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Dungeon Core Online: Remastered Edition #3
Dungeon Core Online: Remastered Edition - Book Three
Dungeon Wars has ended. Peace reigns across DCO... for a moment.
With the creation of his fourth-floor to focus on and his burgeoning relationship with Rue to enjoy, James is ready to simply immerse himself in everything that DCO has to offer. With his players now able to take to the seas - there is a whole new set of mechanics to explore. Not to mention another set of random mobs, each more ridiculous and terrifying than the last. I mean who doesn’t want to see a zombie megalodon summon a tornado full of undead sharks?
And, as DCO grows, so too does its impact on the world. With new Dungeon Gates that allow travel between dungeons, the economic impact of the game has increased tenfold.
But where there is wealth, there are those who wish to take it.
James is about to learn that the real world is a lot more sinister than the virtual one.
Cyb3Ru5 is coming.
With the creation of his fourth-floor to focus on and his burgeoning relationship with Rue to enjoy, James is ready to simply immerse himself in everything that DCO has to offer. With his players now able to take to the seas - there is a whole new set of mechanics to explore. Not to mention another set of random mobs, each more ridiculous and terrifying than the last. I mean who doesn’t want to see a zombie megalodon summon a tornado full of undead sharks?
And, as DCO grows, so too does its impact on the world. With new Dungeon Gates that allow travel between dungeons, the economic impact of the game has increased tenfold.
But where there is wealth, there are those who wish to take it.
James is about to learn that the real world is a lot more sinister than the virtual one.
Cyb3Ru5 is coming.
- GenresFantasyScience Fiction
704 pages, Paperback
Published June 18, 2022
93 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Smidt
14 books97 followersJonathan’s journey through life has been anything but slow. Being part of a military family, he moved across the world growing up, and having not learned his lesson, joined the Marine Corps right out of high school. This sent him on a whirlwind adventure, which even found him in the sands of Afghanistan. During all his travels, he found one thing always remained constant…he loved to read. Now, married and with life finally calming down a bit, he has begun to push his passion for literature even higher, aiming to give readers the kinds of books he has come to love with his own unique twist.
He has grown up in thousands of worlds, courtesy of not only literature and anime, but also his avid gaming life! Jonathan has spent countless hours on video games ranging from Final Fantasy to Pokémon to Guild Wars and WoW, while also enjoying tabletops such as D&D and Exalted.
Living in a game world isn’t enough for Jonathan though, and he has pushed to turn his own life into a classic RPG. On top of leveling up his writing and music abilities (he swears he is not a bard though!), he is currently learning the ancient art of blacksmithing, which places him at his forge working hot metal into blades on the weekends!
He has grown up in thousands of worlds, courtesy of not only literature and anime, but also his avid gaming life! Jonathan has spent countless hours on video games ranging from Final Fantasy to Pokémon to Guild Wars and WoW, while also enjoying tabletops such as D&D and Exalted.
Living in a game world isn’t enough for Jonathan though, and he has pushed to turn his own life into a classic RPG. On top of leveling up his writing and music abilities (he swears he is not a bard though!), he is currently learning the ancient art of blacksmithing, which places him at his forge working hot metal into blades on the weekends!
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 28, 2022
This is just a bunch of one liners and homages.
The characters are a joke, the actions are ridiculous. The real world aspect is just silly. It is a bunch of jokes strung together for a laugh, nothing more.
The characters are a joke, the actions are ridiculous. The real world aspect is just silly. It is a bunch of jokes strung together for a laugh, nothing more.
July 1, 2023
This is the best book in the series so far.
Interpersonal scenes take a massive jump in this book - starting from the very beginning with heartfelt emails. The main duo are given a nice break to focus on the dungeon and themselves and the relaxing early time is some of the best writing this series has had yet.
I also love steve - he's a great source of humor and a fun addition to the cast even if it does seem like hes telling them too much invalidating the fairness of the premise even more than he should. Kind of wish he said no a bit more - 'not going to ignore the surpise' style answers.
The randomized mobs and floors continue to be fun if out of control
This series brings in a bit of romance. Its not badly done - but it is slightly childish feeling and my adult ass winces a bit at some of the teenage angst. I feel like its realistically done and well written it just makes me cringe slightly.
And then the 'plot' appears and I become incredibly conflicted. Rest of my thoughts are spoilered below.
Interpersonal scenes take a massive jump in this book - starting from the very beginning with heartfelt emails. The main duo are given a nice break to focus on the dungeon and themselves and the relaxing early time is some of the best writing this series has had yet.
I also love steve - he's a great source of humor and a fun addition to the cast even if it does seem like hes telling them too much invalidating the fairness of the premise even more than he should. Kind of wish he said no a bit more - 'not going to ignore the surpise' style answers.
The randomized mobs and floors continue to be fun if out of control
This series brings in a bit of romance. Its not badly done - but it is slightly childish feeling and my adult ass winces a bit at some of the teenage angst. I feel like its realistically done and well written it just makes me cringe slightly.
And then the 'plot' appears and I become incredibly conflicted. Rest of my thoughts are spoilered below.
August 27, 2023
This book feels more like one and a half books, and the increased length reflects it. James continues to develop his dungeon but also forms relationships beyond just Rue, both with characters introduced toward the end of book two and new ones. His new handler, Steve, is annoying as heck. The rest are good, especially the additions of some well rounded female characters.
James's real world life, and exploring the world that produced such a VR-centric society, gets a lot more attention. Readers who just want the VRMMORPG content won't be happy with the change, but those who like a balance between IRL and game will be pleased.
James's real world life, and exploring the world that produced such a VR-centric society, gets a lot more attention. Readers who just want the VRMMORPG content won't be happy with the change, but those who like a balance between IRL and game will be pleased.
April 7, 2025
Our teenage hero, James, continues to progress as a dungeon core, or as I would call it, a dungeon master. (I date back to 1970s D&D). He reaches level 5 first.
However, in the real world, things are not going so well. There is a crazed game developer after him, one of the developers of Dungeon Core Online. He is a genius and he blames James for his incarceration. He works with a group called C3rb3rus to kidnap James and other dungeon cores.
And they succeed. James finds himself wholly at their mercy.
How will he escape? How will he get back online to progress as a dungeon core?
I didn't like this novel as well as the others. I did not enjoy the real world drama.
However, in the real world, things are not going so well. There is a crazed game developer after him, one of the developers of Dungeon Core Online. He is a genius and he blames James for his incarceration. He works with a group called C3rb3rus to kidnap James and other dungeon cores.
And they succeed. James finds himself wholly at their mercy.
How will he escape? How will he get back online to progress as a dungeon core?
I didn't like this novel as well as the others. I did not enjoy the real world drama.
June 4, 2023
This trilogy has definitely been a great page turner!
The author has made this trilogy a mind-gripping page turner! The stories have had me looking forward to getting back to what is happening, and what will happen next!
The only regrets I have is that the author did not see fit to add a bit more to the end, as an add-on, showing us a few bits of James' going back in to DCO and getting back with back Rue! :(
The author has made this trilogy a mind-gripping page turner! The stories have had me looking forward to getting back to what is happening, and what will happen next!
The only regrets I have is that the author did not see fit to add a bit more to the end, as an add-on, showing us a few bits of James' going back in to DCO and getting back with back Rue! :(
November 26, 2023
The book was just okay..
I really didnt care about the protagonist´s awkward love life or his real life drama. The interactions with Steve are unbelievable.. Everything felt forced to me..
I really didnt care about the protagonist´s awkward love life or his real life drama. The interactions with Steve are unbelievable.. Everything felt forced to me..
May 12, 2023
Dungeon Core Online 3
The Dungeon Wars are over. James had quite the trying time and is ready to relax a bit and just work on his dungeon. More importantly, spend time with Rue. After everything that happened, he can now make the fourth floor! If only life was kind enough to give home the time to focus on that.
This book is a great mix of online shenanigans and some real life drama. The list of characters grows a bit and everyone gets more fleshed out. As always, this series is just plain fun! I would love to be a player in DCO! Needless to say, Travis Baldree is amazing doing the narration.
Content warning: language
The Dungeon Wars are over. James had quite the trying time and is ready to relax a bit and just work on his dungeon. More importantly, spend time with Rue. After everything that happened, he can now make the fourth floor! If only life was kind enough to give home the time to focus on that.
This book is a great mix of online shenanigans and some real life drama. The list of characters grows a bit and everyone gets more fleshed out. As always, this series is just plain fun! I would love to be a player in DCO! Needless to say, Travis Baldree is amazing doing the narration.
Content warning: language
June 23, 2022
Overall I would summarize this as a mix of good and bad. It has better writing and a more interesting style than a lot of litrpg but still suffers from some typical overuse of references and over explaining game mechanics/gamer tropes, especially during fights. Imagination wise its one of the better dungeon core books I've read.
The dungeon development part was interesting and definitely the best part. I think the author should focus more on that aspect of the book as the real world danger part was boring and annoying. Spoiler, the shut in nerd kid has almost no use in the real life situation and is saved by others. And youre kinda like, skip to the good part! Tell me about your dungeon!
Another thing that detracted from the story was that the characters are constantly having pop in visits from game developer Steve (beating that dead horse toilet mimic joke into the ground) to just provide exposition? Like the MC will just call this guy up to get hints constantly instead of figuring things out on his own. The Steve character and other characters are also way too into two teenagers sex lives and its weird and uncomfortable.
The romance is also incredibly awkward and forced. Like literally "dress up as my anime waifu I love it, blush, awkward reference to a teenagers anatomy " cringe that is really hard to read. They tried to spice it up by adding a twist to it but still failed to make it compelling or believable.
Overall I enjoyed this book despite parts of it being entirely skippable.
The dungeon development part was interesting and definitely the best part. I think the author should focus more on that aspect of the book as the real world danger part was boring and annoying. Spoiler, the shut in nerd kid has almost no use in the real life situation and is saved by others. And youre kinda like, skip to the good part! Tell me about your dungeon!
Another thing that detracted from the story was that the characters are constantly having pop in visits from game developer Steve (beating that dead horse toilet mimic joke into the ground) to just provide exposition? Like the MC will just call this guy up to get hints constantly instead of figuring things out on his own. The Steve character and other characters are also way too into two teenagers sex lives and its weird and uncomfortable.
The romance is also incredibly awkward and forced. Like literally "dress up as my anime waifu I love it, blush, awkward reference to a teenagers anatomy " cringe that is really hard to read. They tried to spice it up by adding a twist to it but still failed to make it compelling or believable.
Overall I enjoyed this book despite parts of it being entirely skippable.
May 27, 2022
I received a free copy of this book from Portal Books.
Love this book. Smidt writes entertaining light Dungeon Core books and this 3rd entry in his current Dungeon Core Online series is no exception. There's plenty of humor and pop culture references and a large dose of self-referential humor. Smidt not only uses his first novel (Bone Dungeon--highly recommended) as a cameo but also refers back to himself & Raymond Feist as great writers from way back when. Hilarious! There's also a number of small editing screwups which is probably an homage to Feist who's well known for poor editing. I also love how Smidt uses his dungeon core MC, James "Glyax" to spotlight pop culture trivia, usually due to James' not getting references that older players banter about.
As for content in this volume? James has a brand new 4th floor in his dungeon and with a bit of reluctance he went with a water theme. Yes, that means jumping sharks--to the theme of Jaws, no less. But I can assure you that this series hasn't jumped the shark. No, indeed. Jonathan Smidt is smoothly creating a great dungeon series here and I look forward to more.
Love this book. Smidt writes entertaining light Dungeon Core books and this 3rd entry in his current Dungeon Core Online series is no exception. There's plenty of humor and pop culture references and a large dose of self-referential humor. Smidt not only uses his first novel (Bone Dungeon--highly recommended) as a cameo but also refers back to himself & Raymond Feist as great writers from way back when. Hilarious! There's also a number of small editing screwups which is probably an homage to Feist who's well known for poor editing. I also love how Smidt uses his dungeon core MC, James "Glyax" to spotlight pop culture trivia, usually due to James' not getting references that older players banter about.
As for content in this volume? James has a brand new 4th floor in his dungeon and with a bit of reluctance he went with a water theme. Yes, that means jumping sharks--to the theme of Jaws, no less. But I can assure you that this series hasn't jumped the shark. No, indeed. Jonathan Smidt is smoothly creating a great dungeon series here and I look forward to more.
June 10, 2022
Did you get an eyeful of that cover? How could I resist it? But even as I started this book I had trepidations because I loved the first 2 books so much I just wasn't sure that Jonathan Smidt would be able to keep it up! And boy was I surprised not only could he, but surpassed them both and turned Dungeon Core Online 3 all the way up to 11. Making this book the best one yet!
Everything I loved from the first books, the Sacrificial Lambs, to Farmer and Gradma Jenkins and thanks to the Knights Who Go Ni the pop-cultural references keep flying 😆! And again Jonathan Smidt isn't quite done with the mix and mash as he includes more elements from the spinoff series Dicken Around... Plus we get pirates and zombie sharks, yeah I know I said ZomBie SharKs 😆! And lastly we get a winter resort, with waiter penguins, and we even get to go hot tubbing when not enjoying a meal! What more could you ask for?!? Huh???
Ohhhh yeah, include Travis Baldree in the mix and you'll have a full course buffet that only Jonathan Smidt knows how to serve up!
So the book gets a full 11⭐'s
Everything I loved from the first books, the Sacrificial Lambs, to Farmer and Gradma Jenkins and thanks to the Knights Who Go Ni the pop-cultural references keep flying 😆! And again Jonathan Smidt isn't quite done with the mix and mash as he includes more elements from the spinoff series Dicken Around... Plus we get pirates and zombie sharks, yeah I know I said ZomBie SharKs 😆! And lastly we get a winter resort, with waiter penguins, and we even get to go hot tubbing when not enjoying a meal! What more could you ask for?!? Huh???
Ohhhh yeah, include Travis Baldree in the mix and you'll have a full course buffet that only Jonathan Smidt knows how to serve up!
So the book gets a full 11⭐'s
May 25, 2022
Die ersten beiden Bände haben eine in sich mehr oder weniger abgeschlossene Geschichte erzählt. (Antagonist in die Geschichte eingeführt und "besiegt"). Band 3 baut jetzt überwiegend auf den losen Enden auf und implementiert gegen Ende noch ein paar neue Geheimnisse für die nächsten Bände.
Der Autor lässt viele seiner Interessen in die Geschichte mit einfließen, weshalb mal viele Ideen aus bekannten Animes und Videospielen als Charakterklassen o.ä. erkennt.
Alles in allem gilt: Wer Band 1 und 2 mochte, wird auch mit Band 3 seine Freude haben. Band 4 wird aber sicherlich kritisch für den weiteren Erfolg der Reihe sein, da erst dann ersichtlich ist ob eine neue Haupthandlung das Interesse der Leser halten kann.
Der Autor lässt viele seiner Interessen in die Geschichte mit einfließen, weshalb mal viele Ideen aus bekannten Animes und Videospielen als Charakterklassen o.ä. erkennt.
Alles in allem gilt: Wer Band 1 und 2 mochte, wird auch mit Band 3 seine Freude haben. Band 4 wird aber sicherlich kritisch für den weiteren Erfolg der Reihe sein, da erst dann ersichtlich ist ob eine neue Haupthandlung das Interesse der Leser halten kann.
February 1, 2023
Great story
Wow, what an ending for this book! I'm mostly happy at the current resolution but feel bad for one of the bad guys due to the punishment they received. It kind of makes you realize, even more than before, that there is some further mystery still to uncover about the DCO project. I'm looking forward to learning about it as the series progresses.
The entire story was very entertaining, and I love that the Random Dungeon has such different themes for each floor. Things are expanding and becoming even more interesting with the introduction of safe zones and more contact with other dungeons. It will be really interesting to see how the players interact with the new fifth floor and the upcoming Dungeon Wars.
Wow, what an ending for this book! I'm mostly happy at the current resolution but feel bad for one of the bad guys due to the punishment they received. It kind of makes you realize, even more than before, that there is some further mystery still to uncover about the DCO project. I'm looking forward to learning about it as the series progresses.
The entire story was very entertaining, and I love that the Random Dungeon has such different themes for each floor. Things are expanding and becoming even more interesting with the introduction of safe zones and more contact with other dungeons. It will be really interesting to see how the players interact with the new fifth floor and the upcoming Dungeon Wars.
June 15, 2022
DNF @ 46%
What I find Extremely INTERESTING are 5 STAR REVIERS leaving their thoughts on Book #3 without having read book #1 or #2. Quite fascinating. Would love hear how that works. I'm not going to say those are fake reviews, buuuuttttt...
Even TRAVIS BALDREE couldn't keep me interested in this one. I was so looking forward to DCO 3 but I just couldn't get past 46%. Seems like a total waste of time and money.
Just full of random BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Almost half the book is done annnnnd the story hasn't moved an inch from where we left off. Big bad Xander still has influence and I'm just gonna leave it at that. I gonna pretend that this series was just a DUOLOGY.
What I find Extremely INTERESTING are 5 STAR REVIERS leaving their thoughts on Book #3 without having read book #1 or #2. Quite fascinating. Would love hear how that works. I'm not going to say those are fake reviews, buuuuttttt...
Even TRAVIS BALDREE couldn't keep me interested in this one. I was so looking forward to DCO 3 but I just couldn't get past 46%. Seems like a total waste of time and money.
Just full of random BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Almost half the book is done annnnnd the story hasn't moved an inch from where we left off. Big bad Xander still has influence and I'm just gonna leave it at that. I gonna pretend that this series was just a DUOLOGY.
June 10, 2022
From the cover you know it's going to be sharks. And they are amazing sharks.
This book has more of the "real world" than the other books, which almost makes you crave more of the dungeon building and watching people dive into the dungeon, but the "real world" stuff is also getting really interesting too. There is a deeper story that we are just brushing the surface of, and we can see there is more that's going to come out before the dungeon can get back to full time building.
This book has more of the "real world" than the other books, which almost makes you crave more of the dungeon building and watching people dive into the dungeon, but the "real world" stuff is also getting really interesting too. There is a deeper story that we are just brushing the surface of, and we can see there is more that's going to come out before the dungeon can get back to full time building.
May 28, 2022
Revel in the Madness
The much anticipated third volume in the Dungeon Core Online series brings new dimensions to the series. With real world tensions building we are the broadest expansion of the Dungeon to date. It was a thrilling and amusing adventure, I look forward to reading the next one.
The much anticipated third volume in the Dungeon Core Online series brings new dimensions to the series. With real world tensions building we are the broadest expansion of the Dungeon to date. It was a thrilling and amusing adventure, I look forward to reading the next one.
July 22, 2022
Great story, but it desperately needs editing.
I really enjoy the characters and the story, which is really interesting. I especially like the excellent dungeon development...very original.
The books are riddled with grammar issues, mostly comma-splices that distract from the story.
I really enjoy the characters and the story, which is really interesting. I especially like the excellent dungeon development...very original.
The books are riddled with grammar issues, mostly comma-splices that distract from the story.
June 9, 2022
Noooo dang you cliff hanger
Well Jonathan really hit his stride in book three. So much character development and really coming out of their shells. Can’t wait for book 4 and hopefully more after that.
Well Jonathan really hit his stride in book three. So much character development and really coming out of their shells. Can’t wait for book 4 and hopefully more after that.
July 3, 2022
Great sequel
Fantastic sequel! The story progresses and really finds a new depth. Absolutely love the character development, as well as world building. We spend a bit more time in the real world and start to scratch the surface of it.
Overall, a fantastic edition to the series!
Fantastic sequel! The story progresses and really finds a new depth. Absolutely love the character development, as well as world building. We spend a bit more time in the real world and start to scratch the surface of it.
Overall, a fantastic edition to the series!
June 9, 2022
Thrilling!
The latest shenanigans in the DCO series was perfect. I look forward to seeing more about James and Rue and how the dungeon continues to grow.
The latest shenanigans in the DCO series was perfect. I look forward to seeing more about James and Rue and how the dungeon continues to grow.
June 12, 2022
Very good read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and dungeon type of books with lots of action.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and dungeon type of books with lots of action.
November 30, 2022
I found the descriptions of new creatures to be a bit tedious at this point, but still fun overall :)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews