Quick-take: Interesting RPG perspective.

Dan's Review

All these dungeons respawning monsters in your favorite RPGs... what about their view of the world? Dungeon Born answers this question.

Some of the lore is a bit much for me to grasp. There is "essence" that the dungeon feeds on to fill its rooms with monsters. It seems to me It takes an enormous amount as later the monsters fall and get replaced nearly instant when the next group of warriors come in to be rewarded.

There are some insightful elements in this book. It never occured to me why dungeons drop loot when a monster room gets cleared out. According to the book, it is basically bait to get more humans to enter. Makes sense. If it was all danger and no reward, nobody would enter.

Also, there is a balance. You need reward, but not too much. The dungeon does not want to drain itself. Also, you need a good skill level. The dungeon feeds off dead humans, so you gotta wipe them out sometimes. Not all the time. Otherwise, nobody would enter.

I suspect this is the same thought process that goes through the heads of game designers creating a challenging but satisfying level for a future gamer. This book just puts that into story form.

I still don't quite know what "essence" is, and I stopped trying. The main Character, the dungeon itself, and its friend, a sprite named Dani, are pretty interesting. I think I would prefer a bit more conflict with them. They get along too well. The book briefly did something with them in the fact that Dani is bound, and the dungeon cannot move. That plotline was dropped.

The story is written in an interesting way in that I am not sure who to cheer for. There is a main group of warriors that traverse the dungeon regularly. Do I cheer for their demise? There is the dungeon itself. Do I cheer for it to be fully "defeated"? I think that means it drains itself completely.

Score 4/5. I enjoy the different perspectives. I am going to pick up Book 2. I am not sure it is enough to sustain a full series.