Audiobook Review – Dungeon Born (Divine Dungeon, Book 1) by Dakota Krout, Narrated by Vikas Adam (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 12 hours and 32 minutes (338 pages)
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: March 28, 2017
ASIN: B06XQ44QVK
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Divine Dungeon series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies?

Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. After several lonely years, Cal was able to regain sentience, allowing him to form new memories while slowly growing a dungeon around himself. With help from a friend, Cal learned how to create monsters and traps, increasing his power and size quickly.

When a threat to his existence rears its head, Cal decides that he will do anything to stay alive and become stronger. Unfortunately for treasure-seekers, the fastest way for Cal to achieve his goal…is to eat anyone that enters his depths.”

This is the first book in the Divine Dungeon series. This was a fun fantasy read that was creative and had a ton of gamer geek culture references in it. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I listened to this on audiobook and was really impressed with narration. Adam also narrates The Heartstrikers series and does a great job on that series too. I would definitely recommend listening to on audiobook is you love audiobooks.

This book goes between two POVs. The first is that of a newly born dungeon who he trying to grow himself into a more dangerous dungeon. The second is that of a young man who found the dungeon and bought the land the dungeon is on; he is trying to become an adventurer.

The whole idea behind dungeons being grown and being a huge part of society is really intriguing and creative. There are tons of wonderful gamer/geek references throughout that I really enjoyed.

My only complaint is that sometimes it got a bit dry as mechanics for how the dungeon and ranking up were explained…almost reference bookish.

Overall this was a fun read and I plan on continuing the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy fantasy and are into RPGs, the mechanics of gaming, and love reading about dungeon delving.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge