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Dungeon Travels #1

The Dungeon Traveler

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I spent most of my life trying to get by with whatever happiness I could, that included alcohol, food, and porn. My death was unpleasant and humiliating. However, death is something we all need to go through. A bit like a proctology exam; necessary but never anything one wants to go through while it's happening. However, death was supposed to be the end of it. Either way, the pain, suffering, and failures were supposed to be over. I was supposed to wink out, or perhaps take a trip to a lovely afterlife! No, I ended up as a small stone, strapped to a table, while a pimple-faced teenager rubbed my facets and told me how 'lovely' I was. Last time I checked, birth wasn't supposed to be as embarrassing as death! Life as a dungeon core isn't all bad. I like watching lizard love triangles and snooping on militaristic dwarves; though there is that issue where I'm trying to free myself from the entanglements of the Gods....ok, yeah that last one is a bit of a problem.

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2019

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292 people want to read

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Alston Sleet

8 books61 followers

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5 stars
420 (42%)
4 stars
363 (36%)
3 stars
150 (15%)
2 stars
40 (4%)
1 star
14 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Gavin.
1,078 reviews444 followers
May 31, 2020
This was a LitRPG dungeon core story. It had some nice ideas but unfortunately Alston Sleet was not a talented enough writer or storyteller to translate those fun ideas into a compelling or engaging tale.

The plot was a basic one for a dungeon core story. Average Earth Guy gets reborn again in a run of the mill LitRPG standard fantasy world as a dungeon core and has to go about figuring out how to live his new life as well as how to increase his powers so he does not get killed. The twist on the basic story was the fact that our brand new dungeon core had attracted the attention of a bunch of Olympian styled Gods from the get go and that he had the special ability to jump the portal entrance to his dungeon from place to place.

In theory the building blocks were here for us to get a fun story. I liked some aspects of Dale's (our dungeon core) interactions with the Gods but disliked other bits. On the whole it is another of those aspects of the story that should have been fun but which never quite worked as well as it should have. The jumping entrance was a good idea though as it let us see a few different peoples and places.

The big fail for the story, outside of the lacklustre writing, was the fact that the lead character was not the easiest to root for. I think the danger with dungeon core tales is that the reader can find it a bit tough to root for a murderous dungeon and that is definitely the case here. It is just hard to root for a character who is basically just murdering people! Talented authors and storytellers find ways to mitigate that aspect of the tale and make the reader root for the dungeon core but that was not something Alston Sleet succeeded at and that did hurt the story. The other thing that was a big negative was the fact that this tale had very little interactions between Dale and any of the secondary characters. Outside of a few chats with a couple of Goddesses our lead mostly just watched the visitors who entered his domain. It was a bit dull to be honest! I like a good bit of fun character interaction and we got next to none of that in this one.

I lasted to about the halfway mark and then just lost the enthusiasm to continue. Could be the fact that this is just a bad tale or it could be the fact that I've read a few dungeon core tales now so the novelty has faded away and they are beginning to feel a bit samey and dull to me. I also think it is just a hard sort of story to be able to pull off and most authors I've read fail to do so adequately.

This was a bit of a flop.

Rating: 2 stars.

Audio Note: This was narrated by Doug Tisdale Jr. I felt like the narration was quite poor. Both the quality of the performance and the audio production were of low quality.
Profile Image for Freedom.
46 reviews71 followers
February 26, 2019
Hey! I enjoyed this one. Palatable humor, deliciously detailed evolution of spatial magic in relation to being a dungeon core, a lovely glimpse into the pantheon with all of the fun that goes along with the personification of humanity made divine. The only part of the book I did not enjoy were the chapters with the King. Entirely skippable and the story is a better read without them.
Profile Image for GaiusPrimus.
870 reviews97 followers
February 28, 2019
An awesome addition to dungeon books

You can clearly see that a lot of thought went into the systems and the world building of this story.

Some really nice and new concepts in the genre made for a refreshing read.

Minor typos around the book but nothing to detract from the story.
Profile Image for Robert.
269 reviews
March 14, 2019
Quit at 22%

This might be a good story. I don't know. I had to quit at 22% because I just couldn't handle the spirit writing.

This author constantly switched back and forth between past and present tense. He also has no clue what a possessive is.

Anyways. No! It isn't "anyways", it is anyway. Singular. Neither the author nor the MC is a teenage girl and shouldn't talk like one.
5 reviews
April 3, 2020
Ew.

Chapter 5 is where it started going very wrong. For no apparent reason a stupid catch phrase was repeated a dozen times. It never came up again afterwards, there was no point to it, I don't know why it was left in after editing.

Aside from the rage inducing chapter 5, the book started with an interesting premise, but starts hopping further and further away from the main character. By the end I wasn't sure if the author HAD a main character, or if they just equate randomness with intrigue.

Won't pick up anything else from this author.
39 reviews2 followers
August 9, 2020
Soooo boring

I imagine this book might be appealing if you are a conservative white guy in the midwest or something.... But it's pretty boring to anyone that has ever seen or done anything aside from watching plants grow or attend church events. I think it was probably written by someone who still thinks tabletop RPGs, and poorly made 80s movies are the gold standard. It has that weak beta male who thinks he is funny vibe going on.
Profile Image for J.
335 reviews
June 9, 2019
Same problem as most dungeon core novels: too much of the story is wasted on exposition that doesn't advance story or character. It also suffers from poor narration and dialog.
29 reviews
April 11, 2020
I've read (or Listened) to a lot of these Dungeon Books. I like the genre, but at a certain point, the amount of them coming out starts to overwhelm. Now, you have to ask what is this new series doing differently? What new idea is it bringing to the table?
Because at some point, just having different adventurers wander into the Dungeon gets repetitive and old fast.

Some Dungeon books have tried to change this up by making the Dungeon master a pervert or bad guy (Lewd Dungeon, Corrupt Dungeon, Brutal Dungeon). A lot of others quickly turn the Dungeon into the first step of Empire Building (Dungeon Deposed, CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit, etc).

Basically, a new Dungeon series needs a gimmick to stand out. This one's gimmick is that the Dungeon's entrance moves around. First to a Dwarven Realm, then to a Kobold tribe, then to Human lands. What makes it interesting is the way the author tries to make various races interactions or experiences the Dungeon unique. A dungeon gate appears in a fort/village/city, what is the reaction of the locals? Sometimes orderly, sometimes chaotic, and sometimes antagonistic.

The book is told mostly from the first-person perspective of the Dungeon core, who is your typical nerd from our world transported to the fantasy. The way it is told reminds me a lot of the bobverse books. In fact the narrator (Doug Tisdale) for the audiobook sounds a lot like the narrator of the bobverse books. I think if you enjoyed the bobverse books you will like this one. I know I did.
Profile Image for Chris Evans.
903 reviews43 followers
June 20, 2019
This was a charming story that perfectly my personal story sweet spot. Excellent world building, excellent mechanics, charming characters, and engaging narrative. This book scratches the same itch that Dungeon Born did for me. What's nice is, while the premises is obviously very similar to that book, ie dead human becomes a sentient dungeon core, everything else is completely different so the story feels very fresh.

All around great book, I highly recommend it.
922 reviews18 followers
May 24, 2019
Note: I listened to the audio book.

2.5 actually. This is only half a book, but the half that is there is interesting, so half of 5 stars seems fair. The author establishes his MC as the core of a traveling dungeon, has the dungeon make four stops and face one serious challenger and then stops writing. There was a small amount of resolution in this story with the one serious challenge and the conversation with gods that followed it but essentially it is clear that this book is written by an amateur.

Bottom line: only half a book.
Profile Image for Vincent Archer.
443 reviews22 followers
February 22, 2019
An interesting take on the dungeon genre.

Alas, it's buried under clunky styling, mostly cardboard characters, and a god story that has good motivations, but not much execution. The good bits were the really non-standard kobold reptiloids delving into the dungeon, which showed originality, rather than making them just reptile-suited humans. It's just disappointing that the characterization work did not extend to the actual humans.
Profile Image for Steve.
1,618 reviews60 followers
March 22, 2019
A bit uneven, particularly a slow start, but it found it's range by the end and is well set up for continuation. I admit to skimming some of the dungeon creation details, and the MC was a bit neurotic, but the latter is understandable under the circumstances. He too leveled out by the end, so on balance it deserves the 4-star rating I gave it.
2,543 reviews72 followers
June 22, 2020
It has some fun bits but is fundamentally lacking in story.

It feels like a silly read them tried to be serious towards the end, it does not work. It comes off as unbelievable. The dungeon seems OP to start but in practice seems toothless. This could be good but none of the characters ever feel "real".
Profile Image for Lukas Lovas.
1,395 reviews64 followers
June 17, 2019
Not bad at all. There was quite a bit of humour here, and I liked the point of view narration. It was fun, relatively fresh within the genre and well put together. Looking forward to the next book in the series :)
Profile Image for Niels Baumgartner.
265 reviews2 followers
March 30, 2019
Wow

You’ll like this one. Amazing series setup, great progression, likable characters. Editing was great too. Solid solid start, can’t wait for books 2-the end.
Profile Image for Pablo García.
858 reviews22 followers
September 23, 2022
This is a confusing story of a person that gets "reincarnated" into a dungeon core. So there are times that the main character is thinking about things that happened before, then comes back to the present, then to the different beings that are inside the "territories" of the Dungeon. I think it is rather confusing because the POV (point of view) of the main character changes not only in time but about his thoughts and actions, at times feels omniscient (when talking about what is going on within the Dungeon) other times it feels like it could have happened in another life or maybe present life while being a "Dungeon Core" (although Dungeon Core's do not usually have a physical body, just a spiritual representation, because otherwise they would not be a "dungeon core" they would be something like the "Dungeon Master" (managing a dungeon from afar and not within the dungeon).
It takes all of the length of the book for the author to explain things that could have been explained in a page or two. The action of the Dungeon is super flat, not much excitement or action going on. The author makes it sound like, it's all due to the fact that this "Dungeon Core" is still in it's "infant stage" and thus cannot accomplish that much in the beginning. The author does not mix it up, so it is a hard read (because of the lack of things that are going on).
Profile Image for Fanny.
16 reviews
June 17, 2019
The Others Were Right

There are quite a few typos in this book. It doesn’t make it harder to read and understand what’s going on, but there are typos for characters’ names too, and that was a bit confusing for me. Though I figured out who was who after reading through them.

In this book, the dungeon core doesn’t do team dives apparently, unlike other dungeon cores. The core mentioned it might in the future, so next book maybe?

And there are gods and goddesses in this book. So what does that mean? A ton of interference. Of course. There’s also these crazies of a Church. Kinda like the Crusades of old. Those kind of crazy believers. Being shitty bastards who are hypocrites.

No elves, yet. Though the Dwarves and Kobolds do make appearances. Where are the elves? I wanna see some pretty male and female elves! I wonder if there are wood elves? Those are the best kind of elves! They look more like fairies than the High Elves. Lol.
Profile Image for Ethan Stein.
Author 5 books247 followers
April 15, 2021
So I’ve listened to a lot of dungeon core books and there is a wide range of concepts out there but it basically boils down to something becomes the core of a dungeon. And then that something builds out a dungeon to either enhance itself or others or both, all while trying to grow stronger and/or not die. No surprise here and an enjoyable spin with the idea of traveling.

However, my biggest complaint (and reason for the 3 stars) is that because it was a traveling dungeon story it became somewhat like an internal and external hero’s journey all rolled into one. I understand the author tried to clearly define each by having one be 1st person and one be 3rd person POVs but it honestly took me out of the story too many times and made my interest wane. I really wish he would have picked one and stuck with it.

That being said, it was an interesting concept and I like the dungeon core MC so I’ll probably check out the sequel eventually.
82 reviews
April 27, 2019
A Rough Diamond

The Dungeon Traveler is a novel in the same vein as The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Trout. If you enjoyed that book, you will enjoy this. Both are fantastic.

Dungeon Traveler has great characters, a living, believable world (of magic), a fascinating mythology, and fun dungeon core mechanics. It’s worth your time and money.

That being said, there’s enough typos, errors, and confusing descriptions that it kept me a little bit at a distance. Secondly, while the pacing was overall good, a few political (though very necessary) sections felt like a bit of a slog. Both issues are not enough to deter me from immediately grabbing the oncoming novels.

Read it. You will not be disappointed.

Profile Image for Chris Evans.
903 reviews43 followers
June 20, 2019
This was a charming story that perfectly my personal story sweet spot. Excellent world building, excellent mechanics, charming characters, and engaging narrative. This book scratches the same itch that Dungeon Born did for me. What's nice is, while the premises is obviously very similar to that book, ie dead human becomes a sentient dungeon core, everything else is completely different so the story feels very fresh.

All around great book, I highly recommend it.
41 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2019
The Dungeon Traveller.

This was a good read.

I found the viewpoint of the "Live, Thinking Dungeon" a good way to understand and see the vastness, depth and appeal that can grow RPG (general catorgorization use) to the public.

I can't wait to see the levelling-up of this Dungeon and if it makes it to Demi-God status (who said a High Priest and his God can't be a couple)?

The growth, development of this new Pantheon is one to Watch, the power of the core is central to its existence.

Alston Steele has a good book here. Let's see what #2 brings.

Cheers.
Profile Image for Elaina Myers.
356 reviews2 followers
March 18, 2020
Good dungeon core story

The protagonist, Dale, is an interesting character and I like his approach to being a dungeon core. His instinctual fear of being destroyed is similar to others, but just different enough to put him close to the edge at times.

I'm looking forward to reading the next story and seeing how well he can balance his need for protection with how he has his primarily accessible dungeon area set up. I hope he can keep and expand on the challenge areas; he has had some good ideas I'm hoping he'll be able to implement.
Profile Image for Dániel.
95 reviews2 followers
January 29, 2021
It's actually good. 3.8 probably (between mediocre and good).

I listened to the audiobook and I'm not from an english-speaking country (also, I already forgot the few years of language lessons I received when I was at school), so the grammar issues didn't bother me. If those usually bother you, then please disregard my review.

I liked the MC, liked the theological system and the introduced gods were also ok (if a bit too boringly nice). It's not a masterpiece, but a fun read if you have time for it.
Profile Image for Chandra Romano.
28 reviews
March 28, 2019
Humorous

Have you ever wondered if you were the Universe's chew toy? This is a story of Earl caught between a rock and a hard place. This was I iskea, but relatable for I know if caught in the same situation mine ABC's mentally disorders would have kicked into hyper drive. He did all the things normal people do when face with surviving, and too much time on their hands. I enjoyed the book and hope for more.
Profile Image for Lyndon.
108 reviews5 followers
April 19, 2019
Ya know something about early dungeon books really turned me off but the last couple I've read including this one have been absolute gold.

I didn't care for the king in this book and found myself skipping ahead whenever I encountered that idiot. I also found that the visit to the kobold kingdom was a bit of a waste.. I understand everyone loves kobolds but they didn't add much to the story I felt.

All in all it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to its sequel.
5 reviews
April 23, 2019
Great story

Its an interesting and unique idea for a dungeon to move locations instead of staying in the same place.

This must be the second book with a mobile dungeon but the first where it focuses on trials and challenges instead of the usual regular mobs type.

The book felt short and it felt like it took too long to reach a part were people would start entering it.

The plot part with the King felt slightly rushed and weird but we will see what happens in the next book.
Profile Image for Benjamin smith.
80 reviews
February 15, 2019
An enjoyable read

This was different to other dungeon core books, in regards to there is very little dungeon delving and mechanics and it focuses more on the plan of the gods and how everything comes together. A read worthy book, but I would like to see more of the dungeons development and progress.
Profile Image for Curtis.
776 reviews20 followers
March 17, 2019
Interesting and Different

This is much more complex and interesting than your standard dungeon core novel. The design, along with the great slower plot pace gives us plenty of time to enjoy the action, the characters, and the observations thereof. Much fun and I look forward to more. Recommended!
52 reviews2 followers
March 20, 2019
Great start to a new series

Aside from somewhat protracted arc with the lizards I have complaints about this book, which is a rarity since I am perhaps over critical.
The characterisations are food, the plot is predictable but solid, the setting is conventional and also solid. I hope there's a sequel.
9 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2019
Good read.

Good dungeon story if you are looking for one. I passed it over a couple of times due to the title, I thought it was about an adventurer who explored dungeons. It is not. If you are trying to figure it out still read the book. Keep writing I hope to read another like this.
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