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Dungeon World #3

Dungeon World 3

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Following a miraculous resurrection, Fred – the half-Human/half-Dungeon-Core hybrid – managed to reunite with Deecy, his helpful Dire Wolf guide and companion. Not only that, but he was able to perform an equally miraculous resurrection of Eisa, the Human woman that had professed her love for him just moments before the tragic event of their deaths.

But would she be the same as she was before, or would she be forever changed by the unique process that had brought her back?

Accompanied by a friend from Fred’s past, the group journeys to the west in search of the Core Power Guild and the townspeople of Gatecross. Along the way, Eisa discovers the strange new abilities that she now possesses – abilities that are very similar to Deecy’s, the shape-shifting Dire Wolf that travels with them. Eventually, they arrive in the Deadlands, a constantly decaying landscape filled with undead monsters of all types; information on the Guild’s whereabouts are easily found, but Fred and his friends aren’t forgotten by the Nature and Earth Cores that he had inadvertently destroyed.

Is anywhere in the world safe enough to create a dungeon that will keep his friends – and those he loves – protected from the threat that the Factions pose to them?

Only the broken Shards of the Dungeon Cores he left behind know the answer to that.

480 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 22, 2019

569 people are currently reading
144 people want to read

About the author

Jonathan Brooks

82 books485 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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5 stars
646 (42%)
4 stars
536 (35%)
3 stars
252 (16%)
2 stars
56 (3%)
1 star
16 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
Profile Image for GaiusPrimus.
870 reviews97 followers
August 27, 2019
Does not disappoint

As usual, Jonathan Brooks' delivers another great dungeon core book. Really enjoying where the story seems to be headed and with the hope the characters are developing.

Well done.
691 reviews10 followers
April 19, 2020
Dungeon Core Human fleeing danger

Fred and his "family" fight to survive the angry cores and human settlements trying to kill them. While the whole time they are looking for their friends from the village that they helped to fight with in the last book. When they finally find them, they start a War they need to get all humans to fight and love it die.
The storyline has gotten much better and I'm excited to see what happens next.
Profile Image for Xander.
46 reviews
February 4, 2023
Made the error of buying a “complete series” bundle sight unseen. First book was okay, second was meh, third is a slog so I’ve turned it into speed reading practice. Don’t care enough to finish the series.
3 reviews
August 23, 2019
Best yet

This is the kind of book series i enjoy mc makes mistakes and is learning from them even allowing others a chance to shine
Profile Image for Gareth Otton.
Author 5 books134 followers
January 17, 2022
This is the book that lost me as a reader for this series.

As I mentioned in my reviews for books 1 & 2, this is an enjoyable but flawed series. Enjoyable because the overall premise is interesting, but flawed because the premise alone (or maybe the world-building as well to some small extent) is carrying the story. The question then became how long can I overlook things like a lack of character development, a meandering plot that doesn't seem to be leading anywhere, and a plethora of other problems?

With this book taking the protagonist back to the wild with only a small group of companions so that we can get back to something of a magical survival story, it turns out this was the answer to that question. In a move that feels like it was abandoning the progress made in the earlier novel, I just lost interest in this book and the series as a whole as the premise just didn't interest me as it once did.

It's a shame because there was promise here, but I think a bit more work on storytelling fundamentals like character and plot in order to better execute that premise would have gone a long way.
Profile Image for Milton.
127 reviews
July 3, 2020
So this are great listens, i had them in audiobook and taking off the statistics that are part of the LitRPG world. but this what makes it fun, then the narrator was great, so again it keeps the growth of the main character, and he is in search for his people, in this search creates a new dungeon that now because it’s in a convergence makes things complicated. The council of dungeons will make an example. of this unusual dungeon that is steeling properties from dungeons, and giving back things that make dungeons better, also found weird thing getting to the city that will be a central point of this book and the next .

Great book again, it slows down in the middle, but pick ups with really interesting information at the end. So i read the next before writing this summary, that has no spoilers.

like it !
Profile Image for Charles Daniel.
585 reviews6 followers
March 17, 2021
Fred Searches For His People

Fred and his companions continue their adventures while Fred learns more about both his Dungeon Core and his human nature and makes decisions which may have millennium spanning consequences.

I strongly recommend reading books one and two of the series, before reading this novel. Sure, you can read the recap Mr. Brooks has placed before Chapter One, but wouldn't that be a bit like going to a high class restaurant and eating the menu as the appetizers before your meal?

I recommend this series to those who enjoy the high fantasy genre, LitRPG genre, and RPGs.
188 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2025
Another one down - again, bought as a set, I'm unsure if I'd have continued otherwise. These are really 2's masquerading as 3's I think. We're just moving from plot to plot sometimes, decisions are... getting better I guess, but still sometimes leave me wondering. Characters are thin, but okay. Plot is going places, I think I see how it's all going to play out, but it could surprise me

Side note: just realized this author also wrote the Healer books. Those are much better (I bought and blew through them all on kindle over a week and a bit or so), although some of the same problems - but much less. So, there's that.
Profile Image for Laurel.
606 reviews2 followers
September 19, 2023
Fred somehow revives himself after the Earth core's self destruction and manages to revive a dead Eisa, using the same technique he used to create Deecy. The rest of the town folk are gone and now Fred and Eisa need to find them and survive the Earth and Nature Factions out to kill them. Fred's journey to find out who killed his parents is still paused for now.

The stats are TOO MUCH in this series, but I'll be honest, Brooks knows this and puts them in a separate small chapters, so I just skipped the worst of the stats chapter
Profile Image for Christopher.
501 reviews7 followers
August 14, 2022
A fun entry that really feels like the series is hitting its stride.

I really enjoyed this book for what it was and the it continues to deliver exactly what it promises with dungeon core LitRPG. I don’t care for the execution of the romance and Fred’s cluelessness, but once it’s established I think the generally supportive vibes are actually pretty good. It just was painful getting there.
Profile Image for Danny Moody.
1,421 reviews11 followers
March 20, 2024
Another good entry. I thought more would happen in this book but it felt like the point of this book was to firm his resolve on what he actually wants to do. There are some dungeon building elements but this atypical dungeon stuff is a little hard to get used to.
245 reviews
April 20, 2020
A fun adventure

The hits just keep on coming! I loved this one and this series just keeps getting stronger. I cannot wait for the 4th book.
698 reviews4 followers
June 23, 2020
Build Up to War?

The dungeons on the world and soon the sheep will start fighting back Soon what will happen and who'll survive?
4 reviews
September 6, 2020
Really enjoyed the engaging story

Really enjoyed the engaging story. I can barely wait for the next book. Keep up the great work.
Thank you
Profile Image for Ethan Stein.
Author 5 books247 followers
November 3, 2020
Still a fun, exciting and action-packed story. Great cast of characters. Interested to see where it goes from here.
Profile Image for Bill Jones.
430 reviews
May 26, 2023
Getting more interesting - Fred finds his friends at last - a good read.
Profile Image for Jim Phillips.
983 reviews3 followers
April 7, 2024
Story keeps improving

Another good book. I'm not as happy with the epilogue. We're not at a safe place to rest an recoup.
Profile Image for Alison.
118 reviews2 followers
May 23, 2020
Binge Worthy!

So Dungeon World has been keeping me up at night.
Lol I’m binge reading this series.
I won’t leave a book a report, I’m not a writer.
It’s different from most LitRPGs in storyline and character creation.
You’ve got dungeons, stats, crafting, diving, adventure and escapes with a tiny bit of true love developing.
Profile Image for Frank.
118 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2020
I couldn't finish it... Just not my thing.
Profile Image for Scott.
131 reviews15 followers
January 24, 2020
I was a bit disappointed by this book, feeling like it was the weakest book so far. Thankfully after just completing the book after this I was motivated to finally share my thoughts on both books.

The plot of this one is a bit... odd. Without giving anything away, it opens with a somewhat extreme event, followed by a time lapse. The actual point of this event is to create a reason for the group to travel, but without any build up to what should be a huge event, it feels rushed and weak. Thankfully after that point the story continues at it's normal pace, but the opening left me with a sour taste that permeated the rest of the story.

Character growth isn't that large of a focus is this novel, as most characters are comfortably fleshed out, though the author does add to the cast and give some love to fleshing out the crew a bit more evenly.

The most redeeming characteristic of this book is how, through the re-introduction of travel, you really get a feel for the world, experiencing new areas and gaining more information. It still feels like you're traveling though a bit of an 8 bit RPG overworld due to how basic the information is, but it's a welcome change.

In the end, while this book is the weakest in the series, it has some redeeming characteristics and I'm happy to report that the next book is far superior.
Profile Image for Kevin.
1,710 reviews30 followers
January 5, 2020
I think the stats problem has gotten worse. I'm sure now that the author is a numberphile (person that has a fetish for numbers). I'm starting to think that the persons who read this also have a number fetish. I'm here for the stories and adventure, but when I browse through reviews I don't see people complaining about the stats, that means they like it.
You don't need stats because the author explains what changed afterwards anyways.

This book is immature. I understand the dungeon guy is artificially autistic because he didn't interact with people growing up. But this girl blushing because her mud golem is naked is beyond childish. I hope I don't have to read no blushing maidens getting flustered at hand holding.

Well I'm done and this was a "meh". The writing hasn't improved (only the stats have). The character doesn't seem to have matured much, and something was off while reading this book. I can't say what it was, but it was there. I will probably read the sequel and skip any stats I see to know how this improbable alliance will flourish (they were all supposed to be killed).

2/5 Stars
Profile Image for Eddie Regalado.
13 reviews1 follower
January 26, 2020
Enjoyed the change

He is seeming to grow quite a bit this book. Lots of twists that were seen, but some that were not. I like the increased lore and background, but not overwhelming.
Profile Image for Colin Rowlands.
240 reviews2 followers
October 24, 2019
The latest instalment of this series feels even more hectic than the previous one, the situations that the main character and his friends find themselves in continue to escalate even more and some of his friends undergo some very significant changes during this book, while the main character finds new goals beyond his original desire for revenge against those dungeon cores responsible for the deaths of his parents.

The narrator's performance in this one does not change significantly from the previous books, doing a good job of enhancing the story.

Overall, this series seems to be going from strength to strength with each book building significantly on the foundations of the first one.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]
322 reviews8 followers
September 13, 2019
This series has potential but this book fell flat

Overall the story is interesting and unique. The execution needs work. The series just becomes a lot less interesting when the MC can just resurrect anyone who dies with new powers and abilities. Moreover, there’s a pattern in book 2 and book 3. The MC finds himself facing overwhelming numbers of hostility forces. He makes a dungeon with subpar defenses and somehow survives. This gets pretty boring. He doesn’t invest in becoming personally stronger or in creating stronger dungeons. But he insists on fighting people and creatures that are stronger than him. He makes several other very questionable decisions. Also the l
Profile Image for Vincent Archer.
443 reviews22 followers
September 14, 2019
More Human-Dungeon hybrid adventures.

This entry in the Dungeon World flows directly from the previous one. After his self-resurrection at the end of the previous book, Fred goes searching for the people who got wronged by his actions - his former guild members. There's the required dungeon action, special core shenanigans, acquisition of a new element, and threats that can't be simply solved by the judicious expenditure of mana.

And more people are wondering who the fuck is that guy, and how does he do it. All in all, a solid entry, and proof that M. Brooks is getting into his writing groove and doing it right.
Profile Image for RandomLibrarian.
133 reviews5 followers
January 17, 2020
The antagonist is too ambiguous. The magical LitRPG system seems to make sense but the secondary system overlapping the primary one for the protagonist is kind of annoying when shared around with his whole party and loses its uniqueness. I like the main character but we don’t really get to know him well enough. Brief flashes of insight at seemingly inopportune moments. Still enjoy the concept because of its originality and attempt to be different feels organized enough that I will continue. These long series often start to feel like the author has gotten lazy and doesn’t follow a plan or outline. Don’t have the feeling here with is crucial.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews

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