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 !

Mini Review: Zombies Attack!!! by Robert Bevan

*This book is not YA.

It's four a.m.

I cannot sleep.

I log into Absolute Write and find out that Robert Bevan has released a new Caverns and Creatures mini-adventure.

It's now 6 a.m. I won't tell you if the guys survive a zombie attack. I will tell you that I feel like a zombie and I'm going to bed. :D

I had to stay up and read this.

The Plot: (Summary from Amazon)

Tim, Dave, Julian, and Cooper are at it again. They go out for what's meant to be a simple zombie hunt and get in way over their heads.

The Mini-Review:

Just in time for Halloween, Robert Bevan presents a new Caverns and Creatures mini-adventure (short story) featuring Tim, Dave, Julian and (of course) everyone's favorite half-orc, Cooper where they fight zombies!

As with each previous C&C novel / short story, Zombies Attack!! is filled with a wonderfully constructed world where people who thought they were "just playing a game" got sucked into the game world quiet literally. It also contains much of Robert's usual humor, and I'm pretty sure I laughed aloud at least ten times while reading this, which is quite impressive for something of this length. (I think Amazon estimates it at 36 pages?)

If you are looking for something fun, different and funny, Zombies Attack is yet another tale that comes highly recommended. Fans of old school tabletop gaming and comedic fantasy are in for a real treat with this one.

Review: Critical Failures by Robert Bevan

*This book is not YA

Many of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I have a background in gaming--primarily with RPGs and MMOs. What most of you likely don't know, is that for five years or so I was a Dungeons and Dragons DM (dungeon master) for a local gaming group called The Gamer Gathering. (I've also doing Vampire: The Masquerade live action role playing, but that's enough about me.)

With this background in mind, I knew I absolutely had to read Critical Failures when I heard about it over at Absolute Write. The idea of people being sucked into a game world sounded totally awesome to me. And the fact that the book promised to be funny (and even better--it was) only sweetened the deal.

Up front and honest: this may very well not be the right cup of tea for some of my readers. But this is one of the best books I've read all summer and I want to make certain it gets its moment here at I Write, I Read, I Review.

The Plot: (Summary from Amazon.com)

Tim and his friends find out the hard way that you shouldn't question the game master, and you shouldn't make fun of his cape.

One minute, they're drinking away the dreariness of their lives, escaping into a fantasy game and laughing their asses off. The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them.

Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game.

Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world.

It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist.

Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.

This is not going to be a normally structured review. Why? Because when I initially read this and wrote a review to go up on Amazon, I wasn't sure if I would post it here since it's not really meant for my blog's main audience. I do occasionally review an adult romance, but this is comic fantasy and it's another animal all together. But hey, it does share one thing with the rest of my reviews: it's honest. :) If you like humor and fantasy it may well be worth a shot.

(Originally posted on Amazon.com):

Have you ever played Dungeons and Dragons? Vampire: The Masquerade? Heck, even a Final Fantasy game would do in a pinch. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to step away from the table or sofa and inhabit the world you are playing in?

Be careful what you wish for.

In Critical Failures, Robert Bevan introduces us to Tim and his motley crew of friends. We join them on an epic quest of adventure and hilarity when they tick off their Cavern Master, who sends them into the game world to experience life in the "game" first hand.

As someone who DM'd D&D and played live action Vampire: The Masquerade, I found a lot of joyous nostalgia and a ton of humor in this novel. I loved each of the characters -- Cooper with his ability to say the wrong thing until you least expect it; clever Tim who makes a terrific halfling; curious and 'innocent' Julian whose choices make him so great at diplomacy, and snarky Kat. (Just to name a few)

The pace was quick, the dialog witty and the ending threw me for a loop in the best way possible.

For anyone who has ever gamed, wished they could be part of a game, or who loves comedic fantasy Critical Failures is a novel I would highly recommend. This was the sort of book I still wanted to be reading even when I reached the end.

If you are uncertain whether Critical Failures would be for you, I strongly suggest downloading Cave of the Kobolds, a short story set in the Caverns and Creatures universe. It is free on Smashwords and you can find it here.

Personally, I really enjoyed this freebie. It's funny, but we do also get a bit more about the characters, especially Cooper. (Who is by far my favorite.) This is definitely an excellent way to try Robert's writing and I think he did a fantastic job on it.