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Blue Core #1
Blue Core
Dungeon: A place full of monsters, traps, treasure, and death. Those are the Great Dungeons, with unplumbed depths below the roots of the mountains.
That's not for me.
Dungeon: A place of rape, torture, and death, to control and corral enemies and slaves. These are the Red Cores, from which the mage-kings draw their power.
That's also not for me.
I don't like monsters. I don't want adventurers. I want to stay well away from enemies and slaves.
Fortunately, there are alternatives...
That's not for me.
Dungeon: A place of rape, torture, and death, to control and corral enemies and slaves. These are the Red Cores, from which the mage-kings draw their power.
That's also not for me.
I don't like monsters. I don't want adventurers. I want to stay well away from enemies and slaves.
Fortunately, there are alternatives...
Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
February 23, 2021
Is this masochism or something deeper making me read this again.
May 28, 2021
Blue wakes up as a dungeon core with a shattered one right next to his own crystal and unaware how he got there. Soon enough a fox girl, Shayma, stumbles into his dungeon while fleeing from mercenaries. Unwilling to go the traditional way, he offers her protection, getting him involved in a much larger conflict, one between kingdoms, mage-kings, rival dungeons, ancient dragons and depletion.
Blue Core is a web-novel and it shows. I certainly would have expected the first book to be split in two considering it contains the first 2 major arcs (the first being 500 pages and the second 400 pages). Personally I don't mind the slice-of-life aspect with Blue experimenting with his abilities, building a "dungeon" or the daily life events of those involved with the dungeon, but it is slow paced at times. The game mechanics are there, mostly class based, but they don't pay a central role to the story and relatively simple (at least to the reader). The fact that Blue is not a traditional dungeon is a good thing for me, more personal interaction and I have never been a big fan of the murder-fest inherent to other dungeon core stories. For me the harem and breeding aspect (both of Blue and the main villain the red dungeons) is a neutral thing, an odd twist to traditional dungeons but one that is slightly disturbing (tentacle hentai?) and certainly not for everybody. Finally, I did note a couple of spelling mistakes, not a big thing for me, but still noticeable.
All in all, I liked Blue Core. A nice twist to the dungeon core stories with some interesting world building and characters, if a bit slow paced and rambling at times.
Blue Core is a web-novel and it shows. I certainly would have expected the first book to be split in two considering it contains the first 2 major arcs (the first being 500 pages and the second 400 pages). Personally I don't mind the slice-of-life aspect with Blue experimenting with his abilities, building a "dungeon" or the daily life events of those involved with the dungeon, but it is slow paced at times. The game mechanics are there, mostly class based, but they don't pay a central role to the story and relatively simple (at least to the reader). The fact that Blue is not a traditional dungeon is a good thing for me, more personal interaction and I have never been a big fan of the murder-fest inherent to other dungeon core stories. For me the harem and breeding aspect (both of Blue and the main villain the red dungeons) is a neutral thing, an odd twist to traditional dungeons but one that is slightly disturbing (tentacle hentai?) and certainly not for everybody. Finally, I did note a couple of spelling mistakes, not a big thing for me, but still noticeable.
All in all, I liked Blue Core. A nice twist to the dungeon core stories with some interesting world building and characters, if a bit slow paced and rambling at times.
March 27, 2024
There's a fair chance you're like me: you read and enjoyed Paranoid Mage and want to read more by the author, but hesitate to pick up Blue Core after seeing "harem" and "dungeon sex." I enjoyed the entire Paranoid Mage series even if a few volumes were a bit weaker than others. But I loved Chasing Sunlight. So I finally took the dive and read Blue Core. Should you?
Explicit Scenes - There are probably a half dozen of these and the author was considerate enough to label these chapters with (Explicit). I didn't want to skip them entirely because of FOMO, so I skimmed them instead. You can skip these chapters without missing anything. The act of sex is plot relevant since it is used as a plot device to bestow a purifying status, but the details of the act are unnecessary.
Harem - If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...it's a harem. If I wasn't secure enough with my tastes to admit that I've read a few dozen harem books, I might try to convince you that this isn't a harem story. And the argument might even sound pretty good, because this first volume technically only lays the groundwork for one. It's really just semantics, though, and I would imagine these elements will increase as the story progresses. There are actually plot reasons for characters to become one of Blue's companions, so I guess you could say the author does a much better job of justifying the tropes rather than adding them just because.
For Fans of the Author - There are a lot of familiar elements in this series. It revolves around a MC with an outsider's perspective, compared to the rest of society, who tries to avoid the various entanglements as everyone discovers and tries to benefit from his special talents. A lot of the spatial magic in this series seemed like a prototype for much of what went into Paranoid Mage. One of the Mage-King antagonists somewhat reminds me of Jonathan from Chasing Sunlight, and there's even a brief reference to a city named Beacon.
If you read and enjoyed Paranoid Mage, then you will probably find some enjoyment with this series. If you are coming solely from Chasing Sunlight, this will be a very different experience and the quality of writing makes it obvious that this was an earlier work. The writing itself is still fine, and better than many indie authors in the gamelit genre, but the pacing and story structure are a bit messy compared to how streamlined and decisive everything felt in Chasing Sunlight.
I can't say that I would recommend this as a person's first read by the author (despite being their first work). I would start with Paranoid Mage or Chasing Sunlight instead. I will most likely read Book 2 because I'm curious where the story is going. I'm also a fan of the author and I enjoy going back and reading earlier works to see their development, which helps compensate for some of the awkwardness in this book.
Explicit Scenes - There are probably a half dozen of these and the author was considerate enough to label these chapters with (Explicit). I didn't want to skip them entirely because of FOMO, so I skimmed them instead. You can skip these chapters without missing anything. The act of sex is plot relevant since it is used as a plot device to bestow a purifying status, but the details of the act are unnecessary.
Harem - If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...it's a harem. If I wasn't secure enough with my tastes to admit that I've read a few dozen harem books, I might try to convince you that this isn't a harem story. And the argument might even sound pretty good, because this first volume technically only lays the groundwork for one. It's really just semantics, though, and I would imagine these elements will increase as the story progresses. There are actually plot reasons for characters to become one of Blue's companions, so I guess you could say the author does a much better job of justifying the tropes rather than adding them just because.
For Fans of the Author - There are a lot of familiar elements in this series. It revolves around a MC with an outsider's perspective, compared to the rest of society, who tries to avoid the various entanglements as everyone discovers and tries to benefit from his special talents. A lot of the spatial magic in this series seemed like a prototype for much of what went into Paranoid Mage. One of the Mage-King antagonists somewhat reminds me of Jonathan from Chasing Sunlight, and there's even a brief reference to a city named Beacon.
If you read and enjoyed Paranoid Mage, then you will probably find some enjoyment with this series. If you are coming solely from Chasing Sunlight, this will be a very different experience and the quality of writing makes it obvious that this was an earlier work. The writing itself is still fine, and better than many indie authors in the gamelit genre, but the pacing and story structure are a bit messy compared to how streamlined and decisive everything felt in Chasing Sunlight.
I can't say that I would recommend this as a person's first read by the author (despite being their first work). I would start with Paranoid Mage or Chasing Sunlight instead. I will most likely read Book 2 because I'm curious where the story is going. I'm also a fan of the author and I enjoy going back and reading earlier works to see their development, which helps compensate for some of the awkwardness in this book.
January 12, 2021
It started out well, but then became boring and clinical as it progressed.
This is a dungeon core book. I read the first "book," which is ~85 chapters long. There are currently 150 chapters out on Royal Road.
There is explicit content, but it is clearly marked and skippable. It was handled well and is a side component to the story, instead of the other way around, which is good.
The good:
(1) The characters and setting are interesting, at least at the start. The characters act humanly and the world building is done very well, with the author telling us everything we want to know and not a lot more, thus not wasting our time.
(2) There isn't a lot of time wasting. Many other books, like the divine dungeon series, have time wasted on details that are boring and do not advance the plot. This mostly escapes the worst of that problem.
The bad:
(1) Lots of boring stuff. After about 50 chapters the major conflict is dealt with, and we are left listening to a whole lot of logistics and other more boring, largely irrelevant, and mundane things.
(2) Inconsistent valuation. The main character can do this super cool, ultra valuable, never seen before thing for people. He does it in exchange for trinkets and one babysitting trip. I don't care what the value system is, he needs to be getting more for his efforts. When the whole value system becomes skewed like that it makes no sense and builds frustration in the audience.
(3) Slightly illogical choices. The main character binds himself to protect some people, but that suddenly turns into a need to help them invade a foreign nation since "they would do it anyway so as part of protecting them I guess I'll go to war." That makes no sense when he could just put them in a box and go on with his life.
Like many dungeon core books, they had an interesting premise and a mc who was interesting by default. While this author did a better job than some others, and should be commended for it, this is not an objectively good book. I would only recommend this to people looking for dungeon core litRPGs. There are lots of better fantasy, progression fantasy, and litRPG books out there.
This is a dungeon core book. I read the first "book," which is ~85 chapters long. There are currently 150 chapters out on Royal Road.
There is explicit content, but it is clearly marked and skippable. It was handled well and is a side component to the story, instead of the other way around, which is good.
The good:
(1) The characters and setting are interesting, at least at the start. The characters act humanly and the world building is done very well, with the author telling us everything we want to know and not a lot more, thus not wasting our time.
(2) There isn't a lot of time wasting. Many other books, like the divine dungeon series, have time wasted on details that are boring and do not advance the plot. This mostly escapes the worst of that problem.
The bad:
(1) Lots of boring stuff. After about 50 chapters the major conflict is dealt with, and we are left listening to a whole lot of logistics and other more boring, largely irrelevant, and mundane things.
(2) Inconsistent valuation. The main character can do this super cool, ultra valuable, never seen before thing for people. He does it in exchange for trinkets and one babysitting trip. I don't care what the value system is, he needs to be getting more for his efforts. When the whole value system becomes skewed like that it makes no sense and builds frustration in the audience.
(3) Slightly illogical choices. The main character binds himself to protect some people, but that suddenly turns into a need to help them invade a foreign nation since "they would do it anyway so as part of protecting them I guess I'll go to war." That makes no sense when he could just put them in a box and go on with his life.
Like many dungeon core books, they had an interesting premise and a mc who was interesting by default. While this author did a better job than some others, and should be commended for it, this is not an objectively good book. I would only recommend this to people looking for dungeon core litRPGs. There are lots of better fantasy, progression fantasy, and litRPG books out there.
June 3, 2021
A Dungeon Core/LitRPG/Isekai/Harem/Erotica Novel Which Doesn't Need The Erotica Elements To Be Great Read!
As Dungeon Core/LitRPG novels go, this one is a bit unusual. I am not even referring to the Harem/Erotica elements and explicit chapters (which the author has conveniently labeled; presumably so those of the less smutty mindset can bypass them) as the unusual traits. In this novel there are mortal human beings controlling some of the dungeon cores; which is a departure from all other Dungeon Core genre books I have read to date. Also the methods of the Dungeons producing the monsters and furnishings for their interiors is quite different from all the other Dungeon Core novels I've read to date.
The novel suffers a bit from some typos, occasional bits of missing text, and some punctuation errors, but I suspect that many will be corrected in the near future. Overall, the errors don't much distract from the flow of the plot, so I would judge the book worth the price of purchase, if you think it may suit your tasts
Being a Dungeon Core/LitRPG/Isekai novel I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy those genres with the caveat that they realise there is a strong erotic theme running through the entire novel with some chapters being quite imaginatively graphic in describing how a Dungeon, which identifies as a cis gendered male, has sex with humanoid women.
As Dungeon Core/LitRPG novels go, this one is a bit unusual. I am not even referring to the Harem/Erotica elements and explicit chapters (which the author has conveniently labeled; presumably so those of the less smutty mindset can bypass them) as the unusual traits. In this novel there are mortal human beings controlling some of the dungeon cores; which is a departure from all other Dungeon Core genre books I have read to date. Also the methods of the Dungeons producing the monsters and furnishings for their interiors is quite different from all the other Dungeon Core novels I've read to date.
The novel suffers a bit from some typos, occasional bits of missing text, and some punctuation errors, but I suspect that many will be corrected in the near future. Overall, the errors don't much distract from the flow of the plot, so I would judge the book worth the price of purchase, if you think it may suit your tasts
Being a Dungeon Core/LitRPG/Isekai novel I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy those genres with the caveat that they realise there is a strong erotic theme running through the entire novel with some chapters being quite imaginatively graphic in describing how a Dungeon, which identifies as a cis gendered male, has sex with humanoid women.
October 20, 2021
Better than expected
I'd seen this in my suggested feeds a few times but never took the time to read it. I grabbed the sample and saw what I was getting into; I was not super impressed. However, as I read, I realized this wasn't a short book. I assumed, based on many similar authors, that the sample, as long as it was, was almost the entirety of the book. Until I looked at the table of contents and saw how many chapters I had to go. I was impressed.
Something else I wasn't the biggest fan of was the explicit scenes, mainly due to the style of interaction between a dungeon and the women that entered. I read the one in the sample and it was what I expected and didn't particularly enjoy. I did enjoy that the chapters were marked and had little impact on the overall story. You could absolutely make this a fade to black book and not miss much. I ended up reading parts or whole other explicit chapters and was happy about the progression of how the scenes played out; getting less tentacle hentai and more "lover with lots of fingers and hands." Still skipped most of them, but I enjoyed the option.
Finally, it turned out to be quite a fleshed out, thought out, and intriguing story. I like where things are going and am excited to see not only how the current issues are dealt with, but what crazy new dungeon powers Blue will come up with next.
Dinged a star for the few errors I found towards the end. Surprisingly few. Would give 4.5 if I could.
I'd seen this in my suggested feeds a few times but never took the time to read it. I grabbed the sample and saw what I was getting into; I was not super impressed. However, as I read, I realized this wasn't a short book. I assumed, based on many similar authors, that the sample, as long as it was, was almost the entirety of the book. Until I looked at the table of contents and saw how many chapters I had to go. I was impressed.
Something else I wasn't the biggest fan of was the explicit scenes, mainly due to the style of interaction between a dungeon and the women that entered. I read the one in the sample and it was what I expected and didn't particularly enjoy. I did enjoy that the chapters were marked and had little impact on the overall story. You could absolutely make this a fade to black book and not miss much. I ended up reading parts or whole other explicit chapters and was happy about the progression of how the scenes played out; getting less tentacle hentai and more "lover with lots of fingers and hands." Still skipped most of them, but I enjoyed the option.
Finally, it turned out to be quite a fleshed out, thought out, and intriguing story. I like where things are going and am excited to see not only how the current issues are dealt with, but what crazy new dungeon powers Blue will come up with next.
Dinged a star for the few errors I found towards the end. Surprisingly few. Would give 4.5 if I could.
May 20, 2021
Powerful stuff
An amazing strong novel, even with all the weird tentacle porn. Dungeon, but also LitRPG, with hints of cultivation scattered throughout. Really complex world building and magic concepts.
Clean prose, with few typos or issues with homophones. Obviously not family friendly, but the chapters with the graphic stuff are clearly marked and easily skipped.
Yeah, I’m going to read the next book, though I feel a bit dirty doing so.
An amazing strong novel, even with all the weird tentacle porn. Dungeon, but also LitRPG, with hints of cultivation scattered throughout. Really complex world building and magic concepts.
Clean prose, with few typos or issues with homophones. Obviously not family friendly, but the chapters with the graphic stuff are clearly marked and easily skipped.
Yeah, I’m going to read the next book, though I feel a bit dirty doing so.
December 9, 2023
When a nameless protagonist awakens as a dungeon, he's got to figure out everything from scratch. But while digging rooms, playing with mana, and unlocking new abilities is fun, his decision to save the life of a fox-kin who seeks shelter drastically alters both of their lives. Because Shayma is on a mission for her Queen, to gather the parts of an ancient relic, to defend their kingdom from the mage-kings and their captive dungeons . . .
So I'll get the warning out of the way first. This book has very explicit sex scenes. However, the chapters in which these occur are clearly marked, and can be skipped once those scenes start with zero loss of plot. I very much appreciate this, as it makes the book work like a fade-to-black scene if you just move on, thus allowing the reader more control over the level of graphicness present.
Luckily, there's plenty else to like. I'm particularly fond of how Blue (named for the color of his dungeon core crystal, since he can't remember any other name) is trying his hardest to figure out what is this magic stuff, and why doesn't it make logical sense. He's got some nice physics-based tricks he can pull, but magic is cheating, and high leveled Classers can essentially ignore some of the things he would otherwise think could harm them (finding burrowing critters that EAT lava rather than get smoked out by it was hilarious).
But while he's trying to go around crafting stuff, there's a whole other story unfolding outside. The kingdom of Tarnil is under assault, their Queen having lost most of her cities to the invading dungeons, and she has precious few resources remaining. Which is why Shayna decided to take things into her own hands and look for the one weapon that might turn the tide. Which leads her to Blue. And now Blue is involved in that war, far more than he'd like to be---because the mage-kings definitely won't let a "free" dungeon like him alone, so it's in his best interest to cooperate at least to some extent in the fight against them.
There's also the problem of Depletion, and the wonky rules of Powers, and so many more fascinating bits of worldbuilding going on. And the dragon Blue finds that also lives on the mountain he has been claiming.
Overall this is one of the best dungeon core books I've read. With its heavy focus on characters as well as worldbuilding, the abundance of cool stuff Blue creates, and a mana economy (in-dungeon) based on flowers and environments, of all things, the parts all come together beautifully. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
So I'll get the warning out of the way first. This book has very explicit sex scenes. However, the chapters in which these occur are clearly marked, and can be skipped once those scenes start with zero loss of plot. I very much appreciate this, as it makes the book work like a fade-to-black scene if you just move on, thus allowing the reader more control over the level of graphicness present.
Luckily, there's plenty else to like. I'm particularly fond of how Blue (named for the color of his dungeon core crystal, since he can't remember any other name) is trying his hardest to figure out what is this magic stuff, and why doesn't it make logical sense. He's got some nice physics-based tricks he can pull, but magic is cheating, and high leveled Classers can essentially ignore some of the things he would otherwise think could harm them (finding burrowing critters that EAT lava rather than get smoked out by it was hilarious).
But while he's trying to go around crafting stuff, there's a whole other story unfolding outside. The kingdom of Tarnil is under assault, their Queen having lost most of her cities to the invading dungeons, and she has precious few resources remaining. Which is why Shayna decided to take things into her own hands and look for the one weapon that might turn the tide. Which leads her to Blue. And now Blue is involved in that war, far more than he'd like to be---because the mage-kings definitely won't let a "free" dungeon like him alone, so it's in his best interest to cooperate at least to some extent in the fight against them.
There's also the problem of Depletion, and the wonky rules of Powers, and so many more fascinating bits of worldbuilding going on. And the dragon Blue finds that also lives on the mountain he has been claiming.
Overall this is one of the best dungeon core books I've read. With its heavy focus on characters as well as worldbuilding, the abundance of cool stuff Blue creates, and a mana economy (in-dungeon) based on flowers and environments, of all things, the parts all come together beautifully. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
July 12, 2022
I went into this one blind based off reading the excellent 'Paranoid Mage' by this author and hoping for more of the same quality. While this one didn't come close to the standard set in that book, I can say that for the most part this book delivered on what I was looking for... mainly something that was a bit different.
Books about dungeons usually bore me. The whole adventurers fighting monsters just to level up thing has never been of interest to me, so this concept of a dungeon that wants to be different was something that piqued my curiosity. For the most part, this is handled really well, spending most of the book exploring the magical possibilities of what it might be like to be a sentient dungeon core. In fact, that in-depth look at magic was one of the things I really appreciated about The Paranoid Mage as well.
Where this book was not so strong was in the pacing. This is a really wordy book and not nearly so tight as that other novel. It meanders its way through an interesting story, taking its time on many detours and probably could do with a fair bit of editing to cut it down by a third or so.
The other issue was that the characters weren't quite as engaging as I was hoping for. They're all a little one-dimensional, and while I liked them well enough, a lot of work could be done to make them all stand out a little more.
My final gripe is one that doesn't usually bother me as much as it would most readers; the explicit scenes. I take the same view of adult scenes like these as I do to brutal violence and other less savoury things in books, which is that if they're there for a purpose then there's not a problem. In fact, many books are elevated when they do these things well, often adding to the enjoyment of a book. This was not the case here. These scenes were so transactional that they didn't do much to add any eroticism to the story, nor did they do much to deepen the relationship between the characters in the reader's eyes. They were essentially there for the sake of being there, and I think that is to this book's detriment rather than its benefit.
Overall this is an unusual book to rate. I enjoyed my time reading it, but thanks to the needless explicit scenes and the overly large word count, I don't think I'm going to be recommending it to anyone just yet.
Books about dungeons usually bore me. The whole adventurers fighting monsters just to level up thing has never been of interest to me, so this concept of a dungeon that wants to be different was something that piqued my curiosity. For the most part, this is handled really well, spending most of the book exploring the magical possibilities of what it might be like to be a sentient dungeon core. In fact, that in-depth look at magic was one of the things I really appreciated about The Paranoid Mage as well.
Where this book was not so strong was in the pacing. This is a really wordy book and not nearly so tight as that other novel. It meanders its way through an interesting story, taking its time on many detours and probably could do with a fair bit of editing to cut it down by a third or so.
The other issue was that the characters weren't quite as engaging as I was hoping for. They're all a little one-dimensional, and while I liked them well enough, a lot of work could be done to make them all stand out a little more.
My final gripe is one that doesn't usually bother me as much as it would most readers; the explicit scenes. I take the same view of adult scenes like these as I do to brutal violence and other less savoury things in books, which is that if they're there for a purpose then there's not a problem. In fact, many books are elevated when they do these things well, often adding to the enjoyment of a book. This was not the case here. These scenes were so transactional that they didn't do much to add any eroticism to the story, nor did they do much to deepen the relationship between the characters in the reader's eyes. They were essentially there for the sake of being there, and I think that is to this book's detriment rather than its benefit.
Overall this is an unusual book to rate. I enjoyed my time reading it, but thanks to the needless explicit scenes and the overly large word count, I don't think I'm going to be recommending it to anyone just yet.
July 9, 2022
I wanted to read this book for a while. I was told it has some nice magical engineering? (can't really recall what niche it filled that I was looking for years ago).
I'm laughing at the absurdity of this book. Why does a dungeon core have to be horny? What does it get from this?
After finishing this book, I'm 100% certain that the author likes tentacle hentai. This is ridiculous. Why does the dungeon need to have sex again?
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The smut absurdity aside, a dungeon is supposed to be able to absorb anything that comes into contact with it. Not only can't this dungeon absorb stuff (thus seeing their base material, and maybe how they are made), it also needs resources to build anything. Usually once a dungeon has a "blueprint", such as a bar of gold, it would be able to use it's mana to replicate the item. This dungeon has to find or trade for the resources.
I understand the author probably did this to limit the dungeon, so that it wasn't too powerful. But this throws off the story (to me). The main draw of these dungeon stories is to be able to make anything once you had enough energy (mana). I guess the main point of this story is to do smutty things?
I will pick up the sequel either way, he does build stuff.
3/5 Stars
I'm laughing at the absurdity of this book. Why does a dungeon core have to be horny? What does it get from this?
After finishing this book, I'm 100% certain that the author likes tentacle hentai. This is ridiculous. Why does the dungeon need to have sex again?
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The smut absurdity aside, a dungeon is supposed to be able to absorb anything that comes into contact with it. Not only can't this dungeon absorb stuff (thus seeing their base material, and maybe how they are made), it also needs resources to build anything. Usually once a dungeon has a "blueprint", such as a bar of gold, it would be able to use it's mana to replicate the item. This dungeon has to find or trade for the resources.
I understand the author probably did this to limit the dungeon, so that it wasn't too powerful. But this throws off the story (to me). The main draw of these dungeon stories is to be able to make anything once you had enough energy (mana). I guess the main point of this story is to do smutty things?
I will pick up the sequel either way, he does build stuff.
3/5 Stars
June 12, 2024
From the beginning the premise of the MC being a sentient Dungeon was an intriguing concept which had me hooked very quickly. The story is laid out very nicely with the division of chapters by days since "birth" kind of a nice reference point. The sex scenes are very well done and the consent is a nice touch to what amounts to tentacle sex. I enjoy the character overlays as a way to keep track of some of the skills as well as to lay out the growth during level ups and changes. The writing is very clean with consistent grammar and tense. I also appreciate the chapters being varied based on their subject (like Game of Thrones) as it gives many different perspectives.
My only critique is that the character development could be improved a little. Other than Shayma, there has been minimal development of any other characters at a reasonable pace. There are definitely characters that could be fleshed out in the future.
Overall I would highly recommend it if the concept of a sentient dungeon sounds interesting to you. The concepts are intriguing, the sex is with some kink but not too much, and the world building is enough to keep you interested
My only critique is that the character development could be improved a little. Other than Shayma, there has been minimal development of any other characters at a reasonable pace. There are definitely characters that could be fleshed out in the future.
Overall I would highly recommend it if the concept of a sentient dungeon sounds interesting to you. The concepts are intriguing, the sex is with some kink but not too much, and the world building is enough to keep you interested
February 13, 2022
Amazing, just amazing
Tldr; this is an incredibly well done litrpg/fantasy book that just happens to have tastefully done tentacle sex in it.
Full review:
I picked this up on a whim, I've loved litrpg/dungeon core books for a few years now, and the promise of that plus some adult stuff was enough for me to buy the book. The book itself is what is making me give this full marks. It's incredibly well done, nothing in the book felt like the prose was forced or rushed, and the sex scenes were titillating and tasteful, they add to the feeling that this world is real. The author even specifically labels the chapters with the sex scenes, allowing for easy skim/skips if you're not into them, or easy markers if you're VERY into them and want to return to one.
The characters are well written and have believable goals with individual traits, they all feel like their own people, even minor characters.
The setting is expansive and well described, lending itself to imagining future content.
10/10 book, I have no notes, definitely picking up the next book immediately.
Tldr; this is an incredibly well done litrpg/fantasy book that just happens to have tastefully done tentacle sex in it.
Full review:
I picked this up on a whim, I've loved litrpg/dungeon core books for a few years now, and the promise of that plus some adult stuff was enough for me to buy the book. The book itself is what is making me give this full marks. It's incredibly well done, nothing in the book felt like the prose was forced or rushed, and the sex scenes were titillating and tasteful, they add to the feeling that this world is real. The author even specifically labels the chapters with the sex scenes, allowing for easy skim/skips if you're not into them, or easy markers if you're VERY into them and want to return to one.
The characters are well written and have believable goals with individual traits, they all feel like their own people, even minor characters.
The setting is expansive and well described, lending itself to imagining future content.
10/10 book, I have no notes, definitely picking up the next book immediately.
March 13, 2022
Simply Phenomenal...
Blue Core is a masterpiece through and through. The masterful, pristinely edited writing, being a mix of tradition narritive writing and modern elements made it easy to slip into the world portrayed. The characters all showed no lack of depth, with proper motivations, and their own perspectives and secrets. The universe is full of wonderful mysteries and intricacies, many of which are surprisingly rooted in actual scientific concepts. The explicit chapters, which need to be mentioned, are certainly not for everyone. If you are not comfortable with depictions of sex, which plenty of twist from the traditional, either skip those chapters (they are marked) or don't read this book. But if they don't bother you, or on the contrary interest you, then you will find both them and the book in it's entirety a wonderful experience. To top it all off, at over a thousand pages, this novel fits the equivalent of roughly 4 light novels into a single volume, making it well worth the price to pick it up.
Blue Core is a masterpiece through and through. The masterful, pristinely edited writing, being a mix of tradition narritive writing and modern elements made it easy to slip into the world portrayed. The characters all showed no lack of depth, with proper motivations, and their own perspectives and secrets. The universe is full of wonderful mysteries and intricacies, many of which are surprisingly rooted in actual scientific concepts. The explicit chapters, which need to be mentioned, are certainly not for everyone. If you are not comfortable with depictions of sex, which plenty of twist from the traditional, either skip those chapters (they are marked) or don't read this book. But if they don't bother you, or on the contrary interest you, then you will find both them and the book in it's entirety a wonderful experience. To top it all off, at over a thousand pages, this novel fits the equivalent of roughly 4 light novels into a single volume, making it well worth the price to pick it up.
June 21, 2024
Starts off strong, loses steam. If you like the adult scenes at the beginning, you'll be disappointed, as they largely stop halfway through the book.
Fun world building, fun characters. Overall definitely liked it, but not going to keep reading. You start off reading one kind of story (dungeon building with erotica), then switches to another kind of story (more fantasy epic with little to no harem/erotica). And honestly it feels like the author is ashamed of the sexy bits. Which is a shame, because that was some of the best erotica I've ever read. (to be fair, I don't really seek it out).
So yeah, I think its a series you should give a shot. Especially if the sex elements don't really interest you. Hang in there for the first 200 pages or so, just skip the naughty bits, those chapters are marked (explicit). But personally, I'm not continuing because of the shift in tone, and looming scope creep, which others have said hits hard in the third book.
Fun world building, fun characters. Overall definitely liked it, but not going to keep reading. You start off reading one kind of story (dungeon building with erotica), then switches to another kind of story (more fantasy epic with little to no harem/erotica). And honestly it feels like the author is ashamed of the sexy bits. Which is a shame, because that was some of the best erotica I've ever read. (to be fair, I don't really seek it out).
So yeah, I think its a series you should give a shot. Especially if the sex elements don't really interest you. Hang in there for the first 200 pages or so, just skip the naughty bits, those chapters are marked (explicit). But personally, I'm not continuing because of the shift in tone, and looming scope creep, which others have said hits hard in the third book.
June 7, 2021
Wow. Great Work!
First off, in a market where most books are glorified novellas, this book stands apart as one of real length and substance. I truly don’t begrudge authors spinning out the fast stories, because people gotta eat. But as good as a burger can be, sometimes you want a steak. This right here is a sweet t-bone, folks. Not only is it a book of substance, but that substance is really really good. You have slow steady character, power, and plot growth tucked into a great world. The characters are great and the plot is imaginative and interesting. You find yourself invested in all the players, and amazed at the continuing magic and mayhem. The adult scenes are declared up front (ingenious), so you can skip them or skim them as preferred. They’re done quite well too though, really. Definitely recommended! (17+)
First off, in a market where most books are glorified novellas, this book stands apart as one of real length and substance. I truly don’t begrudge authors spinning out the fast stories, because people gotta eat. But as good as a burger can be, sometimes you want a steak. This right here is a sweet t-bone, folks. Not only is it a book of substance, but that substance is really really good. You have slow steady character, power, and plot growth tucked into a great world. The characters are great and the plot is imaginative and interesting. You find yourself invested in all the players, and amazed at the continuing magic and mayhem. The adult scenes are declared up front (ingenious), so you can skip them or skim them as preferred. They’re done quite well too though, really. Definitely recommended! (17+)
February 7, 2024
Pretty good!
So we have a isekai, dungeon core book, but honestly very well done. The litrpg elements here are heavily emphasised, but well done. A story where so much hinges on numbers in a status sheet isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but if you're going to do it, this is how.
An interesting quirk is that, as a dungeon core, the protagonist is entirely non-human, non-humanoid, and even non-corporeal. Which considering there's a romance plot with explicit sex scene is a bit of an odd choice. Not too many sex scenes, and they're excellent - tastefully written, help push the plot and character realtionships along, etc. But uh, they do involve...tentacles, so fair warning? But again, so well done that even if the thought of reading a book that contains tentacle sex scenes pushes you away, you might want to give it a shot anyhow.
The book is of somewhat uneven quality; the bulk of it is perfectly acceptable, but there are moments of brilliance (mostly around interpersonal interactions and dialogue), and I wish we got more of that. But still, even if I could see places where the book could be better (mostly just by sustaining the quality of its best sections), the overall experience is very good indeed.
Recommended if you like stories with unconventional heroes being nice while existing in a very fully formed litrpg system where numbers matter.
So we have a isekai, dungeon core book, but honestly very well done. The litrpg elements here are heavily emphasised, but well done. A story where so much hinges on numbers in a status sheet isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but if you're going to do it, this is how.
An interesting quirk is that, as a dungeon core, the protagonist is entirely non-human, non-humanoid, and even non-corporeal. Which considering there's a romance plot with explicit sex scene is a bit of an odd choice. Not too many sex scenes, and they're excellent - tastefully written, help push the plot and character realtionships along, etc. But uh, they do involve...tentacles, so fair warning? But again, so well done that even if the thought of reading a book that contains tentacle sex scenes pushes you away, you might want to give it a shot anyhow.
The book is of somewhat uneven quality; the bulk of it is perfectly acceptable, but there are moments of brilliance (mostly around interpersonal interactions and dialogue), and I wish we got more of that. But still, even if I could see places where the book could be better (mostly just by sustaining the quality of its best sections), the overall experience is very good indeed.
Recommended if you like stories with unconventional heroes being nice while existing in a very fully formed litrpg system where numbers matter.
January 26, 2024
Wanted to like this book, but a few major issues that just kinda ruined it for me.
1. The biggest problem-poor valuation. Mc consistently gives away ultra rare items, and one of a kind impossible to get cleansing to make their skills good as new forever. What does he ask in return for these favors that major powers would massacre entire country's to obtain? Trinkets and triffles, a single escort mission, a few training lessons, It's completly embarrassing.
2. Tentacles. Why? Could have been worse, and easy to skip-which is nice.
3. The main story line ended halfway through the book, so the entire second half was pretty boring.
1. The biggest problem-poor valuation. Mc consistently gives away ultra rare items, and one of a kind impossible to get cleansing to make their skills good as new forever. What does he ask in return for these favors that major powers would massacre entire country's to obtain? Trinkets and triffles, a single escort mission, a few training lessons, It's completly embarrassing.
2. Tentacles. Why? Could have been worse, and easy to skip-which is nice.
3. The main story line ended halfway through the book, so the entire second half was pretty boring.
January 2, 2025
This book/series has since gotten a conventional release and I decided to reread from the start even though I had gotten most way through book3. It’s good, better with the edits, you need to kinda gloss over the initial chapters and the ero scenes are all skimable, the important information is helpfully bolded. Book 2 peaks, and book 3 kind of peters out a bit, the ending was decent.
The world/magic system is more the focus for the series, romance and character development is there, but not the focus.
The world/magic system is more the focus for the series, romance and character development is there, but not the focus.
May 18, 2021
Great read and fresh take on dungeon cores
I enjoyed reading this fresh take on dungeon cores. The editing is excellent which unfortunately is not a matter of course anymore these days.
The characters are likable and have got depth. The plot is logical and the explicit scenes are well written. I am looking forward to the next book.
I enjoyed reading this fresh take on dungeon cores. The editing is excellent which unfortunately is not a matter of course anymore these days.
The characters are likable and have got depth. The plot is logical and the explicit scenes are well written. I am looking forward to the next book.
June 22, 2021
Surprisingly enjoyable
Do not judge a book by its cover, I was expecting some sort of light isekai type litrpg story, but it is not. Do not get me wrong, it sort of is but it it doesn't make it the primary topic of the book. I find that there is a bigger depth on the characters and on the story than on similar types of books.
Do not judge a book by its cover, I was expecting some sort of light isekai type litrpg story, but it is not. Do not get me wrong, it sort of is but it it doesn't make it the primary topic of the book. I find that there is a bigger depth on the characters and on the story than on similar types of books.
July 30, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed it, excellent characters and world building with a steady and healthy power creep throughout.
Personally the smut chapters didn't do much for me but we're easily skipped with no impact to the story itself. An exceedingly well thought-out way of still having those chapters without pushing people away.
Personally the smut chapters didn't do much for me but we're easily skipped with no impact to the story itself. An exceedingly well thought-out way of still having those chapters without pushing people away.
May 9, 2021
Looking forward for more
A nice long book to hold me over, the litrpg and dungeon core parts weren't the best but I really liked the whole Power concept, as well as the Bargain thing. Overall, it's not my favorite but I think I'll be following the series.
A nice long book to hold me over, the litrpg and dungeon core parts weren't the best but I really liked the whole Power concept, as well as the Bargain thing. Overall, it's not my favorite but I think I'll be following the series.
August 26, 2021
Fantastic Series Start!
This book is an awesome start. To what looks to be one of the dungeon LitRPG series. I especially like The characters Shamya and Queen Iniri. I'm so looking forward to book two!
This book is an awesome start. To what looks to be one of the dungeon LitRPG series. I especially like The characters Shamya and Queen Iniri. I'm so looking forward to book two!
October 17, 2021
Complex world mechanics, great story
A much more complex world and story than usual. The main character, the blue core, is a mix of OP abilities and severe restrictions. The secondary characters are fully fleshed out rather than throw away prop pieces. Good read.
A much more complex world and story than usual. The main character, the blue core, is a mix of OP abilities and severe restrictions. The secondary characters are fully fleshed out rather than throw away prop pieces. Good read.
January 19, 2022
amazing story!
This is the best dungeon core book I’ve ever read. And it’s such a great story with good characters and interesting developments. The length is spectacular and so much is put in. I’m grabbing the second one now!
This is the best dungeon core book I’ve ever read. And it’s such a great story with good characters and interesting developments. The length is spectacular and so much is put in. I’m grabbing the second one now!
April 15, 2024
This book is actually a really good Dungeon Core series. Apart from the explicit chapters (the author titled the rated R chapters incase you want to skip) this book comes with all the loot, spells, dungeon building, stats, leveling up and everything else that makes Dungeon Core series fun.
June 2, 2026
I thought it had an interesting concept. A living dungeon. Thats it. thats the end of creativity.
Deus Ex alongside unlimited power. boring. Throw in a sex scene for the thirst trap. Don't bother with anything they write.
Deus Ex alongside unlimited power. boring. Throw in a sex scene for the thirst trap. Don't bother with anything they write.
May 16, 2021
Good
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
June 25, 2021
I really like the vocabulary and story. The characters are interesting.
July 25, 2021
Best dungeon core/litrpg yet
Easily the one of my top 2 favorite dungeon core books. This book should wildly succeed and I'm rooting for it!
Easily the one of my top 2 favorite dungeon core books. This book should wildly succeed and I'm rooting for it!
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