The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites

by L.E. Bendon

Melisma Gat had put any ideas of a career in magic and adventure behind her long ago. Now all she wants is to run her inn, entertain locals and tourists, and provide that one final decent night’s sleep for adventurers (whether seasoned pros or hopeful trainees) before they head off into the forest for whatever ridiculously dangerous quest some rich idiot from the nearby city of Twunhorm has decided to fund.

But Melisma’s modest and reasonable ambitions suddenly become a lot less realistic when her nightly performance is interrupted by two large creatures bursting into her inn. The city has declared emergency lockdown and it falls upon her to lead a party of trainees off the script of their final examination quest and halfway up an imposing mountain, so that she can get back to her simple life and, if it’s not too much to ask, save most of the city’s population from being devoured, torn to shreds, or whatever the unleashed magical hybrid creatures have in mind.

Why halfway up a mountain? They’ll just have to ask the villain when they get there. Maybe she doesn’t believe you can have high fantasy at sea level. To find out, Melisma is first going to have to lead her inexperienced team to overcome obstacles, defeat henchmen, solve riddles and avoid being eaten. All she has at her disposal are distant memories of her incomplete training, knowledge of a few simple spells, a couple of books she barely remembers buying and the unreliable translation skills of her pampered pet cat.

Discworld meets Knightmare on a planet with purple plants, a magic system inspired by music theory, and adventure questing as a serious field of academia. The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites has all of the quirky humour you’ve come to expect from the author of The Weapon and the Fruit series, but with added satire and no murders.

ebook

Published August 7, 2026

About the author

L. E. Bendon was born in 1983 and wishes Terry Pratchett were still not dead.

He had built quite a satisfying musician’s life for himself up until 2020 when it was suddenly on hold, for reasons we can all remember, and so he put the compulsory free time to use. Thus began his fiction output with the detective series – The Weapon and the Fruit. This is his first foray outside of that series and of the whole crime/mystery genre, but he promises there is plenty more of Lance Pomegranate, and plenty more fantasy still to come.

L.E. Bendon is from London, living in South India, where most people know him as a saxophonist who spends an awful lot of his spare time writing novels on his laptop in cafés. Prior to his debut novel in 2025 all of his published work has been sheet music, one example of which is included on the 2026 ABRSM Grade 8 Saxophone syllabus. He speaks a few languages well enough not to be confused or misled while abroad, though not well enough to translate his own books just yet. He loves cats but really prefers tortoises.

He hasn't settled on what L.E. stands for. It is just a pen name after all. Perhaps he'll give a different response each time he is asked, always choosing names that are significant to him. For now, it can be Ludicrous Enterprise.

Reviews

[Strivery12]

The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites is a very unusual fantasy adventure set in a completely different world, filled with magical abilities, unique creatures, different kinds of magicians, mysteries, and puzzles.

What I enjoyed the most about the book was its riddles and mystery-solving aspect. The characters have to solve puzzles and unlock different levels as they progress through their journey, and I genuinely found myself enjoying these challenges along with them.

The world-building is quite distinctive, with its own rules, creatures, magical systems, and characters. It can take some time to get familiar with everything because there are many new concepts introduced, but once I settled into the world, the adventure became much more engaging.

There are also some fun and quirky moments among the more serious parts of the story, which gave the book a nice balance.

Ironically, this book initially put me into a reading slump, but it was also the book that eventually pulled me out of that reading slump. Once the puzzles and mysteries started catching my attention, I found myself wanting to continue and discover what would happen next.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and appreciated how different the story was from the usual fantasy books.

I would recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy worlds, magical characters, unusual creatures, riddles, puzzles, mysteries, and adventure.

[Charlie]

What an absolutely fantastic fun book!!

The Dungeon Campaign For Animal Rites follows Melisma Gat, the manager and performer at the Ten Shift Inn and a group of newbie adventurers trying to save the city of Twunhorm from hybrid animals. She has the help of her obese sassy cat Potato 🥔 and Miss Treated an equally sassy cat they rescue along the way!

When I saw the cover for this book I honestly had no idea what I was starting to read, but I love the weird and wonderful and trust me, this is the weird and wonderful!

I couldn’t not be hooked from the start of this book when you’ve got some kind of tortoise/tiger hybrid meowing and talking to a cat called potato who is translating. I honestly absolutely love potato with all my heart, yes we still love you now potato!!

All of the challenges in the mountain were fantastic and very original, it would be easy to get an idea from over books but they were brilliant!

There wasn’t a moment in this book that I rushed over or got bored with and it’s honestly the most fun I’ve had reading a book in years! Pleaseeeeeeeee let there be a book number 2!

Thank you to L.E Bendon you’ve done it again with an amazing story!

[Prithi]

It was quite an unique read for me.

The basic premise is that an evil magician has released several dangerous animals into the town that were supposed to be confined within a forest. It now falls to an innkeeper and a group of six novice adventurers, who have never taken part in any campaign before, to defeat the evil magician and restore the order disturbed by these dangerous animals.

I loved the characters, and I really enjoyed the obstacles and puzzles the group had to solve to move their journey forward, especially the creative ways they came up with their solutions. However, the story is occasionally slowed down by info dumps; I would have liked a more crisp and consistent pace.

There is an underlying political satire and commentary, and by the end, you will even feel for the antagonist, as her motivations make sense on some level. The tone draws inspiration from the likes of Terry Pratchett.

Try this if you like adventuring through obstacles and a morally grey antagonist, also did I mention we have two talking cats. I love potato...

[Note: Physical ARC was provided by the author and the publisher in exchange of an honest review]

[Amanda Felton]

Thank you to you LBT for having me on this book review tour and for my gifted copy of this epub.


This was such a really unique book for me. Like nothing over ever read before. I did enjoy it though.

This book is a set in a completely differing word and is fantasy with tsk many different creatures. I mean had it all from magicians but also so much mystery and very unique characters.

There was a lot of world building in this book and it was well done and very detailed which I like in q book for sure.

I did find this book at times had a lot of information thrown at you and it did take me some time to process and at points I thought was a bit overwhelming but it didn’t take away from the book at all.

I also really liked The Chelouroi that were thrown into this book I felt like they were a great addition and so memorable!! I would have liked more of them.

I loved the imagination that went into this book it takes a really creative person to be able to pull this type of book off and this author definitely succeeded!!

Overall this was quite a different read but something I enjoyed nonetheless!!

[Sara-Jane Keenan]

For some reason, I thought this was a children’s fantasy book based on the cover but I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was in fact very much a satire fantasy for adults.

In this book we join Melisma, owner of the Ten Shift Inn, as she leads a group of trainee adventurers halfway up a mountain to battle the evil villain and save the city.

I think that this is the first satire fantasy that I’ve read. It was a funny and quirky read with strange and wonderful hybrid creatures and an exciting quest filled with puzzles and challenges. Plus I’m always happy when there’s a sassy cat in a book and I loved Potato.

The author does a great job at building this curious new world and its magic system. The world building could be a little on the heavy side at times, so the pacing didn’t flow as well as I would have preferred but I wouldn’t let that put you off diving into this world and joining the quest to save the city.

Overall, I rate this 3.5⭐️

[Pree&Vi]

I saw that this book was for fans of Discworld, and I had to read it! It did not disappoint - it had crazy world building, quirky humour, satire, and a cool quest.

I liked all the six adventurers, but my favourite characters were the two cats. Potato 🥔🐈 just had so much personality and sass, I just wanted to read more about him. And once Miss Treated joined the party, it was even more fun 😂

I enjoyed the quest, the various levels, and the courtroom scene towards the end.

I would have loved it even more if it had more character development and we had seen more of the friendships and relationships between the heroes.

[Melissa]

The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites is a fun book to read! It takes some creativity and imagination to build a world with all the characters and creatures that L.E. Bendon did. Plus, there were a lot of funny bits that made me laugh. I really hope this is not the last we’ve heard from Melisma Gat, Potato, Miss Treated, and the rest of the gang! It’s a a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me!

[Ellie]

Note: I had the pleasure of beta-reading this book. The copy I read was supplied for free by the author during the revisions stage and may not be exactly the same as the published copy when it becomes available. I'm grateful to the author for sharing their work with me, but that has not coloured my review in any way.

I've read a few books by L. E. Bendon now and I enjoy his voice very much. He always threads humour through his books with skill and ease, and his casts are always fascinating. This was a new venture, with the author stepping into fantasy and me reading my first new fantasy book in a long time.

The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites did not disappoint. Everything about this book reminded me why I adore fantasy.

The worldbuilding is both rich and flexible, taking a DnD-style approach where a very clever DM feeds you enough details to create a real, immersive world, while leaving some elements open-ended so that you can use your imagination... and aren't hit with an info-dump that leaves you bored.

The characters - something L. E Bendon always handles so well - are as quirky as always, with magic-users who can't wear shoes, talking (and very sarcastic) cats called Potato and an adventuring party with pink, green, and whole rainbows of skin colours. But they're not just classic fantasy archetypes, in spite of the party set up. Instead, Bendon brings a modern twist, introducing adventures without gendered pronouns. When fantasy can sometimes stick close to established roles, this is a refreshing change.

And then there's the humour, expertly woven into the story. From dialogue that pits adventuring party against cats (we all know whose going to win there, right?) to sharp satire, Bendon takes on everything from henchmen to tropes to classic British TV in his parodies. No one is safe!

Worldbuilding, characters, plot and humour all hit the spot perfectly! So what impression are we left with?

A flexible, modern, Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy world meets a sharp, satirical, Pratchett-esque narration and a cast of quirky, diverse characters that could only belong to L.E. Bendon. This may be my favourite fantasy read of the decade.

(Yes, I'm quoted on the cover, so I had to say the line)

[Naturalbri (Bri Wignall)]

Blurb

Melisma Gat had put any ideas of a career in magic and adventure behind her long ago. Now all she wants is to run her inn, entertain locals and tourists, and provide that one final decent night’s sleep for adventurers (whether seasoned pros or hopeful trainees) before they head off into the forest for whatever ridiculously dangerous quest some rich idiot from the nearby city of Twunhorm has decided to fund.


But Melisma’s modest and reasonable ambitions suddenly become a lot less realistic when her nightly performance is interrupted by two large creatures bursting into her inn. The city has declared emergency lockdown and it falls upon her to lead a party of trainees off the script of their final examination quest and halfway up an imposing mountain, so that she can get back to her simple life, and if it’s not too much to ask, save most of the city’s population from being devoured, torn to shreds, or whatever the unleashed magical hybrid creatures have in mind.


Why half way up a mountain? They’ll just have to ask the villain when they get there. Maybe she doesn’t believe you can have high fantasy at sea level. To find out, Melisma is first going to have to lead her inexperienced team to overcome obstacles, defeat henchmen, solve riddles and avoid being eaten. All she has at her disposal are distant memories of her incomplete training, knowledge of a few simple spells, a couple of books she barely remembers buying and the unreliable translation skills of her pampered pet cat.

[Jordana James]

Thank you to L. E. Bendon for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rights is a fantasy adventure that feels inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, with a party made up of familiar roles such as a magician, healer and thief. Together they embark on a quest to save the city, facing dangerous creatures, and relying on teamwork to overcome each new challenge.

I found the opening slower than I usually prefer. There was a lot of world-building to absorb, and it took me a while to connect with the story. Once the party came together and the adventure properly began, I found myself much more engaged and enjoyed following the group as they tackled each obstacle.

The Chelouroi were also a fun and memorable addition to the story, and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between them and the more dangerous creatures the party encountered. Potato is hilarious, he’s what I’d expect most cats to be like if they could speak.

While this wasn’t a book that completely captured my attention from the very beginning, I can appreciate the imagination that has gone into creating the world and its characters. I think readers who enjoy Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy, quirky creatures and adventure-filled quests will find plenty to enjoy here.

[Charlotte]

If there's one good thing that came out 2020, it's Bendon deciding to write books. His writing style is so unique that I can't help but love it. The only thing missing from this one is a map, but to be honest I think all books should have a map, even if its just of Tesco.

Bendon has built a complete and fascinating world, with some similarities to earth, and just as many differences. The animals are fantastic but I hope I never meet an arachnopotamus! But this book is more than just fabulous world building. There's adventure, humour, friendship and magic. I always think we need more whimsy in life, and this book hit the spot perfectly!

[Heather Prewitt]

This book was a riot of fun and creativity! Full of entertaining puzzles, witty battles, jokes that never miss, and talking cats! The world is so unique, with villains straight out of a hilarious Dr. Who episode if it were written by Terry Pratchett. Bendon's humor is dialed up to 10, and his usual themes of self-acceptance, compassion, and redemption are 11/10. If you're into turtle-tigers, talking cats, and Terry Pratchett, run and don't walk to get your hands on this gem!

[Disha Halder]

The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites by L.E. Bendon is a unique blend of fantasy, adventure, and compassion. Beyond its magical creatures and action packed journey, the story explores themes of empathy, courage, and standing up for those who cannot speak for themselves. The imaginative world and diverse characters keep the story engaging, while the underlying message gives it emotional depth. If you enjoy fantasy with heart and a meaningful purpose, this book is worth picking up.

[Stacy Bradley]

The initial chapters carry a heavy ammount of world building but it setsup for the adventure and quests to come, gives off the vibe of the dungeon crawler carl books. I struggled at first to get into it but i pushed through it, it does test your attention span but carry on stick with it. Its a clever parody for gaming fans, its imaginative, has sharp humour, solid creative comedic, whimisical cozy fantasy read.

[ChanaReadsHorror]

This book was just fun all around. It made me feel like I was reading a choose your own adventure book with the characters, puzzles, and quests they were on, without having to worry I would make the wrong choices for them. The world and character building were great and I was hooked from the start and I really hope there is more to this story as I would love to go back to this world.

[Brandi]

While this book was imaginative and had a lot of originality, it just wasn't my cup of tea. It was written well and is a very unique concept, i just wasn't really feeling it. I do think my own mood affected it and I may come back to it later. Like I said, it's a very imaginative story, just not for me right now. I do think that a lot of other people will enjoy it though.

[Nikita Palmer]

Thank you to the author for giving me the ARC for this book! I didn’t know what to expect, especially after seeing the cover art. But it was all things weird and wonderful!
I found it funny in parts as well as being intrigued by the adventure we went on with the characters. I loved the concept and I’m excited to see what comes next!