Review: Dungeon Crawl by Robert Bevan

Anyone whose been here a while knows that I've read all of Robert Bevan's Caverns and Creatures stuff--both his novel, Critical Failures, and all of his "mini-adventures" (short stories).

Dungeon Crawl hits a spot in between these two things, providing a more lengthy adventure that should be satisfying for those who are awaiting Critical Failures' sequel.

As always with these stories, though, I do strongly recommend that readers start with Critical Failures, especially if they don't have a D&D or RPG background.

But we're not here for me to give you a reading order. Have Tim, Julian, Dave and Cooper gone on another successful adventure? Or have they finally gotten in a bit too far over their heads? Read on and find out. :)

(Summary from GoodReads)

Tim, Dave, Julian, and Cooper go shopping, explore a dungeon, and interact with black people.

Since this blog focuses on mostly YA I'm going to explain something from word go: this book is *not* racist. It does veer on being politically incorrect, but its due to a univerally evil race of elves known as the Drow. (Or *are* they? Hmm...) 

Now that I've gotten that landmine out of the way... 

Dungeon Crawl is an excellent addition to the Caverns and Creatures series, bringing all of the things I love most about Robert's world, characters and writing, and providing them in a slightly meatier format (longer story). The humor here was spot on and did not fail to disappoint, and that's crucial considering that this is comedic fantasy. 

Going back to the aforementioned Drow for a moment, I thought they were a fantastic addition to the list of races and creatures we've seen in this series. The overall mood and personality given to the Drow contrasts beautifully with the antics of this series four main heroes, resulting in an adventure that both expands the world Robert has created while maintaining the humor his series is known for. 

I particularly liked the twist with the introduced side-character, Dusty, and as with Critical Failures, I feel that Dungeon Crawl will provide an interesting surprise to its readers. 

Dungeon Crawl is bound to give those who love the Caverns and Creatures series more crazy antics to laugh about. For new readers I stand by my stance that starting with the novel is best, though I will say that anyone who loves D&D, RPGs or comedic fantasy should check Robert Bevan's series out. Just keep an open mind--here there be swearing, cat bladders filled with goat's milk, and hairy orc nipples. You have been warned. 

Buy It Now on Amazon !