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Starter Zone Survivor #2
The Beginner Dungeon War
Caleb Vale escaped the tutorial. The tutorial followed him out.
For seven years, Caleb survived Green Hollow with a starter knife, bad tools, and worse instructions. Now he is free, Level 18, marked by a restricted class, and officially under Framework review.
His sister Mira is alive.
She is also bound to the White Hand Order, hidden somewhere inside the First Tower network, and protected by contracts Caleb is forbidden to break.
The System gives him one instruction:
Do not pursue her.
Caleb has never trusted bad instructions.
Before he can leave Grayford, the beginner dungeons begin to fail. Slimes learn tactics. Goblins remember resets. Safe zones become traps. Low-level quests turn into death sentences, and towns that depend on starter dungeons are being swallowed one by one.
The guild wants containment. The nobles want control. The Framework wants correction.
Caleb wants a path east.
To earn one, he must teach civilians and low-rank adventurers how to survive a war no high-rank champion understands.
Because everyone else cleared the tutorial.
Caleb survived it.
The Beginner Dungeon War is Book 2 of the Starter Zone Survivor series—an action-forward LitRPG progression fantasy featuring tactical combat, corrupted dungeon rules, earned power, skill evolution, and a survivor who has mastered the basics far beyond their intended limits.
For seven years, Caleb survived Green Hollow with a starter knife, bad tools, and worse instructions. Now he is free, Level 18, marked by a restricted class, and officially under Framework review.
His sister Mira is alive.
She is also bound to the White Hand Order, hidden somewhere inside the First Tower network, and protected by contracts Caleb is forbidden to break.
The System gives him one instruction:
Do not pursue her.
Caleb has never trusted bad instructions.
Before he can leave Grayford, the beginner dungeons begin to fail. Slimes learn tactics. Goblins remember resets. Safe zones become traps. Low-level quests turn into death sentences, and towns that depend on starter dungeons are being swallowed one by one.
The guild wants containment. The nobles want control. The Framework wants correction.
Caleb wants a path east.
To earn one, he must teach civilians and low-rank adventurers how to survive a war no high-rank champion understands.
Because everyone else cleared the tutorial.
Caleb survived it.
The Beginner Dungeon War is Book 2 of the Starter Zone Survivor series—an action-forward LitRPG progression fantasy featuring tactical combat, corrupted dungeon rules, earned power, skill evolution, and a survivor who has mastered the basics far beyond their intended limits.
447 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 7, 2026
Different
Okay, first the writing is good. I like the characters and the storyline. Caleb is amazing. I believe he is wartime traumatized but is focused and on task. He also refuses to compromise which is admirable but hinders future survival odds. My main gripe is the lack of any information on this worlds history and how Caleb and his sister entered the beginner tutorial. Where is their family and why did nobody in the town know them prior to tutorial entry. This lack reduces the emotional impact. Thanks for entertaining me for a while!
Okay, first the writing is good. I like the characters and the storyline. Caleb is amazing. I believe he is wartime traumatized but is focused and on task. He also refuses to compromise which is admirable but hinders future survival odds. My main gripe is the lack of any information on this worlds history and how Caleb and his sister entered the beginner tutorial. Where is their family and why did nobody in the town know them prior to tutorial entry. This lack reduces the emotional impact. Thanks for entertaining me for a while!
October 6, 2026
This book has me conflicted. If it was written by a human they need to get themselves checked for some serious issues, if it was written by AI then the human race is doomed! This book is a combination of fever dream and acid trip, its just insane.
Caleb's responses are just sublime, here are just a few of my favourites:
Did you just ask the cat for an operational report?"
"She withholds information."
"She is a cat."
"That is not a defense."
"People will complain."
"Good. Complaining people are breathing."
Ten minutes if we run like fools."
"Do not run like fools," Caleb said. "Run like people who want knees tomorrow."
Those are just some of them and they make the book bearable as the story is unhinged and rambling and quite honestly doesnt make much sense. I feel like I need to wash my brain to recover from what this has put me through. Quite a few discrepancies, like the cat changes from a she to a he to an it on a regular basis, and people appear that werent there before but that is par for the course in this fever dream.
I honestly dont know if I can get to the third one or not. Its certainly a wild ride but unfortunately I do think its AI due to all the weirdness.
Caleb's responses are just sublime, here are just a few of my favourites:
Did you just ask the cat for an operational report?"
"She withholds information."
"She is a cat."
"That is not a defense."
"People will complain."
"Good. Complaining people are breathing."
Ten minutes if we run like fools."
"Do not run like fools," Caleb said. "Run like people who want knees tomorrow."
Those are just some of them and they make the book bearable as the story is unhinged and rambling and quite honestly doesnt make much sense. I feel like I need to wash my brain to recover from what this has put me through. Quite a few discrepancies, like the cat changes from a she to a he to an it on a regular basis, and people appear that werent there before but that is par for the course in this fever dream.
I honestly dont know if I can get to the third one or not. Its certainly a wild ride but unfortunately I do think its AI due to all the weirdness.
September 12, 2026
Please get an editor! This could be so much better!
This is a powerful tale, lots of good worldbuilding, strong characters, and difficult situations.
Unfortunately it's let down by inconsistencies, continuity errors, and such simple things as swapping the gender of a cat every other chapter!
If the author can just get this edited and fix up these errors this would be a much better book!
This is a powerful tale, lots of good worldbuilding, strong characters, and difficult situations.
Unfortunately it's let down by inconsistencies, continuity errors, and such simple things as swapping the gender of a cat every other chapter!
If the author can just get this edited and fix up these errors this would be a much better book!
October 2, 2026
almost irritating
This book revels in being obscure while claiming exactitude. In the right frame of mind this is fun; otherwise it is hard work. Very many short sentences, where the result is not exactly clarity. The whole is a fight against the establishment, with characters steadily adding themselves to the cause. I am unsure if I can face another volume. I have recently read other work in this style and binned all the later volumes with no regret.
This book revels in being obscure while claiming exactitude. In the right frame of mind this is fun; otherwise it is hard work. Very many short sentences, where the result is not exactly clarity. The whole is a fight against the establishment, with characters steadily adding themselves to the cause. I am unsure if I can face another volume. I have recently read other work in this style and binned all the later volumes with no regret.
September 12, 2026
Hmm
I nearly didn’t finish this. It is the first book I have read that has really struck me as being heavily AI reliant. The author seems to be aping the style of Lee Child in terms of short, direct sentences, but rather than being used as occasional stylistic punctuation it becomes overwhelming and really quite tedious. I wanted to like the book, but couldn’t.
I nearly didn’t finish this. It is the first book I have read that has really struck me as being heavily AI reliant. The author seems to be aping the style of Lee Child in terms of short, direct sentences, but rather than being used as occasional stylistic punctuation it becomes overwhelming and really quite tedious. I wanted to like the book, but couldn’t.
September 27, 2026
The Beginner Dungeon War, book two of the Starter Zone Survivor series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). The story line has evolved from Caleb trapped in a tutorial to Caleb finds himself the most prepared for the dungeons and monsters switching things up. I like this better than the 1st book.
August 27, 2026
it’s okay
I won’t go beyond this book. When I can skip chapters and nothing makes be go back to find out what I missed….just not enough to keep me curious about what’s going to happen next.
I won’t go beyond this book. When I can skip chapters and nothing makes be go back to find out what I missed….just not enough to keep me curious about what’s going to happen next.
August 28, 2026
I can't
This gets 5 stars because it is well written and represents hyper vigilant and ptsd well. But I can't keep reading this story. It's like being back inside a ptsd episode and an anxiety attack all rolled into one. If you can read it, it's a good read. I can't, I'm out
This gets 5 stars because it is well written and represents hyper vigilant and ptsd well. But I can't keep reading this story. It's like being back inside a ptsd episode and an anxiety attack all rolled into one. If you can read it, it's a good read. I can't, I'm out
September 22, 2026
Really enjoyed this
The other negative reviews i think are too focussed on the wrong parts. I find this one clever, it carries on from where we left off but builds on the ideas of the last, focussing on not following rules etc ... very maliciously. I very much enjoyed it.
The other negative reviews i think are too focussed on the wrong parts. I find this one clever, it carries on from where we left off but builds on the ideas of the last, focussing on not following rules etc ... very maliciously. I very much enjoyed it.
July 30, 2026
This series is like Alice in wonderland is playing dnd while stoned and final destination is playing in the background.
Read
August 31, 2026This series is weird.
October 1, 2026
Not good
This is a bad book with no other way to put it. The story was there but the writing was not. There were too many things that just did not make sence
This is a bad book with no other way to put it. The story was there but the writing was not. There were too many things that just did not make sence
October 3, 2026
It got old fast
Pretty fatiguing to read the way it is written. I’m willing to take it as a personal failing, but I’ll read something else now.
Pretty fatiguing to read the way it is written. I’m willing to take it as a personal failing, but I’ll read something else now.
October 15, 2026
Clearly ai slop. How did this get published?
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews