- Essence: A Divine Dungeon Anthology

I just burned my way through the Divine Dungeon books and need to go back and review them all. I literally only stopped to sleep occasionally and tend to my children. They’re that good, friends. I don’t mean to overhype them and call them better than 10 Super Bowls (or halftime shows. Or the commercials. Or the Puppy Bowl. Whatever makes you happy) so they’re unable to live up to expectations, but WOW! Best series I’ve read in AGES! I’m now going to work my way through every single thing Dakota Krout has EVER written. Maybe even his grocery list. Enjoy, friends! He’s more than worth the time, and you can even read while being responsible with Audible!

Like many short story collections there are going to be some stories you love and others you don’t. But I’m always a sucker for a good anthology and over all this is one. It has a few great gems and it really nice to spend more time in the Divine Dungeon universe. Overall Score: 7.3 out of 10 Individual short story reviews: Lion Start By: Rohan Hublikar This is a story about a little dungeon dive to save a friend and clean his core. It’s not a bad dungeon dive and has some likable characters. I especially liked the relationship between the teen characters. Score: 7.3 out of 10 Legacy of Thunder By: Steven Willden This is a norse and lightning god themed short story with the cultivating nation of Azguardia having a special festival and competition that gives lightning essence. It’s a cute story but kind of predictable based on the names used for characters. Score: 7.2 out of 10 Flight of the Glitterflit by Ryan Ball What happens when a cleric keeps adding fire to his healing? You get many crispy and annoyed people. In this story the main character must rescue a kidnapped Glitterflit and try to fix his essence problem. It's not a bad story but the kind of wand wavy end didn't work for me. Score: 6 out of 10 Splat! By: Raymond Johnson Splat is the name of the dungeon goblin that keeps dying by being splatted. It’s a funny story, with a cute funny main character. Score: 7.6 out of 10 The Spirit Dungeon By: Alexis Keane I liked the idea of an alcohol producing dungeon but the story had issues. The story itself was just ok but had over long cultivation details for a short story. Where it lost me was with the characters. I never really cared about them, so I never cared if they survived the dungeon or got in trouble and the end was just a bit abrupt to satisfy me. Score: 6 out of 10 Hidden Lantern By: James Auwaerter This is a cameo story. It's set in Mountaindale, and lots of the main series characters make brief appearances. The story adds some details to events you've read about before or just little interactions with characters or groups you know. But not much more than that. Score: 6 out of 10 Butcher Boy By: Dakota Krout This is a story about a street urchin that gets a chance to better himself, just not the way he expects to. It’s such a good story. It ends way too soon though. I wanted a dozen more chapters. Score: 8 out of 10 Axiom By: Dennis Vanderkerken The story starts off with a group of kids get their names in particular ceremony and feels more like a fantasy coming of age story. However, It eventually connects to the Divine Dungeon series, explaining the lore behind the first half. It becomes enjoyable and may be a direct link to an upcoming Divine Dungeon side series. Score: 7.3 out of 10 Overall there are some good stories here and it was really nice to spend more time in the Divine Dungeon universe Overall Score: 7.3 out of 10

Dakota Krout never ceases to captivate with stories from his Divine Dungeon realm. This collection of short stories has a nice variety that is sure to appeal to diverse readers interests. From the point of view of an adventurer or even a dungeon mob, Dakota and friends provide entertaining tales of action with some inspiring characters. It'll be interesting to see whether any of these characters end up becoming key entities in future stories. One great thing about collaborations like this is you get a feel for different authors styles while finding a joint vision to ensure the realm and storyline in cohesive and characters are not overpowered.

Another peek into this amazing universe introduces us to some new characters, as well as cameos by those we’ve met in other novels. I wish there was more to these stories and especially loved reading Artorian’s series, and hope the excerpt draws many to that story as well. Such an enjoyable world to learn more about, excitement and fear abound as we watch the struggles of cultivators and even non-cultivators. A snippet of a female led society, an inquisitor in training sneaks into town, read on to discover more!

Let's be clear, these are not short stories. They are the first chapter in a number of books that have yet to be published. While the writing is good, and the stories might turn out to be interesting, if you are looking for an actual short story you will be disappointed.

All eight stories met my expectations and more! About half of the stories involve main characters from The Divine Dungeon series and I felt they were incredibly well balanced and fit into the preexisting world seamlessly. The independent stories are just as rewarding of a read too. I can't wait to see what the authors staying on with Mountaindale Press can do!

This is a collection of stories set in the universe of Devine dungeon. As such some are the best thing short of the author writing it himself, one is his, and at least one just grabbed characters and shoved them in a story unrelated in anyway to the acknowledged character from the main story. I would gladly recommend this to anyone who has read the books, and any one who has I recommend starting with dungeon born. Stories are part of a contest to have fans expand the world created and they are all attempts in that direction

Being a fan of Dakota's stories, this read was a must buy. Although initially I was only interested in Dakota's writing in the anthology, the first story quickly turned my attention to the other authors in this book. Dakota did well in scouting new talent, and his command and mastery of the Lit-RPG genre is present here. Well worth the purchase!

My only complaint after reading through these is that I wish some of them just went on a little longer! In particular, I want more of Ramset’s story. Thanks for the stories!

Loved the little peeks into the back stories of characters we meet in the divine dungeon series. Liked the multiple takes on how to cultivate as an MC.