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The Divine Dungeon #4
Dungeon Desolation
Auras empowering the body to superhuman status. Invocations tearing the land asunder. The war has arrived.
The necromantic armies are on the warpath and nowhere is safe—even the sanctuary of the flying dungeon has been threatened. The leadership of nearly all the sentient races has been wiped out, and only the people most suited to repelling the advancing darkness have an intact monarchy.
Cal learns quickly that the primary threat is not the far-off war, but the actions of those entrusted with protecting the population. As it turns out, the idea of using a flying dungeon as a war machine is very tempting indeed.
Dale has been facing his trials better than anyone could have hoped for, but when the war takes a turn for the worse, his role is forcibly relinquished. Since his only chance at survival is painful and rapid advancement, Dale must learn if his strength of will can develop into strength of flesh.
The distance between the Heavens and the Earth might not be so far after all.
The necromantic armies are on the warpath and nowhere is safe—even the sanctuary of the flying dungeon has been threatened. The leadership of nearly all the sentient races has been wiped out, and only the people most suited to repelling the advancing darkness have an intact monarchy.
Cal learns quickly that the primary threat is not the far-off war, but the actions of those entrusted with protecting the population. As it turns out, the idea of using a flying dungeon as a war machine is very tempting indeed.
Dale has been facing his trials better than anyone could have hoped for, but when the war takes a turn for the worse, his role is forcibly relinquished. Since his only chance at survival is painful and rapid advancement, Dale must learn if his strength of will can develop into strength of flesh.
The distance between the Heavens and the Earth might not be so far after all.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2018
1743 people are currently reading
1130 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Krout
76 books2,871 followersAuthor of the best-selling Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles, and Full Murderhobo series, Dakota Krout was chosen as Audible's top 5 fantasy pick of 2017, has been a top 5 bestseller on Amazon, and a top 6 bestseller on Audible.
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 232 reviews
November 7, 2018
Guess I'm the only one who didn't love this book.
For me, this book basically killed the series. First it destroys a bunch of established rules. Such as "essence" not being used up but being drawn back into the body after the cultivator used it. Now it's used up and people need to refill. It also ignores how essence was supposedly being "generated" rather than a constant. We see that in book two where the underground river he finds is concerned.
All of this is a setup for the absolutely atrocious ending. One of the most cliche and personally most hated ones. I've seen this twist used so often and it's always complete and utter trash.
Add in that the book is basically NOT about the dungeon. The ratio of Dale versus Cal is about 3/1 in favour of Dale and this was the weakest installment of the series by a large margin that completely threw out consistency and established rules for some cheap "GOTCHA!".
For me, this book basically killed the series. First it destroys a bunch of established rules. Such as "essence" not being used up but being drawn back into the body after the cultivator used it. Now it's used up and people need to refill. It also ignores how essence was supposedly being "generated" rather than a constant. We see that in book two where the underground river he finds is concerned.
All of this is a setup for the absolutely atrocious ending. One of the most cliche and personally most hated ones. I've seen this twist used so often and it's always complete and utter trash.
Add in that the book is basically NOT about the dungeon. The ratio of Dale versus Cal is about 3/1 in favour of Dale and this was the weakest installment of the series by a large margin that completely threw out consistency and established rules for some cheap "GOTCHA!".
August 2, 2022
Not the best
I really have enjoyed this author, but this book is not as well constructed as the first three books. The story feels rushed and cobbled together. The first three books had a destination while this book starts with an idea then veers off to the left and then to the right. It was a hard book to finish. Even though I really loved the other three books. I’ve really enjoyed his other series the ritualist, but because of this book I’m afraid of what will happen in that series. You can’t always introduce more and more overpowered characters to solve ever increasing conflicts to the story.
If you want specifics as to why it wasn’t a great read continue reading.
This book felt like a dragonball episode. The overall conflict doesn’t fundamentally change from the first 3 books to this book, just the name and awesomeness of the bad guy. So the main characters have to become more and more overpowered to compensate for the new bad guy. Which In turn makes the next conflict even more over the top than the last. Death has no meaning, or emotional impact on this story. Nor does it seem to have an affect on the characters. Development of the main and side characters, is shoddy and doesn’t amount to anything. Pointless characters roam in the background, and I need to say it one more time, death has no impact on the story.
I really have enjoyed this author, but this book is not as well constructed as the first three books. The story feels rushed and cobbled together. The first three books had a destination while this book starts with an idea then veers off to the left and then to the right. It was a hard book to finish. Even though I really loved the other three books. I’ve really enjoyed his other series the ritualist, but because of this book I’m afraid of what will happen in that series. You can’t always introduce more and more overpowered characters to solve ever increasing conflicts to the story.
If you want specifics as to why it wasn’t a great read continue reading.
This book felt like a dragonball episode. The overall conflict doesn’t fundamentally change from the first 3 books to this book, just the name and awesomeness of the bad guy. So the main characters have to become more and more overpowered to compensate for the new bad guy. Which In turn makes the next conflict even more over the top than the last. Death has no meaning, or emotional impact on this story. Nor does it seem to have an affect on the characters. Development of the main and side characters, is shoddy and doesn’t amount to anything. Pointless characters roam in the background, and I need to say it one more time, death has no impact on the story.
December 17, 2018
Just When It Can't Get Any Sillier
For me the book series has definitely jumped the shark.
I loved the initial concept of a sentient dungeon managing itself and the challenges it presented to adventurers.
And the magic system tied with meditation, essence and mana, tied into a variety of elements and concepts to discover a personal guiding law, was interesting and started out developing in a rational way.
But now Cal (the dungeon) is flying an entire mountain around. Dale (his human half, after a goofy time travel scheme from last book) is advancing faster and further than *anyone* else ever has. And "The Master" an evil "necromancer" who really isn't a necromancer, just happens to manage a lot of them, is powerful enough to overcome everyone else in the Guild. And Xenocide, the crazy mage, is attempting to destroy the planet to somehow allow him to achieve god-hood, and he is so powerful that even The Master & The Guild can't overcome him when they combine their forces.
The story has just gone way to far way to fast. Classic Monty-haul expressed as a book.
I enjoyed reading it. There are good flashes back to what made the earlier books fun. But at this point any real sense of strife, overcoming adversity, or honest advancement is lost.
For me the book series has definitely jumped the shark.
I loved the initial concept of a sentient dungeon managing itself and the challenges it presented to adventurers.
And the magic system tied with meditation, essence and mana, tied into a variety of elements and concepts to discover a personal guiding law, was interesting and started out developing in a rational way.
But now Cal (the dungeon) is flying an entire mountain around. Dale (his human half, after a goofy time travel scheme from last book) is advancing faster and further than *anyone* else ever has. And "The Master" an evil "necromancer" who really isn't a necromancer, just happens to manage a lot of them, is powerful enough to overcome everyone else in the Guild. And Xenocide, the crazy mage, is attempting to destroy the planet to somehow allow him to achieve god-hood, and he is so powerful that even The Master & The Guild can't overcome him when they combine their forces.
The story has just gone way to far way to fast. Classic Monty-haul expressed as a book.
I enjoyed reading it. There are good flashes back to what made the earlier books fun. But at this point any real sense of strife, overcoming adversity, or honest advancement is lost.
January 24, 2019
I really wanted to like this book, but I can't give this more than one star (even if I almost did just because I liked the other books and got a bit sentimental). This book was painful to get through and it only picked a direction during the second half. Before that, it was all over the place without going anywhere. The story felt like a kid built a sandcastle during the first three books only to smash it during this installment. If you destroy too much of what you built, there's no victory to be had even if the MCs win the battle.
Another problem I have is that I don't really like Dale. His best moments were when he rose up to lead the settlement around the dungeon in previous books, but then he stagnated. He is a person that in order to feel better, likes to smash sentient beings that don't really stand a chance against him unless he makes a mistake. Ever since he murdered someone in cold blood during the first book he hasn't had any character development what so ever. Or if he had some sort of insight, he was quickly reset. I wish the story was centered around Cal, because even though he also lacks empathy, at least he is an interesting monster. I guess the intent of the author is for Dale to be the hero, but you could remove him entirely and end up with a much better book.
Also, Dani has had some likable moments in past books, but now she is only a "whiny wife" caricature. Overall, the story is full of too many caricatures and too few characters.
Another problem I have is that I don't really like Dale. His best moments were when he rose up to lead the settlement around the dungeon in previous books, but then he stagnated. He is a person that in order to feel better, likes to smash sentient beings that don't really stand a chance against him unless he makes a mistake. Ever since he murdered someone in cold blood during the first book he hasn't had any character development what so ever. Or if he had some sort of insight, he was quickly reset. I wish the story was centered around Cal, because even though he also lacks empathy, at least he is an interesting monster. I guess the intent of the author is for Dale to be the hero, but you could remove him entirely and end up with a much better book.
Also, Dani has had some likable moments in past books, but now she is only a "whiny wife" caricature. Overall, the story is full of too many caricatures and too few characters.
December 29, 2020
Super niche reading at its finest.
While I KNOW there are lots of people out there who feel like I do, that they can't get enough of this kind of read, it almost seems impossible that it exists and that I get so much ENJOYMENT out of it.
That being said, if one of YOU know and like LitRPG at all, or are fans of SF's Bobiverse (Dennis Taylor), then you'll probably get a HUGE kick out of this.
You know -- an intelligent, ever-growing dungeon makes friends and enemies and does everything it can to level up like any other player character. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Well, plenty, as this book shows. This isn't a slow-moving series. We're already in total apocalypse times with a Sephiroth-level calamity on the way and all the S-ranked mages and crapping their diapers. Even Cal, who isn't even an A-ranked dungeon at the beginning of this book is practically helpless despite having thrown an ENTIRE MOUNTAIN at the problem.
Oh, and this is still funny as hell. Those freaky barbarian marriage ceremonies are SPREADING. All I can say is... OUCH.
While I KNOW there are lots of people out there who feel like I do, that they can't get enough of this kind of read, it almost seems impossible that it exists and that I get so much ENJOYMENT out of it.
That being said, if one of YOU know and like LitRPG at all, or are fans of SF's Bobiverse (Dennis Taylor), then you'll probably get a HUGE kick out of this.
You know -- an intelligent, ever-growing dungeon makes friends and enemies and does everything it can to level up like any other player character. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Well, plenty, as this book shows. This isn't a slow-moving series. We're already in total apocalypse times with a Sephiroth-level calamity on the way and all the S-ranked mages and crapping their diapers. Even Cal, who isn't even an A-ranked dungeon at the beginning of this book is practically helpless despite having thrown an ENTIRE MOUNTAIN at the problem.
Oh, and this is still funny as hell. Those freaky barbarian marriage ceremonies are SPREADING. All I can say is... OUCH.
January 29, 2019
To be honest, it's really just 1 star. From Dungeon Born to Dungeon Madness to Dungeon Calamity, you get a feel of the books with respect to their names. Dungeon Born was when Cal was born. Dungeon Madness was when Cal created that zombie bacteria and Cal became 'mad' when Dani was stolen. Dungeon Calamity was when Cal went on a rampage. The way I see it, the title gives an idea of what's going on in the current book and possibly the next book.
Dungeon Desolation... 'Desolation' is defined as 'a state of complete emptiness or destruction.' Combine that with Dungeon, you get either no more dungeons or the destruction of dungeons. Dungeon Desolation was basically nothing about 'Dungeon Desolation'. This title is now 100% referring to Book 5.
I listened to this book as an Audio Book narrated by Vikas Adam. He's an amazing narrator and I did enjoy his performance again. I had to give this book 1 star for Vikas' performance. One minor thing was 'Acme' (pardon my spelling as I can't spell from just listening acne -> acme). 'Acme' is supposedly the law that governs all laws and at the top of the tower. His voice or the representation of his voice in Book 3 and 4 changed.
Book 3, Acme was personified as 'I'm too cool for you kids'. Book 4, Acme was personified as annoying overreacting school girl that always go "Omg, omg, omg, I chipped a nail".
All that aside, on to the actual book now. To keep it short, Dungeon Desolation has way too many bad/overused tropes and the whole book is bad.
I don't know why but all the characters feel shallow/hollow and lacking. There's not enough screen time either. Like Dale's crew, they aren't even secondary characters in this book. They're like recurring side/minor characters. Dani's role plummet to housewife. The council basically disappeared. Chandra could've had a good role in exploring the laws, tiers and stuff but it was half-assed and abandoned.
The author opened up so many different paths the book can go or ideas to explore but he just left them at that. These paths don't mean anything if they are left as is and they would simply waste screen time. There's no concrete path or goal of this book. I was under the impression Cal would reclaim town by town, city by city, dungeon by dungeon, node by node until he's strong enough for the finale. That didn't happen. Cal and Dale did a bunch of randomness and then jumped to the final battle.
There are a ton of tropes. For example, a big bad jerk comes in and take over. The two that always bicker and hate each other ended up together. Random heroic death that is totally unnecessary but was included to make it heroic. The protagonist is randomly the root of all problems. The world loses all mana. Forced to do the bidding of a 'bad guy'. Over the top power spikes.
And I swear there are inconsistency with the whole cultivation techniques and whatnot. Random exceptions or 'new' methods tossed in just to make the protagonist's power level go up up up. At the end of Book 3, Dale was a D rank adventurer and Cal was a B rank dungeon. And they struggled really hard through 3 books to get there. In Book 4? They both jumped a rank and the amount of effort they put in is the effort to make cup noodles. The author didn't bother writing how they struggled. He just threw in a big bad mini boss and escalated the conflicts. So what do our protagonists need to do? Power boost!
The author literally threw C and D rank adventurers in a S rank battle.
You know how Cal was trying to get free mana? Like to be independent of adventurers? Yeah, it makes little sense. Cal made mana absorbing runes and made them go over all the ley lines and nodes. Here, Cal has unlimited mana. But then, he's bickering about having to kill 2 groups of adventurers to make some mythril armour.
So Cal ends up with unlimited free mana. It's a horrible idea. He has like zero limitation and can easily reach SSS rank, just pump it in. Cal has little to no limitation so things will escalate and get out of hand. Consistency would also be hard to maintain. And that's exactly what we got, randomness and over-the-top.
Like, apparently, the guild is not as good as it was portrayed in the first three books. Rather than subduing a murderer, the guild just offered the murderer to be a guild member and help out while killing all he wants without a care. Oh, the murderer is also a S rank adventurer. He's totally randomly tossed in to push the plot the way the author wanted.
There's more but I'll stop spoiling. One last one, I got no clue how the mana/magic of the world enforces the law, like how Dale owns Mountain Dale and has the ability to tell people to get off it. Baron Dale is no longer Baron Dale as the two kingdom that gave Dale his nobility is 'destroyed'. But at the same time, the prince and princess ascended to the throne already. They also have zero screen time. To keep it short, I don't get this whole concept nor do I agree with the results.
tl;dr version: it's a mess.
Dungeon Desolation... 'Desolation' is defined as 'a state of complete emptiness or destruction.' Combine that with Dungeon, you get either no more dungeons or the destruction of dungeons. Dungeon Desolation was basically nothing about 'Dungeon Desolation'. This title is now 100% referring to Book 5.
I listened to this book as an Audio Book narrated by Vikas Adam. He's an amazing narrator and I did enjoy his performance again. I had to give this book 1 star for Vikas' performance. One minor thing was 'Acme' (pardon my spelling as I can't spell from just listening acne -> acme). 'Acme' is supposedly the law that governs all laws and at the top of the tower. His voice or the representation of his voice in Book 3 and 4 changed.
Book 3, Acme was personified as 'I'm too cool for you kids'. Book 4, Acme was personified as annoying overreacting school girl that always go "Omg, omg, omg, I chipped a nail".
All that aside, on to the actual book now. To keep it short, Dungeon Desolation has way too many bad/overused tropes and the whole book is bad.
I don't know why but all the characters feel shallow/hollow and lacking. There's not enough screen time either. Like Dale's crew, they aren't even secondary characters in this book. They're like recurring side/minor characters. Dani's role plummet to housewife. The council basically disappeared. Chandra could've had a good role in exploring the laws, tiers and stuff but it was half-assed and abandoned.
The author opened up so many different paths the book can go or ideas to explore but he just left them at that. These paths don't mean anything if they are left as is and they would simply waste screen time. There's no concrete path or goal of this book. I was under the impression Cal would reclaim town by town, city by city, dungeon by dungeon, node by node until he's strong enough for the finale. That didn't happen. Cal and Dale did a bunch of randomness and then jumped to the final battle.
There are a ton of tropes. For example, a big bad jerk comes in and take over. The two that always bicker and hate each other ended up together. Random heroic death that is totally unnecessary but was included to make it heroic. The protagonist is randomly the root of all problems. The world loses all mana. Forced to do the bidding of a 'bad guy'. Over the top power spikes.
And I swear there are inconsistency with the whole cultivation techniques and whatnot. Random exceptions or 'new' methods tossed in just to make the protagonist's power level go up up up. At the end of Book 3, Dale was a D rank adventurer and Cal was a B rank dungeon. And they struggled really hard through 3 books to get there. In Book 4? They both jumped a rank and the amount of effort they put in is the effort to make cup noodles. The author didn't bother writing how they struggled. He just threw in a big bad mini boss and escalated the conflicts. So what do our protagonists need to do? Power boost!
The author literally threw C and D rank adventurers in a S rank battle.
You know how Cal was trying to get free mana? Like to be independent of adventurers? Yeah, it makes little sense. Cal made mana absorbing runes and made them go over all the ley lines and nodes. Here, Cal has unlimited mana. But then, he's bickering about having to kill 2 groups of adventurers to make some mythril armour.
So Cal ends up with unlimited free mana. It's a horrible idea. He has like zero limitation and can easily reach SSS rank, just pump it in. Cal has little to no limitation so things will escalate and get out of hand. Consistency would also be hard to maintain. And that's exactly what we got, randomness and over-the-top.
Like, apparently, the guild is not as good as it was portrayed in the first three books. Rather than subduing a murderer, the guild just offered the murderer to be a guild member and help out while killing all he wants without a care. Oh, the murderer is also a S rank adventurer. He's totally randomly tossed in to push the plot the way the author wanted.
There's more but I'll stop spoiling. One last one, I got no clue how the mana/magic of the world enforces the law, like how Dale owns Mountain Dale and has the ability to tell people to get off it. Baron Dale is no longer Baron Dale as the two kingdom that gave Dale his nobility is 'destroyed'. But at the same time, the prince and princess ascended to the throne already. They also have zero screen time. To keep it short, I don't get this whole concept nor do I agree with the results.
tl;dr version: it's a mess.
November 6, 2018
The gold standard
When it comes to dungeon stories, there's none better than the Divine Dungeon. While I personally feel that this particular iteration felt rushed, it was still wildly entertaining and scratched the dungeon itch.
Now to put up with the long wait until the next release.... Good thing we got the Completionist Chronicles.
When it comes to dungeon stories, there's none better than the Divine Dungeon. While I personally feel that this particular iteration felt rushed, it was still wildly entertaining and scratched the dungeon itch.
Now to put up with the long wait until the next release.... Good thing we got the Completionist Chronicles.
November 19, 2018
The Divine Dungeon series established and has maintained the standard for a dungeon core story in my opinion. It separates itself so fully from the others that I find myself mentally groaning when other series try adding in a dungeon resource-building trope.
So I am a little sad to say that reading this book was a fairly hollow experience. The witty banter and puns that initially separated Dakota from the more generic offerings of other authors felt a little bit like a caricature this time around. It's similar to how two pinches of salt compared to one can mean the difference between a great food item and something that even the dog gives a side-eye to. I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, because this story was far from bad.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like moving stakes to the fate of the world level is usually a mistake. Firstly, because there is nowhere to go afterward that seems very important and there is still another book in this series. Then secondly, with such high tension being built on the world stage of the plot, I found myself getting impatient while Cal got absorbed with doing dungeon things like crafting new creatures and levels in the dungeon...and this type of thing is why I got into the series in the first place.
On a side note, I was also a little confused as to how Dani just seemed to ignore what was going on outside for the better part of the book and then do a 180 later. It almost seemed like there was some confusion as to what Dani should contribute to this story, so she was just put in storage for a bit.
Somehow this review has gotten lengthy with criticism, but I still rated this 4 stars for a reason. This book was written far better than many out there and I enjoy the characters in it. Maybe it is just my issue, but I felt like the story was just too impersonal. The attention was on the fate of the world rather than on the stakes important to the individual characters. So I as the reader, much like Cal, felt a bit separated from the importance of the outside events. However, unlike Cal, my actual existence never became threatened so this apathetic feeling never changed for me.
We are four books in with only one remaining at this point, so I still look forward to seeing the resolution to everything. Maybe I will be surprised and there will be more left to the story than it seems.
So I am a little sad to say that reading this book was a fairly hollow experience. The witty banter and puns that initially separated Dakota from the more generic offerings of other authors felt a little bit like a caricature this time around. It's similar to how two pinches of salt compared to one can mean the difference between a great food item and something that even the dog gives a side-eye to. I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, because this story was far from bad.
Maybe it's just me but I feel like moving stakes to the fate of the world level is usually a mistake. Firstly, because there is nowhere to go afterward that seems very important and there is still another book in this series. Then secondly, with such high tension being built on the world stage of the plot, I found myself getting impatient while Cal got absorbed with doing dungeon things like crafting new creatures and levels in the dungeon...and this type of thing is why I got into the series in the first place.
On a side note, I was also a little confused as to how Dani just seemed to ignore what was going on outside for the better part of the book and then do a 180 later. It almost seemed like there was some confusion as to what Dani should contribute to this story, so she was just put in storage for a bit.
Somehow this review has gotten lengthy with criticism, but I still rated this 4 stars for a reason. This book was written far better than many out there and I enjoy the characters in it. Maybe it is just my issue, but I felt like the story was just too impersonal. The attention was on the fate of the world rather than on the stakes important to the individual characters. So I as the reader, much like Cal, felt a bit separated from the importance of the outside events. However, unlike Cal, my actual existence never became threatened so this apathetic feeling never changed for me.
We are four books in with only one remaining at this point, so I still look forward to seeing the resolution to everything. Maybe I will be surprised and there will be more left to the story than it seems.
September 6, 2023
Barry is a jerk
November 2, 2018
I blame Dakota for my lack of sleep..
Seriously. Meant to read a chapter or two and it is now nearly dawn.
This work stands among the top-most tier of quality dungeon core lit. Entertaining, engaging, and impossible to put down.
If you've read the previous in this series and are debating this one then stop your foolish dawdling and go allocate the rest of your day for this. If you are new to this author then start at the beginning rather than here but by all means start. You. Will. Not. Regret. It.
Now for some coffee to go with this good book buzz. Too late/early to sleep now.
Seriously. Meant to read a chapter or two and it is now nearly dawn.
This work stands among the top-most tier of quality dungeon core lit. Entertaining, engaging, and impossible to put down.
If you've read the previous in this series and are debating this one then stop your foolish dawdling and go allocate the rest of your day for this. If you are new to this author then start at the beginning rather than here but by all means start. You. Will. Not. Regret. It.
Now for some coffee to go with this good book buzz. Too late/early to sleep now.
January 12, 2020
Dungeon Desolation marks the series move from a small-scale tale to something epic that involves the whole world and it’s not a smooth transition. The previous three books completely failed to setup this large-scale conflict and, as such, the story is hard to follow. Character motivations are completely missing and, having now finished the entire series, I’m not even completely certain why any of this happened.
Even though I only finished this book about a week ago, I have a hard time remembering the details of what happened because it all seemed so pointless. All the fun has been sucked out of the story and I felt like I was slogging my way to the finish just so I could see if Krout could do something to save this story. Unfortunately, no salvation occurred and book five was arguably worse.
The heart of the issue is that I should be able to look back at the previous books and explain how the plot of this book came about, but I can’t. The main characters were almost entirely removed from the events that caused this war to happen and the war makes all of the interesting stuff from the previous books largely pointless. For example:
It feels like Krout started on his new series – the completionist chronicles – and just wanted to get The Divine Dungeon over with so he could focus on the new shinny. It’s an issue that started with book three, but this was the book where it became blindingly clear that we were racing to the finish and Krout was just throwing ideas at the wall so that he could bring them back in the next series. They may make for some fun in the completionist chronicles, but the incoherent narrative pretty much ruined the Divine Dungeon.
Even though I only finished this book about a week ago, I have a hard time remembering the details of what happened because it all seemed so pointless. All the fun has been sucked out of the story and I felt like I was slogging my way to the finish just so I could see if Krout could do something to save this story. Unfortunately, no salvation occurred and book five was arguably worse.
The heart of the issue is that I should be able to look back at the previous books and explain how the plot of this book came about, but I can’t. The main characters were almost entirely removed from the events that caused this war to happen and the war makes all of the interesting stuff from the previous books largely pointless. For example:
It feels like Krout started on his new series – the completionist chronicles – and just wanted to get The Divine Dungeon over with so he could focus on the new shinny. It’s an issue that started with book three, but this was the book where it became blindingly clear that we were racing to the finish and Krout was just throwing ideas at the wall so that he could bring them back in the next series. They may make for some fun in the completionist chronicles, but the incoherent narrative pretty much ruined the Divine Dungeon.
January 26, 2019
It's bad. Like really bad.
I am guessing the author is putting waayy too much of his personal life into the book while disguising it as characters behavior.
Dani's nagging is at an all time high while her usefulness is plummeting (or as near non-existent as possible). The weird new found family bond and the dungeon thoughts about the new wisp is a very cliché pov. And sure enough the author has a little daughter and his wife is ever present on his profile picture.. Plus there is a hint of an upcoming burnout and a general tiredness of writing but keeping it up by some sense of duty??
The tumblr, reddit and other social-media jokes and puns are very present as always. Which for me is some kind of a buzzkill instead of being an "aha! he included that, i get that reference. Cool!". Seriously it's lazy and even akin to theft.
I mean admittedly i spend an unhealthy amount of time on the internet which makes a lot of things dull and "seen before" plus the author might be inventing his own stuff on the side which isn't that uncommon. I might also be reading too much into it (at some point i suspected the author was sneering at the Awaken Online series... ).Finally this is a light-litrpg so you can't expect that much out of it but damn i wanted to. This is supposed to be the best series out there in this genre. I feel this book needed to be longer, more edited and it should have taken more time to iron out all the kinks.
(I didn't even talk about the too-fast progression, upping of stakes, the incoherent new magic & world rules and finally all the inconsistencies because a lot of people already commented on it.)
So let me reiterate my first statement: It's bad. Like really bad. But it stands on the shoulders of the first two books which were excellent. Thus making it 'okay'; and the Audiobook narration as always was on point.
I am guessing the author is putting waayy too much of his personal life into the book while disguising it as characters behavior.
Dani's nagging is at an all time high while her usefulness is plummeting (or as near non-existent as possible). The weird new found family bond and the dungeon thoughts about the new wisp is a very cliché pov. And sure enough the author has a little daughter and his wife is ever present on his profile picture.. Plus there is a hint of an upcoming burnout and a general tiredness of writing but keeping it up by some sense of duty??
The tumblr, reddit and other social-media jokes and puns are very present as always. Which for me is some kind of a buzzkill instead of being an "aha! he included that, i get that reference. Cool!". Seriously it's lazy and even akin to theft.
I mean admittedly i spend an unhealthy amount of time on the internet which makes a lot of things dull and "seen before" plus the author might be inventing his own stuff on the side which isn't that uncommon. I might also be reading too much into it (at some point i suspected the author was sneering at the Awaken Online series... ).Finally this is a light-litrpg so you can't expect that much out of it but damn i wanted to. This is supposed to be the best series out there in this genre. I feel this book needed to be longer, more edited and it should have taken more time to iron out all the kinks.
(I didn't even talk about the too-fast progression, upping of stakes, the incoherent new magic & world rules and finally all the inconsistencies because a lot of people already commented on it.)
So let me reiterate my first statement: It's bad. Like really bad. But it stands on the shoulders of the first two books which were excellent. Thus making it 'okay'; and the Audiobook narration as always was on point.
June 13, 2024
DNF at 48%. I got sick of it.
According to Goodreads I read this book and liked it in Jan of 2019. I must not have liked it that much because I couldn't remember a thing about it, and rereading it didn't jog a single memory.
I had the same problem here I did with Everybody Loves Large Chests. It started out harsh but funny, and then it got progressively more brutal as it got less and less funny. That thrill of transgressive humor went out the window as the protagonist became more and more of a monster.
I'm guessing that book 3 bothered me more than I thought because I'm more ticked off at this book than this book alone can account for.
According to Goodreads I read this book and liked it in Jan of 2019. I must not have liked it that much because I couldn't remember a thing about it, and rereading it didn't jog a single memory.
I had the same problem here I did with Everybody Loves Large Chests. It started out harsh but funny, and then it got progressively more brutal as it got less and less funny. That thrill of transgressive humor went out the window as the protagonist became more and more of a monster.
I'm guessing that book 3 bothered me more than I thought because I'm more ticked off at this book than this book alone can account for.
February 20, 2019
The world has expanded beyond the original dungeon and the plot now encompasses huge wars and societies. I feel like Krout isn't a strong enough writer to really keep something that enormous alive and it begins to feel flat and much less amusing than the earlier books. It gets so that the stakes become honestly laughable and apparently it only gets moreso in the next (final?) book. I think this series has really fizzled out for me.
November 2, 2018
Dakota Krout know knows how to write
I love the Divine Dungeon Series! Book 4 was more Cal goodness and random funny things does not see coming like killer snowmen. I almost couldn’t read the end of the scene because I was laughing to hard. Thanks for another great and fun read Dakota Krout, I’m looking forward to your next work.
I love the Divine Dungeon Series! Book 4 was more Cal goodness and random funny things does not see coming like killer snowmen. I almost couldn’t read the end of the scene because I was laughing to hard. Thanks for another great and fun read Dakota Krout, I’m looking forward to your next work.
November 5, 2018
I dislike dungeon books, and yet I love this series
The author called this the penultimate book in the series and quite a lot happens therein, looking forward to the next book where hopefully Barry gets what's coming to him.
The author called this the penultimate book in the series and quite a lot happens therein, looking forward to the next book where hopefully Barry gets what's coming to him.
July 23, 2024
I didn't like the direction that this book went. Seemed too random to really draw me in. The next book seems to have some promise now that we have moved past this one.
November 16, 2020
Rating: 2.8/5
Review: This picks up a little from #3, but not by much. The flying dungeon is unexpected yet a bit anti-climactic. No real surprises here, just more advancement in levels and the intricacies therein.
Review: This picks up a little from #3, but not by much. The flying dungeon is unexpected yet a bit anti-climactic. No real surprises here, just more advancement in levels and the intricacies therein.
July 19, 2025
I never laughed so hard
It was so much fun listening to this. However, sometimes characters lack urgency. The world is ending, but let's go down the dungeon.
It was so much fun listening to this. However, sometimes characters lack urgency. The world is ending, but let's go down the dungeon.
July 1, 2025
When the rules get cumbersome it brakes them and then makes new ones. Caused some annoyance and just feels like everything just works because PLOT ARMOUR!
November 13, 2018
Interesting
I am giving this book 5 stars as I really enjoyed the story.
My frustration is I feel as if the author rushed through the story and hit the reader with a hard right turn for no other reason then to setup the next book.
That being said, amazing story, great characters, and I can’t wait to read the next book.
I am giving this book 5 stars as I really enjoyed the story.
My frustration is I feel as if the author rushed through the story and hit the reader with a hard right turn for no other reason then to setup the next book.
That being said, amazing story, great characters, and I can’t wait to read the next book.
June 16, 2019
Once again a great story. I love the dungeon and the other characters that I've gotten to know so well. This one is fun because it doesn't take place all in one area.
December 22, 2018
Que diablos paso aqui? La calidad de este libro fue en picada, toda la trama, todo el lore, todas las reglas, todos los personajes el autor los tiro por la ventana, y lo peor de todo es que no entiendo por que... D:
Toda la trama fue apresurada de una manera que todos los eventos dentro del libro pierden logica, y en algunos casos destruyen todas las reglas previamente explicadas dentro del "lore magico", los personajes se salen del libreto o practicamente pierden coherencia en muchas situaciones, dios, este libro fue horrible, que diablos paso con el autor?
Toda la trama fue apresurada de una manera que todos los eventos dentro del libro pierden logica, y en algunos casos destruyen todas las reglas previamente explicadas dentro del "lore magico", los personajes se salen del libreto o practicamente pierden coherencia en muchas situaciones, dios, este libro fue horrible, que diablos paso con el autor?
March 30, 2019
This fourth book is, I think, the last in the series. At the end I was a little sad for what the future entailed. "Is it over already? Is that what will happen in the world?", I thought.
First, let me begin by saying the dungeon and the wisp are originally a little flat in the beginning of book 1, but as the story progresses, and the dungeon tries to save the wisp, you really become attached to their relationship, and in this book, they had some hilarious interactions. I literally laughed aloud when I read the dungeon trying to carry out some idioms inside his dungeon:)
Regarding the negative reviews about this book shifting to the perspective of the humans, I didn't think that was the case at all. When people read this book, they should have known that there were two perspectives: the dungeon and the human. Since there is a war, it is only natural for the humans and dungeon to fight together to defeat evil.
However, the plot shift that did surprise me happened about 75% in, when the villain shifted. There was no warning that this would happen, no hint to let us be genuinely surprised. It happened as rather "Oh, I thought of this at the last minute." There should have been at least some subtle buildup to let us know what would happen.
Xenocide's son was left out of the plot near the end, and since this feels like the end to the series, I'm pretty sure that's a big plot hole, which could have been fixed with a single sentence or two.
Another thing that didn't make sense was when a woman that had constantly hated another man ... married him. The author said that her constant hate of him actually meant that she liked him. In real life, no does not always mean yes. This kind of reinforces stereotypes. "Jerks" are not secretly nice.
First, let me begin by saying the dungeon and the wisp are originally a little flat in the beginning of book 1, but as the story progresses, and the dungeon tries to save the wisp, you really become attached to their relationship, and in this book, they had some hilarious interactions. I literally laughed aloud when I read the dungeon trying to carry out some idioms inside his dungeon:)
Regarding the negative reviews about this book shifting to the perspective of the humans, I didn't think that was the case at all. When people read this book, they should have known that there were two perspectives: the dungeon and the human. Since there is a war, it is only natural for the humans and dungeon to fight together to defeat evil.
However, the plot shift that did surprise me happened about 75% in, when the villain shifted. There was no warning that this would happen, no hint to let us be genuinely surprised. It happened as rather "Oh, I thought of this at the last minute." There should have been at least some subtle buildup to let us know what would happen.
Xenocide's son was left out of the plot near the end, and since this feels like the end to the series, I'm pretty sure that's a big plot hole, which could have been fixed with a single sentence or two.
Another thing that didn't make sense was when a woman that had constantly hated another man ... married him. The author said that her constant hate of him actually meant that she liked him. In real life, no does not always mean yes. This kind of reinforces stereotypes. "Jerks" are not secretly nice.
January 30, 2019
As always with this series, I couldn't put the story down. The narrative is still very compelling and it was good to finally get to the big war against the necromancers and it's conclusion. But the story largely changes it's focus and it doesn't work quite as well as before.
November 9, 2018
The series nears its close, and I'm probably going to be sad soon...
First, however, a small point: I'm a stickler for continuity, and the previous book established that Dale was going to be unable to leave Mountaindale until he got B-rank and generated his own mana. He promptly does it not once, but twice in this book.
There's also some feeling about odd and wrong narrative jumps. At some points, while the outside events make sense, and the inner dungeon narrative make sense, the juxtaposition at the same time period feels a bit off. Those points cost the book one star on this evaluation.
Apart from that, it's a good entry in the series, as usual, pursuing the various themes and plot arcs set, with only a minimum of new characters appearing, as we already have most of what's necessary. And, of course, the end reveal of the ultimate enemy of the series makes sense.
PS: I hope the little speech counts as a legit spoiler and the 5th and last book is indeed called Dungeon World. There's even two possible applications of the label...
First, however, a small point: I'm a stickler for continuity, and the previous book established that Dale was going to be unable to leave Mountaindale until he got B-rank and generated his own mana. He promptly does it not once, but twice in this book.
There's also some feeling about odd and wrong narrative jumps. At some points, while the outside events make sense, and the inner dungeon narrative make sense, the juxtaposition at the same time period feels a bit off. Those points cost the book one star on this evaluation.
Apart from that, it's a good entry in the series, as usual, pursuing the various themes and plot arcs set, with only a minimum of new characters appearing, as we already have most of what's necessary. And, of course, the end reveal of the ultimate enemy of the series makes sense.
PS: I hope the little speech counts as a legit spoiler and the 5th and last book is indeed called Dungeon World. There's even two possible applications of the label...
January 24, 2019
This series started out rather mediocre but it grew on me with every book. Sad too see the decline in quality with the 4th book in the series. I Honestly felt that the book didn't know where it wanted to go and a lot of stuff was just rushed and thrown together haphazardly. This book wanted to be too many things at once.
January 25, 2019
Close, but not quite the same.
As the next book in the dungeon series, I was underwhelmed. The ones previous were so gripping that you couldn't put them down. Parts of this novel were great, but it had enough periods of lulls that I took a break from the book from lack of interest. Dale feels very different in this book compared to the other versions.
As the next book in the dungeon series, I was underwhelmed. The ones previous were so gripping that you couldn't put them down. Parts of this novel were great, but it had enough periods of lulls that I took a break from the book from lack of interest. Dale feels very different in this book compared to the other versions.
June 7, 2023
I loved the first three books, but Dungeon Desolation is a disappointment. The storytelling is sacrificed in favor of a new end goal: transitioning into the Ritualist series. Most disappointing of all is the treatment of the female characters, especially Dani who goes into full shrill housewife mode.
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