What do you think?
Rate this book
Shadowcroft Academy For Dungeons #3
Shadowcroft Academy For Dungeons: Year Three
Logan’s sophomore year was fine. Destroy an ancient evil. Solve a murder mystery. Tell way too many silverware jokes. No big deal.
His junior year, on the other hand, is shaping up to be the deadliest of them all. Shadowcroft Academy is hosting the Interschool Tournament, and though there is no Goblet, Logan and the Terrible Twelfth are about to find themselves tossed into the Fire.
With epic loot, lucrative sponsorships, and school bragging rights on the line, the tournament is guaranteed to be a bloodbath for all involved. Especially since a mysterious, masked dungeoneer with ties to Earth has set his sights on the tournament participants and is hellbent on wiping them out, no matter the cost.
Good thing the Terrible Twelfth has a bevy of new classes to help them rise to the occasion, including Cruelty Incorporated: The Business of Destruction, Runic Haiku: Utilizing Power Word Syllable Poetry, and the traumatizing Brews, Beers, and Bubbles – Alchemy for Everyone, taught by an oddball professor that no one seems to remember.
In short, it’s just another year at good ol’ Shadowcroft, with even more mushroom action, a crocheting minotaur, a surprising amount of twine, and interdimensional conspiracy theories out the wazoo.
But it’s mostly twine. Twine all the way down…
From James A. Hunter—bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Bibliomancer (Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the LitRPG epic Viridian Gate Online—and Dragon Award Finalist Aaron Michael Ritchey, comes a brand new Dungeon Core novel, like nothing you've ever seen before. Funny, funky, and full of Gamelit goodness, this is one novel you won't want to put down.
His junior year, on the other hand, is shaping up to be the deadliest of them all. Shadowcroft Academy is hosting the Interschool Tournament, and though there is no Goblet, Logan and the Terrible Twelfth are about to find themselves tossed into the Fire.
With epic loot, lucrative sponsorships, and school bragging rights on the line, the tournament is guaranteed to be a bloodbath for all involved. Especially since a mysterious, masked dungeoneer with ties to Earth has set his sights on the tournament participants and is hellbent on wiping them out, no matter the cost.
Good thing the Terrible Twelfth has a bevy of new classes to help them rise to the occasion, including Cruelty Incorporated: The Business of Destruction, Runic Haiku: Utilizing Power Word Syllable Poetry, and the traumatizing Brews, Beers, and Bubbles – Alchemy for Everyone, taught by an oddball professor that no one seems to remember.
In short, it’s just another year at good ol’ Shadowcroft, with even more mushroom action, a crocheting minotaur, a surprising amount of twine, and interdimensional conspiracy theories out the wazoo.
But it’s mostly twine. Twine all the way down…
From James A. Hunter—bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Bibliomancer (Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the LitRPG epic Viridian Gate Online—and Dragon Award Finalist Aaron Michael Ritchey, comes a brand new Dungeon Core novel, like nothing you've ever seen before. Funny, funky, and full of Gamelit goodness, this is one novel you won't want to put down.
- GenresFantasy
595 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2023
116 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
James A. Hunter
81 books1,101 followersJames Hunter is a full-time ink slinger, a member of SFWA, and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Bibliomancer (The Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, an industry leader that specializes in publishing LitRPG, Fantasy, and selection Science Fiction.
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 16, 2023
exceptional read
I love the pop culture references and leaving logan and earth on a cliffhanger really has me on the edge. I cant wait for Year 4!!!
I love the pop culture references and leaving logan and earth on a cliffhanger really has me on the edge. I cant wait for Year 4!!!
February 20, 2023
Wow the third year for our group of misfit students is amazing, they might think it is going to be a walk in the park but boy are they mistaken. Shadowcroft was going to be hosting the intraschool dungeoneering tournament and they were hoping to be chosen to represent their academy. And lo and behold to everyone's disbelief Logan and the terrible twelfth are chosen and thus tossed into the fire. Let the games begin. They are to be pitted against the strongest dungeon cores from all the schools and Shadowcroft needed to win, since they had not done so in many years. This might turn out to be the deadliest year yet for our group of heroes, but they vowed to give the tournament their best. Had they been pitted only against rival dungeon cores it might not have been so bad however Lou Shador, a masked dungeoneer steeped in mystery, who had vowed to wipe out all participants was bound to attack their dungeon and they had to prepare for him and his glow brigade who seemed to have ties to earth. Logan helped all his friends to grow stronger and to use his powers to merge with them to make them stronger as a group. He knew he could never do this on his own but that as a group they had a chance. Could they really survive this tournament and win? This is amazing, action packed adventure with a massive battle at the end which kept me on the edge of my seat reading till the end. I love the esprit de corps which our once misfits, now heroes believe in. Bring on year 4!
October 31, 2023
(First I want to say I listen to the audio version)
As much as I greatly enjoyed the first two books, this book unfortunately was not great. I struggled multiple times with just not even wanting to finish it. The book is ridiculously repetitive in both its phrases and horrible puns and yes there were puns in the first two book but this book was not even trying to be written witty it came off as childish and annoy. But for me the worst part was the narrators take on the main villain it made me want to fast forward or out right skip any of his speech and don't get me started on the fake Arnold teacher but fortunately it was very brief. The other thing that I found pretty annoying is that yes Marco is always been a little dense but they wrote him extremely childish in this book.
I can't recommend this book at all there may be some people that aren't bothered by the horrible voice mimicry and the overall repetitiveness I'm just not one.
As much as I greatly enjoyed the first two books, this book unfortunately was not great. I struggled multiple times with just not even wanting to finish it. The book is ridiculously repetitive in both its phrases and horrible puns and yes there were puns in the first two book but this book was not even trying to be written witty it came off as childish and annoy. But for me the worst part was the narrators take on the main villain it made me want to fast forward or out right skip any of his speech and don't get me started on the fake Arnold teacher but fortunately it was very brief. The other thing that I found pretty annoying is that yes Marco is always been a little dense but they wrote him extremely childish in this book.
I can't recommend this book at all there may be some people that aren't bothered by the horrible voice mimicry and the overall repetitiveness I'm just not one.
September 18, 2025
If you like Mushrooms and pollen— your cup of tea
The entire series is a bit quirky and sets the hero/MC is the body of a mushroom man. And of course this is not a hero like normal but a dungeon core that is learning how to build effective dungeons to kill the pesky human/humaniod parties that try to kill the core and kill the tree of the universe… thus killing all life in the universe. Well developed characters. The only thing is that you sometimes forget these characters are not human but dungeon cores with human feelings. Well I guess the sole was taken from Uroth (earth) so… lots of fungi puns and earth references. Sometimes hard to relate to the dungeon cores/mc due to the weirdness but go figure… lol
The entire series is a bit quirky and sets the hero/MC is the body of a mushroom man. And of course this is not a hero like normal but a dungeon core that is learning how to build effective dungeons to kill the pesky human/humaniod parties that try to kill the core and kill the tree of the universe… thus killing all life in the universe. Well developed characters. The only thing is that you sometimes forget these characters are not human but dungeon cores with human feelings. Well I guess the sole was taken from Uroth (earth) so… lots of fungi puns and earth references. Sometimes hard to relate to the dungeon cores/mc due to the weirdness but go figure… lol
February 27, 2023
Monday, Monday, Monday!
The hero survives, but not until there is some introspection and a big question of whether the big bad is too big. I was a bit surprised that the climax seemed a little “blah” - the moves right before were more exciting for me.
I could do with a little less cultural reference - I don’t mind when they are secondary to the plot, but there were some references I didn’t quite get that were more germane to the plot. They are supposed to be funnier because most of the action takes place in another world than ours, but there are many connections back to Earth.
The hero survives, but not until there is some introspection and a big question of whether the big bad is too big. I was a bit surprised that the climax seemed a little “blah” - the moves right before were more exciting for me.
I could do with a little less cultural reference - I don’t mind when they are secondary to the plot, but there were some references I didn’t quite get that were more germane to the plot. They are supposed to be funnier because most of the action takes place in another world than ours, but there are many connections back to Earth.
April 6, 2023
fun
Logan and friends are at it again. They’re roped into an interschool tournament and given seemingly impossible tasks to improve their cultivation. Then bad guys invade the event. Impossible tasks give introspection and are completed, and someone is a mole. Logan barely wins and finds all paths lead to Earth.
This is a fun installment in the series. Well told, adds to the characters and world building. Fun references. Highly enjoyable.
Logan and friends are at it again. They’re roped into an interschool tournament and given seemingly impossible tasks to improve their cultivation. Then bad guys invade the event. Impossible tasks give introspection and are completed, and someone is a mole. Logan barely wins and finds all paths lead to Earth.
This is a fun installment in the series. Well told, adds to the characters and world building. Fun references. Highly enjoyable.
February 16, 2023
Let’s get ready to RUUUUUMBLE!
more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at! A wrestling themed villain, awesome new evolutions, and some great new dungeons designed by the Terrible Twelth! Also some great foreshadowing for what’s to come! I’m really hoping this series gets a book 5 at least, cause I don’t think 4 will possibly be able to wrap this wild ride up!
more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at! A wrestling themed villain, awesome new evolutions, and some great new dungeons designed by the Terrible Twelth! Also some great foreshadowing for what’s to come! I’m really hoping this series gets a book 5 at least, cause I don’t think 4 will possibly be able to wrap this wild ride up!
February 19, 2023
More mysteries and mushrooms
Book three takes a whimsical turn while the casual casualties continue to mount at an astounding rate. The tension, mysteries and nailbiting moments are sandwiched in whirls of candied friendship. Sometimes literally. The mushroom goodness continues to leave me satisfied.
Pick it up and enjoy - I know I wolfed this one down!
Book three takes a whimsical turn while the casual casualties continue to mount at an astounding rate. The tension, mysteries and nailbiting moments are sandwiched in whirls of candied friendship. Sometimes literally. The mushroom goodness continues to leave me satisfied.
Pick it up and enjoy - I know I wolfed this one down!
February 20, 2023
what can I say it’s a killer of a story and it just keeps getting funnier.
what can I say it’s a killer of a story and it just keeps getting funnier. I will keep reading till my eyes bleed and I run out of air laughing.
what can I say it’s a killer of a story and it just keeps getting funnier. I will keep reading till my eyes bleed and I run out of air laughing.
March 8, 2023
The mushroom we all know and love
A good continuation to the series, though I can’t help but think that they make the big bad a little… much? This one was just toxically weird. Pretty much every oddball stereotype they could add to the character, they did.
A good continuation to the series, though I can’t help but think that they make the big bad a little… much? This one was just toxically weird. Pretty much every oddball stereotype they could add to the character, they did.
March 15, 2023
Better than Second Boom
Overall I like the arc of the characters and like the ending. The only thing I can hope for is Aaron and James do an origin story for Lou. I wanted to know more about him so bad.
Overall I like the arc of the characters and like the ending. The only thing I can hope for is Aaron and James do an origin story for Lou. I wanted to know more about him so bad.
March 29, 2023
Another great book
This series has been great entertainment! The characters seem randomly picked out of a hat, but they all are funny and great fun. Can't wait for year 4 at the Academy!
This series has been great entertainment! The characters seem randomly picked out of a hat, but they all are funny and great fun. Can't wait for year 4 at the Academy!
November 11, 2023
It all points back home
This was even better than the last book. Logan got even stronger, and he got to meet someone from home. The guy he fought against was a real tool. I look forward to the final book whenever it comes out.
This was even better than the last book. Logan got even stronger, and he got to meet someone from home. The guy he fought against was a real tool. I look forward to the final book whenever it comes out.
December 3, 2023
Fun
Really having fun and enjoying the series that the author has put together. Love Logan's can-do attitude and his devotion to his friends. And some of the jokes and characters hit it out of the park.
Really having fun and enjoying the series that the author has put together. Love Logan's can-do attitude and his devotion to his friends. And some of the jokes and characters hit it out of the park.
February 23, 2023
Me like funny mushroom
Yeah number one victory royal Yeah fortnight we need to get down.
, get down ten kills on the bord right now
Yeah number one victory royal Yeah fortnight we need to get down.
, get down ten kills on the bord right now
April 13, 2023
Wonderful
This installment had me rethinking a lot about the characters with every trust and turn. I look forward to the next book and finding if my theories are right or wrong.
This installment had me rethinking a lot about the characters with every trust and turn. I look forward to the next book and finding if my theories are right or wrong.
April 15, 2023
great 3rd book
New characters introduced. Story arcs completed and more mysteries hinted at. The power of fungaloids is even more apparent than ever! Good vibes all around
New characters introduced. Story arcs completed and more mysteries hinted at. The power of fungaloids is even more apparent than ever! Good vibes all around
April 2, 2025
it's cool, but not for me, thanks for the ride :)
February 23, 2023
Declining quality
The first book was good, the second one was okay, this one I could barely finish it. The author spent more time trying to make bad jokes or force in pop culture references then he did trying to write an actual story.
The first book was good, the second one was okay, this one I could barely finish it. The author spent more time trying to make bad jokes or force in pop culture references then he did trying to write an actual story.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews