, The Grinder turned the city into a living nightmare.

Unlike reports from military strategists or political analysts, this story is raw and unfiltered, told by someone who witnessed the horror firsthand. It delves into the chaos of that night, the desperate struggle for survival, and the unspeakable reality of what it meant to face The Grinder.

With every touch, the monster grew, assimilating its victims into its grotesque body, using them as weapons and extensions of its incomprehensible will. As the government scrambled to respond and the world watched in stunned silence, Tucson was obliterated—not by The Grinder, but by the nuclear strike meant to contain it.

This isn’t speculation or conspiracy. This is the terrifying truth—one survivor’s chilling tale of a living apocalypse, of decisions made under unimaginable pressure, and of what it truly means to face a nightmare beyond human understanding.

Every Grain of Sand is the first book in Matt Dinniman’s Shivered Sky series. The afterlife is far from the serene paradise promised. Indigo awakens in a broken Heaven, stripped of comfort and memory, only to face horrors beyond imagination. The celestial realm lies in chaos—its once-glorious cities reduced to ashes, angels hunted to near extinction, and monstrous demons reigning supreme.

Humans are no longer souls seeking eternal peace but livestock in a cruel hierarchy. The last remnants of a human resistance struggle against overwhelming odds, fractured and desperate as the infernal grip tightens. Even among the demons, chaos festers as they vie for power in God’s absence.

Indigo and her newfound allies must rise against insurmountable odds to reclaim what was lost. With courage as their only weapon and survival their only choice, they prepare for a battle that will either ignite hope in the ruins of Heaven or extinguish it forever.

Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon is a standalone novel by Matt Dinniman. It plunges readers into a chilling survival horror where dreams of artistic ambition become a waking nightmare. Duke, a struggling artist, is lured into a lucrative opportunity to paint a mural with one condition: he must first explore his mysterious client’s vision.

That vision turns out to be a private server of the infamous Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon, a game infamous for its brutal realism and horrifying mechanics. In this full-immersion virtual world, fantasy collides with technology, and towering kaiju serve as guardians against demonic onslaughts. Players take on the role of battlefield surgeons, tasked with saving the monstrous behemoths at any cost.

But on this twisted server, the game’s mechanics are pushed to a horrifying extreme. Pain is real, anatomy is authentic, and death is never final—making the suffering endless. The server is a sadistic playground for the depraved, turning Duke into their unwilling victim.

To survive, Duke must embrace the game’s savagery, pushing his morality to the brink as he learns to wield cruelty like a weapon. With his sanity hanging by a thread, he must navigate a blood-soaked labyrinth of terror, outwit his tormentors, and transform from prey into predator—or risk becoming just another casualty in their unrelenting nightmare.