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Elemental Dungeon #1
Bone Dungeon
Book One In The Complete Dungeon Core Trilogy!
Ryan doesn’t remember much about his life before becoming dungeon core. Only that he had a bit of a disagreement with the church — something to do with a beheading?
Now reborn, Ryan begins to arm his darkness dungeon with devious traps, bestial zombies and ill-named skeletal creations, without doing anything too evil. Well, mostly. Some adventurers just deserve a stalactite to the head.
But Ryan quickly learns being a darkness dungeon isn’t all loot and bone puns. With a necromancer on the rise and the Adventurer’s Guild watching his every move, he must prove that not all darkness dungeons are malevolent… even if they do have a few skeletons in their caverns.
Sadly, all of these issues keep distracting him from his own guilty pleasure, skeletal fight club. But don’t tell his fairy about that.
Ryan doesn’t remember much about his life before becoming dungeon core. Only that he had a bit of a disagreement with the church — something to do with a beheading?
Now reborn, Ryan begins to arm his darkness dungeon with devious traps, bestial zombies and ill-named skeletal creations, without doing anything too evil. Well, mostly. Some adventurers just deserve a stalactite to the head.
But Ryan quickly learns being a darkness dungeon isn’t all loot and bone puns. With a necromancer on the rise and the Adventurer’s Guild watching his every move, he must prove that not all darkness dungeons are malevolent… even if they do have a few skeletons in their caverns.
Sadly, all of these issues keep distracting him from his own guilty pleasure, skeletal fight club. But don’t tell his fairy about that.
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2019
814 people are currently reading
607 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Smidt
15 books98 followersJonathan’s journey through life has been anything but slow. Being part of a military family, he moved across the world growing up, and having not learned his lesson, joined the Marine Corps right out of high school. This sent him on a whirlwind adventure, which even found him in the sands of Afghanistan. During all his travels, he found one thing always remained constant…he loved to read. Now, married and with life finally calming down a bit, he has begun to push his passion for literature even higher, aiming to give readers the kinds of books he has come to love with his own unique twist.
He has grown up in thousands of worlds, courtesy of not only literature and anime, but also his avid gaming life! Jonathan has spent countless hours on video games ranging from Final Fantasy to Pokémon to Guild Wars and WoW, while also enjoying tabletops such as D&D and Exalted.
Living in a game world isn’t enough for Jonathan though, and he has pushed to turn his own life into a classic RPG. On top of leveling up his writing and music abilities (he swears he is not a bard though!), he is currently learning the ancient art of blacksmithing, which places him at his forge working hot metal into blades on the weekends!
He has grown up in thousands of worlds, courtesy of not only literature and anime, but also his avid gaming life! Jonathan has spent countless hours on video games ranging from Final Fantasy to Pokémon to Guild Wars and WoW, while also enjoying tabletops such as D&D and Exalted.
Living in a game world isn’t enough for Jonathan though, and he has pushed to turn his own life into a classic RPG. On top of leveling up his writing and music abilities (he swears he is not a bard though!), he is currently learning the ancient art of blacksmithing, which places him at his forge working hot metal into blades on the weekends!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
April 8, 2019
Bone Dungeon
or
Divine Dungeon - If Cal were evil*
(* but not really.)
That's basically it.
The book itself is pretty "meh". Its shallow and simple. Not bad, but it clearly lacks depth and the Author didnt develop anything.
It's heavily inspired by the Dungeon Born Series and copies nearly every aspect of it.
But where Dakota Krout works have an amazing depth and a complete world to explore... here its handwaving. Everything that happens is either exposition or handwaving.
This is especially bad since this book also follows the "Handbook for Dungeon Core Books" to the letter.
- Dungeon Core was human before - Check!
- Dungeon Core has unique power that baffles the world - Check!
- Dungeon Core spawns with his very own Sub-entity like a fairy or a wisp that is there for explanation / love interest - Check!
- Dungeon Core is under constant threat that the all-mightly Adventure Guild will destroy it if it does not behave (good that it has the fairy to keep it in check!) - Check!
- Dungeon will be surrounded by a flourishing dungeon-town which is entirely dependent on said Dungeon - Check!
- An Evil (with capital E) has some masterplan for that dungeon and will constantly battle the Dungeon Town and the Dungeon itself by brute force - Check!
- Dungeon has its favorite Team whose leader will become more and more entagled with Dungeon-Business.
So i would only recommend this book to you if you have no other book to read currently.
or
Divine Dungeon - If Cal were evil*
(* but not really.)
That's basically it.
The book itself is pretty "meh". Its shallow and simple. Not bad, but it clearly lacks depth and the Author didnt develop anything.
It's heavily inspired by the Dungeon Born Series and copies nearly every aspect of it.
But where Dakota Krout works have an amazing depth and a complete world to explore... here its handwaving. Everything that happens is either exposition or handwaving.
This is especially bad since this book also follows the "Handbook for Dungeon Core Books" to the letter.
- Dungeon Core was human before - Check!
- Dungeon Core has unique power that baffles the world - Check!
- Dungeon Core spawns with his very own Sub-entity like a fairy or a wisp that is there for explanation / love interest - Check!
- Dungeon Core is under constant threat that the all-mightly Adventure Guild will destroy it if it does not behave (good that it has the fairy to keep it in check!) - Check!
- Dungeon will be surrounded by a flourishing dungeon-town which is entirely dependent on said Dungeon - Check!
- An Evil (with capital E) has some masterplan for that dungeon and will constantly battle the Dungeon Town and the Dungeon itself by brute force - Check!
- Dungeon has its favorite Team whose leader will become more and more entagled with Dungeon-Business.
So i would only recommend this book to you if you have no other book to read currently.
April 19, 2019
The word "hun" is used unironically 36 times.
Do not read.
Do not read.
March 21, 2019
Great litrpg and dungeon core book!
Disclaimer: I’m an alpha reader, but I also have kindle unlimited so I read the book on KU after being an alpha reader.
This is a fantastic book and a great addition to both the litrpg and dungeon core genres. It’s a great story, it’s very well edited (a huge plus in litrpg), it has great worldbuilding, and it has a lot of fun twists and turns.
This book has unique takes on both the litrpg and dungeon core genres and is astoundingly good for a first book. It’s a great book but wow is it good for a first time.
I recommend this to anyone who likes litrpg and/or dungeon stories and just anyone who likes a good story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I’m an alpha reader, but I also have kindle unlimited so I read the book on KU after being an alpha reader.
This is a fantastic book and a great addition to both the litrpg and dungeon core genres. It’s a great story, it’s very well edited (a huge plus in litrpg), it has great worldbuilding, and it has a lot of fun twists and turns.
This book has unique takes on both the litrpg and dungeon core genres and is astoundingly good for a first book. It’s a great book but wow is it good for a first time.
I recommend this to anyone who likes litrpg and/or dungeon stories and just anyone who likes a good story. Enjoy!
May 8, 2019
Countless this countless that
While I enjoyed the story overall, the constant (countless) use of the word countless really deracted from the story.
My one other complaint is a pet peeve. Good guys have no clue what is going on and are low leveled, bag guy is much higher in level with vast resources at hand, but the good guys still manage to win in the end. They still have no clue what is going on and the even bigger guy with vast resources and power is still hidden.
I guess it was used to try to create tension but it really didn't. As soon as the author made mention that the dungeon and main human had to commit to each other, you knew the two of them would survive and thus no tension at all.
While I enjoyed the story overall, the constant (countless) use of the word countless really deracted from the story.
My one other complaint is a pet peeve. Good guys have no clue what is going on and are low leveled, bag guy is much higher in level with vast resources at hand, but the good guys still manage to win in the end. They still have no clue what is going on and the even bigger guy with vast resources and power is still hidden.
I guess it was used to try to create tension but it really didn't. As soon as the author made mention that the dungeon and main human had to commit to each other, you knew the two of them would survive and thus no tension at all.
April 14, 2020
I have a bone to pick...
While the writing was good and the main story was fun to read, there were a few issues that made finishing this book a challenge.
First off, the story starts slow and rather generic. Yes, there is a build up formula to “dungeon core” stories but this one just seemed to drag until about the 20% mark. I stopped and started several times up to this point, debating whether to continue or cut my losses. That being said, the story got a lot more interesting and I did enjoy finishing the book.
Second, the relationship between the dungeon core Ryan and his faerie Erin could be entirely cut out. Erin is incompetent and offers almost nothing in terms of guidance that couldn’t have been imparted innately. But far worse is the level of communication between the two. It made me wonder if they were supposed to be children. This made the awful romance between them even more cringey.
Beyond that, there was way too many silly cultural references and juvenile jokes to ignore. I am not a fan of Young Adult fiction, but I can appreciate anything that is done well. Unfortunately, the level of writing in this book sometimes veered into Young Non-Adult. If an author writes for kids and teens then they should be clear and put that in the book description.
Otherwise, this is not a bad book for LitRPG. Very PG and tame if that’s your thing, aside from the occasional adventurer dying. A good read for younger readers!
While the writing was good and the main story was fun to read, there were a few issues that made finishing this book a challenge.
First off, the story starts slow and rather generic. Yes, there is a build up formula to “dungeon core” stories but this one just seemed to drag until about the 20% mark. I stopped and started several times up to this point, debating whether to continue or cut my losses. That being said, the story got a lot more interesting and I did enjoy finishing the book.
Second, the relationship between the dungeon core Ryan and his faerie Erin could be entirely cut out. Erin is incompetent and offers almost nothing in terms of guidance that couldn’t have been imparted innately. But far worse is the level of communication between the two. It made me wonder if they were supposed to be children. This made the awful romance between them even more cringey.
Beyond that, there was way too many silly cultural references and juvenile jokes to ignore. I am not a fan of Young Adult fiction, but I can appreciate anything that is done well. Unfortunately, the level of writing in this book sometimes veered into Young Non-Adult. If an author writes for kids and teens then they should be clear and put that in the book description.
Otherwise, this is not a bad book for LitRPG. Very PG and tame if that’s your thing, aside from the occasional adventurer dying. A good read for younger readers!
March 28, 2019
-whoosh- Just another review passing by!
BONE DUNGEON is lighthearted, with tension in all the right places, and well-paced. What struck me about this author is his work hasn't even reached it's final form yet. He's just gonna keep getting better and better until we won't be taking our time discovering his dungeon core stories, instead, we'll race to the end in one sitting and be like ... what just happened? Why do I need a cigarette? After which we'll do everything humanly possible to encourage him to write the next book. Just not Annie Wilkes style. Let's not go there.
1 star subtracted for minor typos + overuse of the word 'hun'. Added the star right back, which honestly is visible only to me, due to the incredibly good taste of being published on my birthday. But now you know it's there and you know it's secretly a 5-star book.
Bone Dungeon 2, I'll be waiting to snap you up with the quickness. Read on Kindle Unlimited.
BONE DUNGEON is lighthearted, with tension in all the right places, and well-paced. What struck me about this author is his work hasn't even reached it's final form yet. He's just gonna keep getting better and better until we won't be taking our time discovering his dungeon core stories, instead, we'll race to the end in one sitting and be like ... what just happened? Why do I need a cigarette? After which we'll do everything humanly possible to encourage him to write the next book. Just not Annie Wilkes style. Let's not go there.
1 star subtracted for minor typos + overuse of the word 'hun'. Added the star right back, which honestly is visible only to me, due to the incredibly good taste of being published on my birthday. But now you know it's there and you know it's secretly a 5-star book.
Bone Dungeon 2, I'll be waiting to snap you up with the quickness. Read on Kindle Unlimited.
May 17, 2019
While a god story idea it isn't this author's/ This book is incredibly similar to Dakota Krouts' Dungeon born and that was a far more well written and engaging story.
March 29, 2019
Bone Dungeon is a trip to the Bone Zone and back. 4.5/5 Rounded down.
I really had a blast with this first novel by Jonathan Smidt. It was fun, and a more simplified, easier to follow system of advancement for dungeons than in most DC books I've read. That's not to say it's perfect. The system has some confusion, but it can be forgiven for the most part.
In short summary, dark dungeon good, necromancer's bad, puns are fun, and making mobs is a blast (literally and figuratively). I particularly enjoyed the bad puns and naming conventions of the mobs such as Steve and Buttercup.
What knocked the book was the progression rate. It felt choppy to me, like the first book should have been two or three with the content that was missing.
Overall, I look forward to the next one, but I just felt some of the story was rushed too much. I hope we get a bit of a slower pace in book two of the Elemental Dungeons series.
I really had a blast with this first novel by Jonathan Smidt. It was fun, and a more simplified, easier to follow system of advancement for dungeons than in most DC books I've read. That's not to say it's perfect. The system has some confusion, but it can be forgiven for the most part.
In short summary, dark dungeon good, necromancer's bad, puns are fun, and making mobs is a blast (literally and figuratively). I particularly enjoyed the bad puns and naming conventions of the mobs such as Steve and Buttercup.
What knocked the book was the progression rate. It felt choppy to me, like the first book should have been two or three with the content that was missing.
Overall, I look forward to the next one, but I just felt some of the story was rushed too much. I hope we get a bit of a slower pace in book two of the Elemental Dungeons series.
March 11, 2025
Edit: I just listened to the theatrical release of the audio book. This adds so much to reading the book with background atmospheric noise, and great depictions of each characters voice. Definitely worth a new listen through!
I really loved the premise of this story. This is only the second dungeon core book I've read, but I already love Ryan, and how much he cares about his groups. There were a couple of sections where I felt the story was missing a part and the story could have been expanded a little bit, but otherwise it was a very well put together story with likable characters, and a bad guy worth taking seriously.
I really loved the premise of this story. This is only the second dungeon core book I've read, but I already love Ryan, and how much he cares about his groups. There were a couple of sections where I felt the story was missing a part and the story could have been expanded a little bit, but otherwise it was a very well put together story with likable characters, and a bad guy worth taking seriously.
April 14, 2019
Meh
So I was excited about this books potential. Then highly disappointed as I kept reading. If your willing to leave your brain completely off and just read words then this book is for you. I could write a laundry list of things that bothered me about this storyline but I don’t care enough to do so.
So I was excited about this books potential. Then highly disappointed as I kept reading. If your willing to leave your brain completely off and just read words then this book is for you. I could write a laundry list of things that bothered me about this storyline but I don’t care enough to do so.
April 8, 2019
Bone Dungeon Book Read Review
Ryan doesn’t remember much about his life before becoming dungeon core. Only that he had a bit of a disagreement with the church — something to do with a beheading?
Now reborn, Ryan begins to arm his darkness dungeon with devious traps, bestial zombies and ill-named skeletal creations, without doing anything too evil. Well, mostly. Some adventurers just deserve a stalactite to the head.
But Ryan quickly learns being a darkness dungeon isn’t all loot and bone puns. With a necromancer on the rise and the Adventurer’s Guild watching his every move, he must prove that not all darkness dungeons are malevolent… even if they do have a few skeletons in their caverns.
Sadly, all of these issues keep distracting him from his own guilty pleasure, skeletal fight club. But don’t tell his fairy about that.
Recording of the review live stream for those who prefer: https://www.twitch.tv/events/kxdzY1MO...
Title: Bone Dungeon
Author: Jonathan Smidt
Series: Elemental Dungeons
Publisher: Portal Books
Length and Cost: 398 pages at $4.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, available on Kindle Unlimited
Overall Experience Rating: 8.6/10
Genres: Dungeon Core, GameLit, LitRPG, Fantasy, Humor
Type: eBook
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book for my honest review, and purchased a copy when it was released.
Review Overview: A solidly designed dungeon core and adventuring world where both the monsters, dungeons, and adventurers have fully designed skills, abilities, and levels. The story is fun, and the various characters introduced and followed in the story are memorable without going overboard. The author managed to completely avoid the Overpowered Main Character or Super Unique Class cliches seen too often in LitRPG, which made the characters cleverness and intelligence stand out more, and helped create anticipation of them figuring out smart ways of using game mechanics. Despite the multiple character perspectives shown in the book, it never felt too short, making the purchase price worth while, at the LitRPG middle range for flat cost, but mid to high end for content. Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this, and look forward to future releases of the current characters story, and the addition of other dungeons and and adventures as the author has mentioned in his plans.
Rating break down:
Quality/Depth of Characters: 9.5/10
Each character named in the book has enough background and personality to make their presence make sense, with enough depth to make each standout as a full character, all while somehow managing to never be excessive. This gives the interactions an impressive amount of weight with surprising levels of emotional impact throughout the entire book. Empathizing and sympathizing with the various characters was easy, and even with the jerks, I cared about what happened to them.
Quality and Depth of World: 8/10
Locations and distances are logical and thought out, regions make sense, even weather, seasons, and geography are touched upon in a manner that is consistent. Beyond that, the cultures and societies are mentioned organically, but without leaving the reader painfully blind, like many other books happen to do. This helped with immersion without being distracting or confusing. Large scale politics were not mentioned. Some of the behaviors did come off as a tad odd, weirdly mixing our real world modern culture with medieval fantasy behaviors, which threw me off at times, but this was rare.
Detail Balance and Completeness: 9/10
With regards to chame mechanics, the story has health, mana, levels and XP, and other stats and factors depending on the characters personal class. Paired with this are some overarching ‘world rules’ that give the feel of a tabletop RPG world combined with an MMORPG. While it looks like crafting skills exist in game, most of the focus is on dungeon building and combat classes. The gamelike and leveling systems introduced include enough numerical information that a reader can track and breakdown where the MCs levels and skill come from, and what it takes for them to be used. The system set is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, and is balanced and thoroughly done enough that I could see an actual tabletop RPG, board game, or video game of this world and its system working if made, which I always find a really fun feature when reading LitRPG. Also, the MC, while meant to be unique in some ways and cared about by the reader, is not some OP superclass that no one else can pick from, or anything overtly special or unbalanced like that. In fact, many times the primary MC has to explicitly avoid doing things that would be ‘impolite etiquette’ lest he risk getting wiped out for breaking convention. Having the game mechanics and world culture working hand in hand like that was wonderfully organic, getting the best of both worlds.
Quality of Story: 9/10
Was a very enjoyable story, with minimized cliche or stereotypical events unless it made good sense based on the overarching context and events elsewhere in the book. Enough mystery remains for readers to wonder about the Big Bad Guys motivations and goals, while having enough clarity of individual events motivations that a reader can still care and understand as things progress.
Quality of Writing: 7/10
Some instances of information being repeated two to three times in one page, some minor typos and misspellings. A few rare times where a pop culture reference or quirk of speech broke the immersion. For the most part the reference were smooth enough and subtle enough to feel rewarding when recognized, and only one obvious one really gets pushed in your face, but is still funny. (At least to me.)
Narration Performance: N/A
TLDR
Score: 8.6 out of 10
Bone Dungeon - A Dungeon Core LitRPG
Book Sales Link: https://amzn.com/dp/B07PRT6V9W/
Authors Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Glyax
Ryan doesn’t remember much about his life before becoming dungeon core. Only that he had a bit of a disagreement with the church — something to do with a beheading?
Now reborn, Ryan begins to arm his darkness dungeon with devious traps, bestial zombies and ill-named skeletal creations, without doing anything too evil. Well, mostly. Some adventurers just deserve a stalactite to the head.
But Ryan quickly learns being a darkness dungeon isn’t all loot and bone puns. With a necromancer on the rise and the Adventurer’s Guild watching his every move, he must prove that not all darkness dungeons are malevolent… even if they do have a few skeletons in their caverns.
Sadly, all of these issues keep distracting him from his own guilty pleasure, skeletal fight club. But don’t tell his fairy about that.
Recording of the review live stream for those who prefer: https://www.twitch.tv/events/kxdzY1MO...
Title: Bone Dungeon
Author: Jonathan Smidt
Series: Elemental Dungeons
Publisher: Portal Books
Length and Cost: 398 pages at $4.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, available on Kindle Unlimited
Overall Experience Rating: 8.6/10
Genres: Dungeon Core, GameLit, LitRPG, Fantasy, Humor
Type: eBook
Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book for my honest review, and purchased a copy when it was released.
Review Overview: A solidly designed dungeon core and adventuring world where both the monsters, dungeons, and adventurers have fully designed skills, abilities, and levels. The story is fun, and the various characters introduced and followed in the story are memorable without going overboard. The author managed to completely avoid the Overpowered Main Character or Super Unique Class cliches seen too often in LitRPG, which made the characters cleverness and intelligence stand out more, and helped create anticipation of them figuring out smart ways of using game mechanics. Despite the multiple character perspectives shown in the book, it never felt too short, making the purchase price worth while, at the LitRPG middle range for flat cost, but mid to high end for content. Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this, and look forward to future releases of the current characters story, and the addition of other dungeons and and adventures as the author has mentioned in his plans.
Rating break down:
Quality/Depth of Characters: 9.5/10
Each character named in the book has enough background and personality to make their presence make sense, with enough depth to make each standout as a full character, all while somehow managing to never be excessive. This gives the interactions an impressive amount of weight with surprising levels of emotional impact throughout the entire book. Empathizing and sympathizing with the various characters was easy, and even with the jerks, I cared about what happened to them.
Quality and Depth of World: 8/10
Locations and distances are logical and thought out, regions make sense, even weather, seasons, and geography are touched upon in a manner that is consistent. Beyond that, the cultures and societies are mentioned organically, but without leaving the reader painfully blind, like many other books happen to do. This helped with immersion without being distracting or confusing. Large scale politics were not mentioned. Some of the behaviors did come off as a tad odd, weirdly mixing our real world modern culture with medieval fantasy behaviors, which threw me off at times, but this was rare.
Detail Balance and Completeness: 9/10
With regards to chame mechanics, the story has health, mana, levels and XP, and other stats and factors depending on the characters personal class. Paired with this are some overarching ‘world rules’ that give the feel of a tabletop RPG world combined with an MMORPG. While it looks like crafting skills exist in game, most of the focus is on dungeon building and combat classes. The gamelike and leveling systems introduced include enough numerical information that a reader can track and breakdown where the MCs levels and skill come from, and what it takes for them to be used. The system set is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, and is balanced and thoroughly done enough that I could see an actual tabletop RPG, board game, or video game of this world and its system working if made, which I always find a really fun feature when reading LitRPG. Also, the MC, while meant to be unique in some ways and cared about by the reader, is not some OP superclass that no one else can pick from, or anything overtly special or unbalanced like that. In fact, many times the primary MC has to explicitly avoid doing things that would be ‘impolite etiquette’ lest he risk getting wiped out for breaking convention. Having the game mechanics and world culture working hand in hand like that was wonderfully organic, getting the best of both worlds.
Quality of Story: 9/10
Was a very enjoyable story, with minimized cliche or stereotypical events unless it made good sense based on the overarching context and events elsewhere in the book. Enough mystery remains for readers to wonder about the Big Bad Guys motivations and goals, while having enough clarity of individual events motivations that a reader can still care and understand as things progress.
Quality of Writing: 7/10
Some instances of information being repeated two to three times in one page, some minor typos and misspellings. A few rare times where a pop culture reference or quirk of speech broke the immersion. For the most part the reference were smooth enough and subtle enough to feel rewarding when recognized, and only one obvious one really gets pushed in your face, but is still funny. (At least to me.)
Narration Performance: N/A
TLDR
Score: 8.6 out of 10
Bone Dungeon - A Dungeon Core LitRPG
Book Sales Link: https://amzn.com/dp/B07PRT6V9W/
Authors Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Glyax
May 3, 2025
This is my book review for the first book in the Elemental Dungeon Trilogy, Bone Dungeon. Overall it was an easy casual read that was perfect for mid week, low stakes reading i.e. the kind of book that's easy to put down when I have to go to bed on l early on a weekday. It followed all the classic progression fantasy themes of a hero with powers that supposedly shouldn't exist, evil enemies of unknown motivations, powerful guilds with hidden knowledge and of course lots of plucky sidekicks. The idea of the dungeon as the hero is definitely unusual and kept me going. His relationship with his fairy teacher? partner? seemed like an unhealthy codependence that would easily trigger an intervention in real life.
March 21, 2019
ARC Notice.
If you like Dungeon Cores, you should consider adding this one to your to-read list. While not groundbreaking, the author puts his own spin on the dynamics and expectations most dungeon core readers have of this genre. The characters are likable and the initially annoying fairy is used as target practice by the dungeon before she gets better.
Honestly, I tried to fit a bone pun in here but couldn't come up with one.
If you like Dungeon Cores, you should consider adding this one to your to-read list. While not groundbreaking, the author puts his own spin on the dynamics and expectations most dungeon core readers have of this genre. The characters are likable and the initially annoying fairy is used as target practice by the dungeon before she gets better.
Honestly, I tried to fit a bone pun in here but couldn't come up with one.
March 21, 2019
I Received an ARC copy for honest review.
I would like to say this is one of the good dungeon books out there. It's a 4 star book. The reason I deducted 1 star because the book is little bit slower at start but picked up the pace in the middle.
Loved some of the characters. And it still needed some fleshing out for some characters. Anyway give this a chance if you like dungeon stories, you will never regret.
I would like to say this is one of the good dungeon books out there. It's a 4 star book. The reason I deducted 1 star because the book is little bit slower at start but picked up the pace in the middle.
Loved some of the characters. And it still needed some fleshing out for some characters. Anyway give this a chance if you like dungeon stories, you will never regret.
December 4, 2020
One of the better dungeon LitRPG books I've ever read. Although not a great masterpiece, it was a wonderful adventure. I really enjoyed the fun puns, easy to understand magic system and best of all the character of the MC could not have been written any more fantastically. He was absolutely adorable, I mean for an adventurer killing dungeon core. I'm really looking forward to the sequel. Recommended.
March 10, 2020
Good, honest dungeon core story.
There's a few comedic elements, but otherwise it is a standard, straightforward dungeon core story. Reincarnation elements, the unusual choice for dungeon theme, and a few classic tropes are used well. I'd probably would have loved more exotic elements, but otherwise it's a solid book.
There's a few comedic elements, but otherwise it is a standard, straightforward dungeon core story. Reincarnation elements, the unusual choice for dungeon theme, and a few classic tropes are used well. I'd probably would have loved more exotic elements, but otherwise it's a solid book.
March 25, 2019
It scratched all the right dungeon itches
A great debut (?) novel. It delivered on everything I would want on a dungeon core book. Some of the choices I would've made differently but I can see why they were made.
A great debut (?) novel. It delivered on everything I would want on a dungeon core book. Some of the choices I would've made differently but I can see why they were made.
March 22, 2019
A darkly charming tale of skeletal monsters, heroic (and not-so-heroic) adventurers, and evil necromancers. Dungeon core at its best!
July 5, 2020
This book was extremely good! I really enjoyed all the charecters, they had really good personalities and abilities. I am excited to read the next book!
January 19, 2024
Great dungeon progression fantasy. Reads very smoothly. A tad predictable maybe but very enjoyable.
March 27, 2019
The ARC of Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) was provided by the author in exchange for a review.
Bone Dungeon is an enjoyable but by-the-numbers dungeon-core LitRPG by first-time author Jonathan Smidt.
An entertaining and fast-moving tale that follows Ryan, a new dungeon trying to learn and grow. There is a companion to guide and nag him, an adventurer's guild to form a symbiotic relationship with, and a lurking threat from a necromancer. If you've read some of the more popular dungeon-core stories, this may sound familiar. I found it nice in a 'comfortable' sort of way, but it also means the story does very little to stand out. Except for skeletal fight club, but the first rule of blah blah blah.
The prose is fine, decent flow and few mistakes. The characters are ok if a bit bland, and I'll be damned if I can remember any of their names (outside of couple of ridiculously named bosses). It's quite humorous, but if puns aren't your thing, or you don't like some not-so-subtle pop-culture references, it might not be your thing.
I'm on board for a second volume, but I will definitely need a recap or a reread before doing so.
Bone Dungeon is an enjoyable but by-the-numbers dungeon-core LitRPG by first-time author Jonathan Smidt.
An entertaining and fast-moving tale that follows Ryan, a new dungeon trying to learn and grow. There is a companion to guide and nag him, an adventurer's guild to form a symbiotic relationship with, and a lurking threat from a necromancer. If you've read some of the more popular dungeon-core stories, this may sound familiar. I found it nice in a 'comfortable' sort of way, but it also means the story does very little to stand out. Except for skeletal fight club, but the first rule of blah blah blah.
The prose is fine, decent flow and few mistakes. The characters are ok if a bit bland, and I'll be damned if I can remember any of their names (outside of couple of ridiculously named bosses). It's quite humorous, but if puns aren't your thing, or you don't like some not-so-subtle pop-culture references, it might not be your thing.
I'm on board for a second volume, but I will definitely need a recap or a reread before doing so.
January 10, 2020
Things I liked:
Not tutorial heavy. (Why, oh why, do the tutorials always go on for sooooo long? If someone's reading LitRPG/dungeon core, it's a safe assumption they already know how these games work.) Especially like how Erin the fairy sucks at her job, and gets defensive about it, which is both funny, and a clever way to stop the first third from being an infodump on the mechanics of how the core accesses stats screens, constructs mobs, etc.
Skeleton fight club! The humour in general. Puns, jokes, pop-culture references. Enough to be fun, but not so much it's tiresome.
Genuinely likable characters.
Well written, well edited, story has narrative tension, conflicts and obstacles to overcome, character growth, and delivered a solid and satisfying conclusion. (This seems pretty consistent across books published by Portal.)
Things I didn't like: nothing really. This book was pretty solid fun.
Four stars: really enjoyed, looking forward to the next one; highly recommended, especially for people looking for an enjoyable entry into gamelit/dungeon core
Not tutorial heavy. (Why, oh why, do the tutorials always go on for sooooo long? If someone's reading LitRPG/dungeon core, it's a safe assumption they already know how these games work.) Especially like how Erin the fairy sucks at her job, and gets defensive about it, which is both funny, and a clever way to stop the first third from being an infodump on the mechanics of how the core accesses stats screens, constructs mobs, etc.
Skeleton fight club! The humour in general. Puns, jokes, pop-culture references. Enough to be fun, but not so much it's tiresome.
Genuinely likable characters.
Well written, well edited, story has narrative tension, conflicts and obstacles to overcome, character growth, and delivered a solid and satisfying conclusion. (This seems pretty consistent across books published by Portal.)
Things I didn't like: nothing really. This book was pretty solid fun.
Four stars: really enjoyed, looking forward to the next one; highly recommended, especially for people looking for an enjoyable entry into gamelit/dungeon core
April 8, 2019
Good story, loved skeleton fight club
I liked the story and the world building. The experience was somewhat marred by the unoriginal way a lot of the world building was explained
I liked the story and the world building. The experience was somewhat marred by the unoriginal way a lot of the world building was explained
June 27, 2020
Repetition and cliches. So much of both, and nothing else. Not a terrible read, but not really worth the time to read either. The Divine Dungeon series did everything this book did, but better.
January 4, 2021
Stopped at 90%... Was hoping for something to captivate my attention but it did not happen. It's an okay read, but after the divine dungeon series it feels like a cheap imitation.
September 14, 2020
Story
Story structure and feel is very similar to a certain other dungeon core book that is quite popular in the genre by Dakota Krout. The formula is a good one as far as I'm concerned so I'm not too bothered by that. You have your sentient dungeon core with fairy starting out from scratch and trying to get stronger by way of direct and indirect murder of adventurers. Alongside them is a brand new adventurer who is inexplicably tied to the dungeon in a rather fundamental way.
What follows is a story where the dungeon, adventurer, and the adventurer town around them creates a sort of antagonistic symbiotic relationship where everyone gets stronger and/or richer through their interactions and creates a rather satisfying reader experience. However other parties have more sinister intentions for the dungeon. I would not say there is much of import happening outside of the dungeon and town aside from the little asides that involve the group stirring up trouble. The book is very much just about the bubble that includes the dungeon and the town around it.
Characters
Ryan the dungeon core enters the story as a pseudo tabula rasa who is taught and guided through his growth as a dungeon by Erin his dungeon fairy. They have a sort of silly husband/wife relationship dynamic which fuels and colors most of their interactions. They experiment with creating and growing the dungeon all the while taking their entertainment where they can get it. They are troubled by the idea of needing to kill in order to grow, but work past it.
Blake is a brand new adventurer who gets his chance at growth when he gets his chance to use the new found dungeon (Ryan's) as a training ground. While a dungeon is not strictly necessary, it is one of the quickest ways to get stronger so he is all for it. He ends up getting into a party that seems well made for him and experiences a good amount of growth throughout the book. He ultimately wants to be a Paladin to rival and even surpass his somewhat distant father.
Others
The other characters introduced, while still important, are very much side characters meant to push narratives. Blakes party members (Karan, Jack, Matt, and Emily) provide a safe haven for Blake as he grows and learns to fulfill his role as an adventurer and as the party tank. Marcus and the other overpowered overseers within the town are mostly there to provide the illusion of safety as the main antagonist Victor is just powerful enough to bypass those defense and provide a tangible threat to the dungeon. Most of the characters aside from the party have very little page time in the book.
Overall
I liked the book for much the same reasons as I liked the first few books of Dakota Krouts Divine Dungeon series. The give and take between Ryan the dungeon and Blakes party provides a satisfying feeling of progression due to the discernible amount of growth either side sees as they use the other side a whetstone. As said before, there is very little world building outside of the dungeon. There is very little mentioned geography wise about the world and most of the information that we've learned mostly has to do with the rank system and how people interact with it. So I'm hoping for more world building in general in the next few books. Still a fun read if you are a fan of the genre.
Story structure and feel is very similar to a certain other dungeon core book that is quite popular in the genre by Dakota Krout. The formula is a good one as far as I'm concerned so I'm not too bothered by that. You have your sentient dungeon core with fairy starting out from scratch and trying to get stronger by way of direct and indirect murder of adventurers. Alongside them is a brand new adventurer who is inexplicably tied to the dungeon in a rather fundamental way.
What follows is a story where the dungeon, adventurer, and the adventurer town around them creates a sort of antagonistic symbiotic relationship where everyone gets stronger and/or richer through their interactions and creates a rather satisfying reader experience. However other parties have more sinister intentions for the dungeon. I would not say there is much of import happening outside of the dungeon and town aside from the little asides that involve the group stirring up trouble. The book is very much just about the bubble that includes the dungeon and the town around it.
Characters
Ryan the dungeon core enters the story as a pseudo tabula rasa who is taught and guided through his growth as a dungeon by Erin his dungeon fairy. They have a sort of silly husband/wife relationship dynamic which fuels and colors most of their interactions. They experiment with creating and growing the dungeon all the while taking their entertainment where they can get it. They are troubled by the idea of needing to kill in order to grow, but work past it.
Blake is a brand new adventurer who gets his chance at growth when he gets his chance to use the new found dungeon (Ryan's) as a training ground. While a dungeon is not strictly necessary, it is one of the quickest ways to get stronger so he is all for it. He ends up getting into a party that seems well made for him and experiences a good amount of growth throughout the book. He ultimately wants to be a Paladin to rival and even surpass his somewhat distant father.
Others
The other characters introduced, while still important, are very much side characters meant to push narratives. Blakes party members (Karan, Jack, Matt, and Emily) provide a safe haven for Blake as he grows and learns to fulfill his role as an adventurer and as the party tank. Marcus and the other overpowered overseers within the town are mostly there to provide the illusion of safety as the main antagonist Victor is just powerful enough to bypass those defense and provide a tangible threat to the dungeon. Most of the characters aside from the party have very little page time in the book.
Overall
I liked the book for much the same reasons as I liked the first few books of Dakota Krouts Divine Dungeon series. The give and take between Ryan the dungeon and Blakes party provides a satisfying feeling of progression due to the discernible amount of growth either side sees as they use the other side a whetstone. As said before, there is very little world building outside of the dungeon. There is very little mentioned geography wise about the world and most of the information that we've learned mostly has to do with the rank system and how people interact with it. So I'm hoping for more world building in general in the next few books. Still a fun read if you are a fan of the genre.
June 20, 2019
It’s middle ground, I would wait on this book until the third in the series.
So let’s talk about whats not fun about this book. The first 80% is boring, unimaginative, and slow to read. The last 20% was really fun. So if you can just grit your teeth until that point....
If you’ve read the dungeon born series you’ll feel like this a poorly done knock off. At least 4/5ths of the story. Dakota Krout will either love how similar the books start out or hate it.
I can’t stand the lame dialogue between the dungeon and his fairy. It’s an awful married couple that flirt with each other no stop. Have I mentioned the running gag that the fairy is suppose to educate the dungeon but never does! Oh it’s awful. No explication why the fairy is even needed besides some etiquette rules no one explains. I felt as if the author wants you to care about the rules but he never explains why. In some cases that would be fun, I don’t feel that way here. Similar to the unwritten rules of baseball. Those are dumb too.
The magic system doesn’t get explained well and is a poorer version of the dungeon born series. I will say the characters aren’t as overpowered in this series compared to that series at start, so that is a plus. My biggest issue is that adventures don’t get to pick their affinity till the silver stage but dungeons have to pick there’s at the beginning? Why? Adventures can ,though rare, get two affinities, dungeons don’t but in this book he kind of does? Which makes no sense.
I’m glad the dungeon is sentient but he is still killing people to get stronger. I was hoping this would be addressed in some way. I suppose I’m just supposed to believe it’s okay to watch people die because they deserve it, so long as the dungeon gets stronger. That’s a messed up theme for a book. The philosophical questions are endless. I suppose this would be like a farmer that named it’s food and made it compete survivor.
You may wonder what’s with all of the pop culture references in a Middle Ages themed book? I did. It makes the dialogue even harder to deal with. Skeleton fight club? Humorous at first, but never allowed the reader to escape to this new world. It’s 20 year old reference. I suppose the dialogue between the dungeon and the fairy was a parody of l love Lucy.
The 20% I liked. Blake and Ryan helping each other out like family. That was funnest part of the whole thing. It doesn’t happen till the end but that was fun.
So let’s talk about whats not fun about this book. The first 80% is boring, unimaginative, and slow to read. The last 20% was really fun. So if you can just grit your teeth until that point....
If you’ve read the dungeon born series you’ll feel like this a poorly done knock off. At least 4/5ths of the story. Dakota Krout will either love how similar the books start out or hate it.
I can’t stand the lame dialogue between the dungeon and his fairy. It’s an awful married couple that flirt with each other no stop. Have I mentioned the running gag that the fairy is suppose to educate the dungeon but never does! Oh it’s awful. No explication why the fairy is even needed besides some etiquette rules no one explains. I felt as if the author wants you to care about the rules but he never explains why. In some cases that would be fun, I don’t feel that way here. Similar to the unwritten rules of baseball. Those are dumb too.
The magic system doesn’t get explained well and is a poorer version of the dungeon born series. I will say the characters aren’t as overpowered in this series compared to that series at start, so that is a plus. My biggest issue is that adventures don’t get to pick their affinity till the silver stage but dungeons have to pick there’s at the beginning? Why? Adventures can ,though rare, get two affinities, dungeons don’t but in this book he kind of does? Which makes no sense.
I’m glad the dungeon is sentient but he is still killing people to get stronger. I was hoping this would be addressed in some way. I suppose I’m just supposed to believe it’s okay to watch people die because they deserve it, so long as the dungeon gets stronger. That’s a messed up theme for a book. The philosophical questions are endless. I suppose this would be like a farmer that named it’s food and made it compete survivor.
You may wonder what’s with all of the pop culture references in a Middle Ages themed book? I did. It makes the dialogue even harder to deal with. Skeleton fight club? Humorous at first, but never allowed the reader to escape to this new world. It’s 20 year old reference. I suppose the dialogue between the dungeon and the fairy was a parody of l love Lucy.
The 20% I liked. Blake and Ryan helping each other out like family. That was funnest part of the whole thing. It doesn’t happen till the end but that was fun.
July 13, 2019
Needs a Stronger Fourth Wall
I spent a good amount of time pondering Bone Dungeon. It borrows a lot of basic elements from the Dungeon Core genre: fairy companion, human soul turned core, human friends, to mention a few. But at least for me, some things do not quite click. The main culprits that stand out: the fairy companion, few unique elements, and constant fourth wall violations.
Erin, the main character’s fairy companion, is ditzy. Honestly, she borders on worthless. Many books tend to overuse the fairy as an exposition dump. Bone Dungeon takes the opposite approach and has Erin explain nearly nothing. She sleeps for over half the book. She’s a nonentity. It would be nice to know why the main character and Erin are in love. It’s taken absolutely for granted. She’s he fairy. He’s the core. So they must be madly in love. It’s not earned at all.
The second flaw is a lack of unique elements. There are very few. Most ideas are taken from the common elements of the genre. It leaves me a little disappointed. The writing is solid. The story is well described. But it feels like a remix of known elements.
The most poignant problem of them all, however, is the jokes that break the fourth wall and reference the real world. They are CONSTANT. I spotted references to Leeroy Jenkins, World of Warcraft, Key and Peele, and Dungeons & Dragons (to name a few). Every single reference yanked me from the experience. The pop culture felt incredibly out of place.
I spent a good amount of time pondering Bone Dungeon. It borrows a lot of basic elements from the Dungeon Core genre: fairy companion, human soul turned core, human friends, to mention a few. But at least for me, some things do not quite click. The main culprits that stand out: the fairy companion, few unique elements, and constant fourth wall violations.
Erin, the main character’s fairy companion, is ditzy. Honestly, she borders on worthless. Many books tend to overuse the fairy as an exposition dump. Bone Dungeon takes the opposite approach and has Erin explain nearly nothing. She sleeps for over half the book. She’s a nonentity. It would be nice to know why the main character and Erin are in love. It’s taken absolutely for granted. She’s he fairy. He’s the core. So they must be madly in love. It’s not earned at all.
The second flaw is a lack of unique elements. There are very few. Most ideas are taken from the common elements of the genre. It leaves me a little disappointed. The writing is solid. The story is well described. But it feels like a remix of known elements.
The most poignant problem of them all, however, is the jokes that break the fourth wall and reference the real world. They are CONSTANT. I spotted references to Leeroy Jenkins, World of Warcraft, Key and Peele, and Dungeons & Dragons (to name a few). Every single reference yanked me from the experience. The pop culture felt incredibly out of place.
December 19, 2019
Spoilers**
A very interesting universe, with many classical dungeon core elements. Worth taking the time to read, and I hope the author provides a sequal to the story!
It begins with the basic core-bound-to-fairy trope: someone died tragically to be reincarnated as a core, and now they must grow in power. His affinity? Darkness. Pleasantly strange, however, is the divine patron of his reincarnation. Hint: NOT a dark god! The MC grinds through the hard path to power, honoring his guiding fairy's wish that he not cross lines quite tempting for dark dungeons which could make humankind uneasy with his continued existence. At first, he simply seeks to continue existing, but Foregoing the easy route has consequences, some of them dangerous. There is a reason rogue dungeons are destroyed, powers that can grow with their aid, and refusing to embrace ruthlessness results in those powers in turn seeking to shatter his diamond core, to take for themselves his power through more direct means.
Im eager to continue with this universe, and hope more books follow quickly after. Jon Smidt has a brilliant sence of timing and pacing, as well as a propendency for puns and quircky sense of humor. Most important however, his world feels VERY cohesive, with at least a sufficently-potentialed branching magic and class system for the human characters. I have the feeling that if the author continues writing in this vein, he may end up being a staple in dungeon core.
A very interesting universe, with many classical dungeon core elements. Worth taking the time to read, and I hope the author provides a sequal to the story!
It begins with the basic core-bound-to-fairy trope: someone died tragically to be reincarnated as a core, and now they must grow in power. His affinity? Darkness. Pleasantly strange, however, is the divine patron of his reincarnation. Hint: NOT a dark god! The MC grinds through the hard path to power, honoring his guiding fairy's wish that he not cross lines quite tempting for dark dungeons which could make humankind uneasy with his continued existence. At first, he simply seeks to continue existing, but Foregoing the easy route has consequences, some of them dangerous. There is a reason rogue dungeons are destroyed, powers that can grow with their aid, and refusing to embrace ruthlessness results in those powers in turn seeking to shatter his diamond core, to take for themselves his power through more direct means.
Im eager to continue with this universe, and hope more books follow quickly after. Jon Smidt has a brilliant sence of timing and pacing, as well as a propendency for puns and quircky sense of humor. Most important however, his world feels VERY cohesive, with at least a sufficently-potentialed branching magic and class system for the human characters. I have the feeling that if the author continues writing in this vein, he may end up being a staple in dungeon core.
June 18, 2025
generously giving it 3 stars. its a weird one as although I was ok to just continue reading, I was often looking forward to a scene change.
it hits EVERY trope I believe:
- Dungeon and fairy fall in love
- Dungeon remembers nothing except the moments is the author needs them to for story reasons
- Evil enemy dungeon
- group of young naive adventures become the dungeon favourites, oh and they all happen to be unique and powerful it turns out
- dumb names / names that are just memes
The power scaling is a little weird too. we set up the complex multi - layers triangular leveling system from bronze all the way to diamond and above, but by the end of the story we're already mid-gold which from what I understand is getting really damn powerful already! the power leveling is clearly and obviously tied to needs of the next story beat with long time skips. 'oh it's been months now and I've been busy and lots of people have died, so now I'm basically gold tier.'
But my real gripe with the story is the complaining! Ryan is just SUCH a god damned whiner!
- doesn't like the fairy (until he does)
- doesn't like dungeon etiquette (which is a weak method to cover obvious solutions and plot holes btw)
- doesn't like the church (a plot point that goes nowhere)
- doesn't like nobles
- did I mention dungeon etiquette? because he does....a lot!
MIGHT give the second book a go just to see if the writing quality improves or not, but expectations are low
it hits EVERY trope I believe:
- Dungeon and fairy fall in love
- Dungeon remembers nothing except the moments is the author needs them to for story reasons
- Evil enemy dungeon
- group of young naive adventures become the dungeon favourites, oh and they all happen to be unique and powerful it turns out
- dumb names / names that are just memes
The power scaling is a little weird too. we set up the complex multi - layers triangular leveling system from bronze all the way to diamond and above, but by the end of the story we're already mid-gold which from what I understand is getting really damn powerful already! the power leveling is clearly and obviously tied to needs of the next story beat with long time skips. 'oh it's been months now and I've been busy and lots of people have died, so now I'm basically gold tier.'
But my real gripe with the story is the complaining! Ryan is just SUCH a god damned whiner!
- doesn't like the fairy (until he does)
- doesn't like dungeon etiquette (which is a weak method to cover obvious solutions and plot holes btw)
- doesn't like the church (a plot point that goes nowhere)
- doesn't like nobles
- did I mention dungeon etiquette? because he does....a lot!
MIGHT give the second book a go just to see if the writing quality improves or not, but expectations are low
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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