Ken returns from the Elven World to another year at Haylon College.Yet, attitudes towards training have changed, the Naga attack has shifted priorities the world over and Ken finds himself and his fellow classmates pushed harder than ever before.The big four colleges no longer are going to focus on survival of their students, it’s time to push them and let the strongest shine.Which would be okay for Ken, if a new problem hadn’t cropped up. A monster that doesn’t appear in any of the records has been stalking him through the dungeon. The answer to it, might actually lie in Crimson’s past.
Born and raised in the agricultural midwest, I moved every year after school even as far as Shanghai before settling down with my wife in Chicago.
I have always enjoyed Wuxia stories and became thrilled when I discovered harem stories spreading to western books. I've written down my day dreams for years as an idle hobby. Inspired by the harem genre I'm finally fleshing them out into full blown novels.
I'm excited to share my stories with you as I turn them into novels and series.
This is fifth in an ongoing series that you should really read in order.
You kind of know what you are getting with this, so I'll just say that we get Crimson's backstory and how she got her [Limit Break] power that makes her so powerful and that Ken then goes on to have a similar experience. Making him powerful in a similar, but different way.
The rest of the story is about starting their second year at Haylon and everybody stepping up due to the Naga menace discovered at the end of book 3. Plus a reinvention of dwarves in an interesting way as another faction they have to mitigate or overcome.
I'm going to go with four stars as some of the relationship stuff enters retread territory along with the action being a little samey. I will admit that Ken's new ability is fascinating, though, and I'm eager to see it develop, along with more story and action.
A note about Steamy: There's more explicit content in this one than some of the others, putting it close to the high end of my steam tolerance. Which is to be expected because Ken finally adds Crimson to his harem (she is, after all, the cover). Frankly, their roleplay got old fast. I skimmed at least a chapter for the eye rolls, contributing to the drop to four stars.
An Incubus Demon Lord, Unique Abilities, & a Dwarven War
Ken is growing his Harem and the dungeon is talking an intrest in him. If he lives and wins, his new ability will be a game changer, but he wil be dieing several times before gaining enough skills to win. Then the Dwarves take an intrest in Ken and try to kill him, then everyone. Can Ken win; will he have crazy sex with Crimson; will the human race live?
The best dungeon diving adult fantasy adventure series out there by far!!!! So many interesting facts and events occurring, least of which is dwarfs are nothing but bugs in disguise !!!!
This series has been good. Read it like I’m watching an anime and it flows perfectly. But this book is by far the top in the series so far. The action and plot have thickened quite a bit. Really looking forward to the next one
So much happens in this episode and secrets come to the surface, a long awaited romantic event finally occurs and Ken's efforts are publicly acknowledged putting him near the top of humanity. But when is that Neko going to quit being shy? Why hasn't Ken made any moves on her, and what kind of unique relationship dynamics will her culture and species bring. Its clear that much of human relationship dynamics have been surprising to her by what does it mean?
The speed of action and the depth/details of the plots are expertly handled. The characters are a complete joy to spend time with and I am very hopeful that there will be many more books in this series. I can say numerous positive things about this series; bottom line, if you haven't read it you are seriously cheating yourself of a wonderful adventure and an amazingly enjoyable experience. Bring on book 6!
We are seeing Ken come into his own, and it's fantastic. Can't wait for the audio. If you've been reading, keep reading. If you haven't, you have to give this series a try.
Devoured this book in about a day. It's probably one of my favorite series. The world he has built is one of my favorites. I've read / am reading other litrpg books with dungeons, and this is still the best. Can't wait for the next book.
If I had to give any sort of criticism it's that Bruce tends to make the Harems too large in some of his other series' I am glad he has taken that slower approach for this series and I hope he doesn't stretch Ken's too much more. Quality over quantity.
These characters are great! Grandpa is a hoot and he is just one of many entertaining personalities! The action is intense with a lot going on. But unfortunately I finished it in a day so it needs to be a little longer!
Title:Dungeon Diving 201: Leveling Up the Story and the Stakes
Introduction: Greetings, fellow adventurers, dungeon delvers, and fur-friends! It’s Kiba Snowpaw, your favorite alpha Ice Wolf hailing from the frostbitten world of HowlStrom, where winters last a century and the howl of the tundra is our battle hymn. As a connoisseur of over 5,000 games and 400 audiobooks, I’ve honed my senses to sniff out the best storytelling. Dungeon Diving 201 by Bruce Sentar is the fifth entry in this series, and let me tell you, it’s a paw-sitively wild ride that levels up in every way. Let’s dive in and dissect this book like a freshly conquered loot chest.
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Basic Plot Summary: Ken returns to Haylon for his second year, but this time, it’s not just about surviving the dungeon—it’s about thriving. With humanity reeling from the Naga invasion, the stakes are higher than ever. The “Big Four” schools have shifted focus, training their students not just to endure but to excel. Yet, amidst the chaos of intensified dungeon diving and rival factions, a new, terrifying monster stalks Ken, and its origins might tie back to Crimson’s shadowy past. Add dwarves with a hive-mind twist and steamy relationship developments, and you’ve got yourself an action-packed installment that doesn’t hold back.
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Originality: Sentar injects fresh life into LitRPG and harem tropes with innovative twists—dwarves as insectoid hive creatures? Yes, please! The blend of school life, dungeon exploration, and relationship-building feels dynamic, never stale. While some themes tread familiar ground, the nuanced character arcs and unique mechanics make it stand out like a legendary drop.
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About the Writer: Bruce Sentar is no stranger to the LitRPG and harem genres, blending them into narratives that balance action, romance, and world-building. Fans of Daniel Schinhofen and Shane Hammond will recognize a kindred spirit in Sentar’s ability to craft compelling characters and immersive universes. However, Sentar’s knack for emotional stakes and interpersonal dynamics gives him a unique edge.
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Analysis/Evaluation:
Character Development:
Main Characters: - Ken: Our protagonist is evolving from a competent dungeon diver into a true leader. His struggles with balancing power, responsibility, and relationships make him relatable despite his growing abilities. His “Limit Break” moment is a highlight, showcasing the culmination of his personal and tactical growth. - Crimson: Finally, we get her backstory, and it’s everything fans hoped for. Crimson’s journey from her shadowy beginnings to her current powerhouse status is deeply satisfying, adding layers to her connection with Ken. - Felin (the Neko): While still shy, Felin’s growing involvement hints at unique cultural dynamics that will likely shake up the group dynamic in future installments.
Supporting Characters: - Bun Bun: The James Bond-esque antics of this thriller-loving rabbit add much-needed comic relief. Who knew a carrot heist could be so high-stakes? - The Dwarves: Their hive-mind nature provides a fresh take on a classic fantasy race, introducing a new layer of complexity to the dungeon ecosystem.
Character Arcs and Relatability: Every character, from Ken to his harem, feels like they’re leveling up—not just in power, but in depth. The emotional stakes are as gripping as the battles, with each relationship developing in ways that feel earned rather than contrived.
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Structure and Mechanics: The pacing is a rollercoaster, with high-octane battles interspersed with quieter, character-driven moments. The LitRPG mechanics remain clear and engaging, with Ken’s new abilities and stats progression offering both excitement and intrigue. However, a few continuity hiccups in power scaling might irk eagle-eyed readers.
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Impact: "Dungeon Diving 201" raises the stakes for both the characters and the series as a whole. The introduction of new races, the escalating dungeon challenges, and the deepening relationships create a rich tapestry that keeps readers hooked.
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Hook and Thesis: The core question—how does one grow stronger while staying true to themselves?—is explored through Ken’s trials and triumphs. The hook lies in the blend of personal and global stakes, making every victory feel meaningful.
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Praise and Critique:
What’s Legendary: - World-Building: From the hive-mind dwarves to the expanding lore of the dungeon, the world feels alive and ever-evolving. - Character Depth: Crimson’s backstory and Ken’s emotional journey add layers of complexity that elevate the narrative. - Action Sequences: The battles are as exhilarating as they are strategic, with Ken’s new abilities adding fresh flavor.
What’s a Missed Loot Drop: - Continuity Errors: Inconsistencies in stats progression and abilities might frustrate detail-oriented readers. - Over-Reliance on Tropes: While well-executed, some harem dynamics feel repetitive. - Minor Pacing Issues: Certain subplots, like the dwarven conflict, could have been fleshed out further.
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Personal Enjoyment: As an alpha Ice Wolf who thrives on both strategy and story, I found this book to be an absolute howl. The mix of high-stakes action, emotional resonance, and innovative world-building kept me hooked. While not without flaws, the sheer enjoyment factor outweighs any minor grievances.
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Highlights and Drawbacks: Highlight: The “Limit Break” scenes are cinematic in their intensity, showcasing both character and combat brilliance. Drawback: Some relationships feel like they’re grinding XP rather than progressing organically.
Overall Conclusion: "Dungeon Diving 201" is a standout entry in the series, delivering a compelling mix of action, emotion, and world-building. It’s a must-read for fans of LitRPG and harem genres, offering a satisfying continuation of Ken’s journey while setting the stage for even greater challenges ahead.
This continues to be one of my favorite book series. The concept of following a dungeon crawling team through their development and watching the level up skills and abilities as the farm the dungeon takes me back to all the nights and weekends I spent as a kid doing the same things with my favorite video game RPGs. The development of Ken and Crimsons’ relationship, both as a fighting duo and as a couple, continues to add interesting depth to the book. The introduction of the two new races, including avery interesting Hive concept for the dwarves, continues to allow for expansion of the conflicts that Ken has to manage and provides escalating difficulties for the characters to have to overcome. Ken continues to grow in his ability, the smoke panther story line was a fun way to give him a difficult but achievable boss fight, and is starting to show how he can command both a fight and a diplomatic interaction. I am excited to see what will happen as we see further introduction of interactions with the Nekorians and the role Felin will play in the group, especially as we will likely see a slow transition of Harley out of the group to create her own team. I like the introduction of new characters and what the does to add extra dimensions to the team but trying not to lose the heart of the old team is always a challenge. I can’t wait for the next adventure for Ken and his dungeon crew. The big raid is on the horizon and I am excited to see what this entails, especially as his new ability begins to shape his choices.
I enjoyed this book, there was one part where I'm certain that a paragraph was missing. The author is using more first person views of other characters. Bun-bun the rabbit who loves watching James Bond spy movies goes on a mission to get some forgotten carrots out of the kitchen which he is forbidden entering. All of these books take off where the last book ends. We are in the second semester of school. Because Ken drive and Crimson's teaching excelling in dungeon diving has really caught on and the first years class has already caught up with the second years class. The four main dungeon diving schools have decided to kick things up a notch. The Naga invasion has awoken the humans with the knowledge that without Crimson there would have been a full on invasion of earth, with hardly anyone strong enough to stop them. So the schools have been tasked with preparing the next generation to help meet this challenge. The last book introduced Nekorains, a cat like people who also share the dungeon. Felin a neko shaman starts to spend lots of time with Ken, and we are introduced to dwarves. The main romance is between Ken and Crimson.
This book gets a 5 star review because it is just that good. There are alot of funny moments, romantic moments, sexy times, action (fighting), and strategizing before fights, during fights, and after fights. This book definitely keeps reader reading up to the very end and ends with the reader excited for the next book. Every book in this series is like that. The author keeps it entertaining to read and manages to throw in different events that occur throughout the book to make the story different enough that it doesn't feel quite like a repeat of the previous books. I personally thought the part where Bun-Bun pretends to be Secret Agent BB just to sneak into the kitchen to steal leftover carrots from dinner. I thought it hilarious that he treats it like he's on a mission to save the world.
This book continues a very good series with another strong entry. Ken and Crimson finally gets more traction. There is tons of combat. There are some decent intimate scenes.
The only minor negatives are that it certainly feels like the harem may grow to the point that it is too big, and the MC is getting too OP. There are signs that several more harem members are in the wings. The author did a neat method to get others time with the MC, but at the expense of the existing harem members. And too many combat scenes were the MC soloing things or the MC more than dominant in the fight. It often feels less like a party and more "watch the MC be awesome" scenes. And that's a shame.
It's still a 5 star book, but there are cracks forming in its awesomeness.
I think this is the least liked / enjoyed series of the author I read. He (the author) usually has the protag getting strong by using some ability. This is just a meh guy, nothing special (to me). Don't care for the secret ninja things.
If I didn't like the author, I would have dropped this by now. It's not the OP protag, or someone who uses an ability in an unseen way I've come to know and love from the author.
Meh.
I didn't pay attention to the stats much, but I thought it would have been stated?
Mr. Sentar delivers an excellent book, as usual. I stay interested because of the non cookie- cutter Classes, the interaction between characters, and so much room to grow the guild as well as developing the family. If there is a con, it's the Dwarven race. I'm a bit unhappy with this take but it is a unique idea (sorry but I started playing D&D 40+ years ago then many MMORPG and Dwarves have always been close to my heart). I didn't look but it felt like this was much shorter than other books but that could be to non-stop reading.
lots of excitement with assassins, a powerful dungeon nemesis and then dwarves
The MC and his harem and class continue to level as they continue to dive the dungeon. They face candy monsters, the remnants of the adversarial ninja clan, a powerful dungeon monster that keeps defeating the MC and finally a war with dwarves. Whats so interesting is that the dwarves are not your everyday fantasy dwarves but an interesting spin on the concept.
Finally Crimson gets what she’s been hungering for. Oh yes and the felinis shaman cant wait to have the MC Ken prove that he is worthy to mate with her. This could be the end of the story, but maybe not. We’ll see.
This latest episode in Sentar's Dungeon Diving series starts Ken's second school year. It was easy to get back into the series and a very comfortable listen. As expected in this genre there isn't anything deep about the story, it's not literature but still excellent entertainment from one of the top tier writers in the genre (Let's say A tier, I haven't seen any S tier writers yet for harem rpg lit). The story wasn't as epic as some of the previous episodes, but did propel Ken's abilities forward quite a bit, nicely resolving some of the disparities with e.g. Crimson that I mentioned in my previous review.
For me I continue to enjoy this story. it has lots of action and interaction by the characters. the characters I'll bring something to the story and I like the way they interact with each other and I like the way they interact with each other. the punctuation is good and the story flows in a good manner. the story is a great to read on a lazy afternoon or just for some plain old fashioned entertainment. I will continue to read the series and hope the next book comes out soon.
By now I know what I'm getting with these books, and this gives less of two elements I disliked: Harley and Grandpa. In this installment Ken is finally closing on the potential he's supposed to have.
Good progress is made in some ways, but there were still some bits I didn't enjoy so much, hence it fails to clear the 5 star barrier. It remains interesting enough for me to read the next one, so we'll see what that has to offer when it appears in a few months. I'm recovering from a nasty gastro bug, so that's all I have for this one.
It’s time to start 2nd school year at Haylon and return to the dungeon grind. This time Ken is being targeted by a mysterious panther and dwarves (for some reason). Ken is back with his harem (minus Elysara) and getting closer with Crimson. Ken is starting to show his power and potential, which is nice. I’m slightly concerned how big this harem will grow in the end, but so far I’m digging the management. Overall this was a solid addition to series, and I’m looking forward to continuing with the next volume.
Awaiting next in series with bated breath, thus book is a wonderful addition to the DD series, well worth the money (and when it is released the audible price for the audio book.) this one focuses on Ken's relationship w/ Crimson and brings back two other characters, who i hope will join the harem. the battle at the end is well thought out and Ken's harem grows, although not to the '74 wives' that someone continues writing about, although I would not be surprised if he does end up with them and others, by the end of the series.
Oof! If you ever needed a series that reads like a D&D Campaign, congrats you've found it!
Spoilers, Darling.
Holy crap, I did not expect the dwarves to come out of left field like that! I wonder if there are other kinds of dwarves too, or if it's just the ant ones. They sound more like monsters than humanoid- even the Naga were more intelligent. I really enjoyed the imagery during the fights though, and I'm so glad he's got an ability now too!
Ken must go up against extreme odds an overcome the challenges that set before him .
Ken himself training the whole time during the summer break from the Hayden Academy while in the elf empire . Which time he expands his harem by marrying the elf princess his third wife . Upon returning to Hayden he is set upon by a old rival that tries to kill him . Then as that isn't enough the dungeon sets a panther against him as a trial of the fittest kill the panther or the panther kills him . All the while continuing to level an get stronger . recommend reading excellent series .
This fifth part of the adventures of Ken and his friends amazed me again, almost as much as in the first volume. This author is definitely inventive, absolutely free, and without ever taking himself seriously. Beyond the expectations of the readers (leveling up of Ken and his ladies, fights, hot scenes, new dungeons, new enemies, new allies) we also find some nuggets like a short passage in which Bun Bun, a mutant rabbit fan of thrillers, plays James Bond for the time of a carrot theft (as part of a mission to save the world, of course). Excellent entertainment, often funny, always fun.
Senate's Dungeon Diving enters it's sophomore year with this one
And a glorious year it may be if this fifth book is any indication. The editing is professional, the writing continues to be top quality, with excitement followed by slice of life in endless (or so one hopes) repetition. This is one of the few harem series (along with Ard, Dragon's Justice and one of a handful of others) you can share with, shall we say, the more vanilla girlfriends. She'll likely enjoy it.