The Dungeon Challenge

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2021

Author

Elecham

• Chapter 97
  Jun 16, 2021
• Chapter 96
  Jun 16, 2021
• Chapter 95
  Jun 16, 2021
• Chapter 94
  Jun 16, 2021
• Chapter 93
  Jun 7, 2021
• Chapter 92
  Jun 4, 2021
• Chapter 91
  Jun 2, 2021
• Chapter 90
  Jun 2, 2021
• Chapter 89
  May 28, 2021
• Chapter 88
  May 26, 2021
• Chapter 87
  May 24, 2021
• Chapter 86
  May 21, 2021
• Chapter 85
  May 19, 2021
• Chapter 84
  May 18, 2021
• Chapter 83
  May 14, 2021
• Chapter 82
  May 12, 2021
• Chapter 81
  May 10, 2021
• Chapter 80
  May 7, 2021
• Chapter 79
  May 5, 2021
• Chapter 78
  May 3, 2021

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• ozeiRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I love the dialogues! some times they feel sloppy and purely bad but others are masterpieces, the characters are well written but there is no interesting mystery yet in the story but I like it. I did hope some points in the story were slower and others faster but now it's too late to change them, so I hope that is the case for future chapters. Just one piece of advice a little bit less detail and more reflexion in the mc mind would be good.
• David F. WeismanRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This review was posted just after the author finished chapter 30.
  There will be spoilers for chapter one. After that the novel has many twists and turns. I will give as much of the flavor as I can with as few spoilers as I can - even when I tell you stuff after chapter one, you don't know as much as you think.
  I loved the opening. We learn a great deal about the world, Malco, Malco's home village, and his family. There is very little exposition though, there is a fight scene, and pretty much everything we learn comes naturally into Malco's story without stopping the action.
  This is gamelit - but only a few people ever get class powers or level up. A few, the mysterious Godtouched, are born with them. The rest must do without - or try and earn them in a mysterious dungeon via an ancient custom. There are conflicting origin stories, but in the present time few seek these powers voluntarily since most die in the attempt. Yet the Godtouched have their own games of power and prestige, and an entire village may be destroyed if their are no 'volunteers'. So someone must be persuaded, but who and how?
  Even the journey to the dungeon can be very dangerous - but the story is just getting started. Pay close attention once you reach the dungeon, there are more characters and things get complicated. Bonds of family, friendship, and trust are tested and tested again, and the story is hard to put down.
  I love this book, I have often seen less sophisticated and passionate writing in bookstores and libraries. And yes, there is plenty of action and fighting.
• Dr SpamelotRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Interesting read so far. This story has a lot of potential and a lot of room to grow. Evolving in a slightly dystopIan setting and hinting secrets to be discovered. The world is dominated by "immortal" players that rule authoritatively over everyone else. Levels, skills etc. But with some very interesting new elements in the mix.
• MShadowlawnRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Disclaimer 1: This was initially written as part of a review swap. This doesn't affect my ratings.
  Disclaimer 2: The Overall Score represents the quality of my experience(as a reader), while individual category ratings are from the perspective of a more analytical critique.
  BLUF: A rather well-written, tense, and action-friendly story where the standard gamelit formula is completely overturned, centering on characters with NO LitRPG-style stats up against, among other things, people who do have those benefits. Oh, yeah, and a horrible dungeon full of traps and monsters. Does take some time to get started, but by the time you've hit chapter 8-10 you'll know that it pays off well. Payoffs only amp up past chapter 15.
  GRAMMAR: Servicable, with minor typos and other oddities here and there. Readability was only minimally affected(but appears to get slightly worse after chapter 10).
  STORY: Suffers a little from drag in terms of early pacing, in my opinion, but it makes sure that even in those moments we're getting something for our time. There's also a fairly sudden ramp-up from "typical-ish fantasy" to "Dear god, that got dark really quickly", not just in level of violence but in terms of the grimdark level of the lore, and I really like that. I couldn't call it completely unpredictable, but there's a few solid twists here and there to keep things interesting. The "real story"(by which I mean the Godzilla, the actual Dungeon Challenge) starts all the way in chapter 15, so the story's probably slow-starting enough that there's a few who won't completely forgive it, but I've gotta say I like what I see now.
  Spoiler for chapters 15 and forward(non-story):
  Once we get inside the actual dungeon, the going gets really good. The author seamlessly creates an environment where danger is both unpredictable and around every corner, while also establishing a baseline set of rules that keep the reader invested without showing its entire hand too soon.
  CHARACTER: I feel like a few ch
• NickLStoriesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've only gone over the first chapter, but I was extremely impressed by the author's (Elecham) elegant prose, snappy pacing, and vivid imagery.
  The relationship between the adopted siblings is shown, in touching fashion, through their words and action that hint at an intriguing backstory and sets up the plot to come.
  The fight scene is swiftly paced without being sparse and action-packed without being overdone. Elecham is obviously capable of delivering vivid action, and I'm sure there is much more to be anticipated in the subsequent chapters of this story.
  As another reviewer mentioned, Elecham's prose is tight and efficient. The narrative is not laden with purple imagery, yet it delivers a clear and colorful picture of the world and what occurs within it.
• Publius Decius MusRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It starts out as a classical hero's journey with a physically wimpy but mentally tough kid who will become powerful and hopefully remain kind and compassionate in sharp contrast with the current assholes on the top of the foodchain. I was sold at the second paragraph already :D
  Style:
  Present tense, first person narrator. Really well-done in my opinion. The one point of view character makes it easier to follow, and even the internal monologues and flashbacks are written fluently, it was easy on my poor sleep-deprived brain through the whole time.
  Story:
  Classic high fantasy and hero's journey as I have written above. It doesn't feel like overused tropes at all, I think the best word for the story would be streamlined. No weird tangents, no long polemisations, just an enjoyable, well crafted plot.
  Grammar:
  Besides the occasional typo, impeccable.
  Characters:
  The main character is equal parts relatable and punchable, just like a teenager protagonist should be. He is smart, tough, has a presence of mind, but he is also not infallible, and has his angsty moments. The other members of the main cast are also believable and organically written, the favourite of the readers will probably be the main character's cool sister, Rev.
  Overall it is a well-written story. It's based upon tested and true templates, but it has enough unique twists and ideas to keep it fresh and interesting. I can recommend this novel to everyone who is looking to have some fun.
• ArararaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It's fun, it's interesting, there's constant tension, something important happening; Not dull for a moment. Real dangers are involved and our characters are often  walking a knife-edge. Sometimes they get out unscathed, and other times they suffer the consequences for their mistakes (or just bad luck). Really, I don't have much bad to say about the fiction. Wholeheartedly recommended, give it a try.
  Style:
  The style has been consistant so far, and I personally find it enjoyable. It's tagged onder "gamelit", but don't let that scare you off, it's pretty tame in that regard. It reads more like high-fantasy; no blue screens. Action scenes are quick and sharp, people react by instinct, the scenes aren't super-long slugfests. In general, the descriptions are there, but not the focus, and not overdone. It leaves enough to the reader's imagination. I quite liked the riddles/songs that appear later on, too.
  Story:
  The setting is a world where the common people live under the boot of "Godchosen", e.g. mysterious, reckless, unbeatable people with "levels". The MC is a town-elder's son, and he sets off on a long, hard journey with his sister to try and rescue their other, adopted sister. The only way to do that is to participate in a terrifyingly dangerous dungeon challenge, that's being held in the capitol. There, they have to solve puzzles, survive traps, fight monsters and interact with other challengers of various loyalties and hidden motivations. So far so good. There's also rich mistery/history behind everything that we get tidbits of.
  Grammar:
  Not much to be said here. Pass. Everything seems to be in order. I haven't really found any mistakes, so it can't be too bad. Easy to read, effortless to understand, but doesn't feel dumbed down on purpose. It's a nice balance.
  Characters:
  The characters are pretty varied. There's history behind them, they're not just cookie-cutters. Even the MC's best friend is someone he used to bully and strongly dislike. They have their motiva
• Jacob A ZuckerRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I'll preface this review by saying I'm not overly familiary with gamelit. That said, I've enjoyed the story thus far. It's simple, but neat. The prose doesn't overtax itself—the writing is tight and to-the-point. I don't know if first-person, present-tense is a feature of the genre, but I did find it a little jarring.
  So far, Malco is a bit bland as a character, though his half-sister and adopted-sister are both intriguing.
  Overall, I quite enjoyed what I've read so far. I look forward to seeing how the story progresses.
• TheHexRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The Dungeon Challenge is an intriguing story with slightly dark undertones, told through the perspective of it's main character. Though it contains elements of GameLit, it did not feel, at all, like the cliché carbon copies one usually finds among the genre. It is, by all means, an original and entertaining work that is well deserving of praise.
  Style: As many stories told through a first person perspective, The Dungeon Challenge mainly focuses into the main character's perception of the world around them. Though it may have a slow start, that i perceive as world building, the pacing picks itself up comfortably as you read more. Soon i found myself immersed into the story, though unfortunately, i lack the free time to binge it. I find it, however, that dialogue could use some improvements, as it’s quality throughout the story tends to vary by a lot.
  Grammar: I'm not a native english speaker, so take anything i say with a grain of salt. The grammar is solid, with very accurate use of punctuation. There are a few typos(very few), but that is to be expected. It's normal that a few typos go by unnoticed until someone points them out. For instance, i have noticed the usage of "blond" to refer to a female character's hair, when the proper usage for females is "blonde" with an 'e' at the end. But that's really minor, since both are homophones; the only difference being blond is for males and blonde for females.
  Story: The Dungeon Challenge does a good job with showing, rather than telling. It has a slow start, though. It didn't really catch my attention until a couple of chapters in. In fact, i would say that it was only at the end of chapter 4,
  Spoiler : when Katha is actually taken , that the story really caught my attention. I feel that the general flow could be improved for these first few chapters, though that might just be my own opinion— and I’m far from being an expert on the field.
  Character: As a story that works with a first person perspective, it does a good j
• ValintRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  It's an interesting setting; I just wish it had a better protagonist.
  The setting is... well, it's unclear to me whether the characters are actually NPCs in a MMORPG, but if not, it's a portal fantasy which has that flavor.
  The twist is that the world has (either actually or as part of the game's backstory) a means for NPCs to gain PC-level power, which the PCs have turned into a death game for their amusement.
  Which... is interesting, maybe?  I think too many authors don't understand how making the setting an MMO lowers the stakes and changes the nuances, but the nature of the setting is ambiguous enough for me to care about what's going on, at least.
  The issue is the protagonist.
  His first appearance gives you pretty much everything you need to know about him.  He's the kind of guy who will get in fights to protect his sister's honor, despite never having bothered to learn how to fight or physically train, despite his sister having to end up saving him, and despite his sister wishing he wouldn't.
  He's a good-hearted low-wisdom character who will resolutely evade any attempts by people who care about him to protect him, leading to the people who care about him getting hurt when he screws up.
  His all-heart no-brain "I'm going to save everyone, even though I don't know how!" thing just got frustrating after a while. The pointlessness of him flailing around in a death game without actually seeming to even know what he wanted (besides "save everyone!!") just eventually felt pointless to me.