Audible Book Review: Dungeon Born by Dakota Krout

This is an interesting view of LitRPG as it is from the view of the dungeon!

Dungeon Born
By: Dakota Krout
Narrator: Vikas Adam

Series: Divine Dungeon Series, Book 1
Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 03-28-17
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Fantasy, LitRPG, Teen & YA, Sci Fi 

My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
A powerful dungeon. A sheep-herder turned Noble. Their path to ascendance through cultivation.
Conquering dungeons and using them to grow has long been the most efficient way to become a powerful adventurer. The only thing keeping the process from being easy is the Beasts that inhabit these places. Questions plague those entering this particular place of power: Where do the "rewards" of weapons, armor, and heavy gold coins come from? Why is a fluffy bunny charging at me? For abyss-sake, why are there so many monsters?
Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. With the help of an energetic friend, Cal grows a dungeon around himself to bring in new sources of power.
When a threat he doesn't fully comprehend bares its many teeth, Cal is determined to survive the attempt on his life. Unfortunately for adventurers, the only way for him to achieve his goal is to eat anyone that enters his depths. ©2016 Dakota Krout (P)2017 Tantor

Review:
“Cal” was human before his soul was forced into a magical stone by a necromancer. When Cal wakes up, he doesn’t remember his former life except to know that he hates necromancers. Cal begins to stretch with his magic when he is able to ‘eat’ surrounding stones and moss, but he has no idea of the extent of his abilities. A senior magical source assigns a Wisp to help the young dungeon grow and level up. Wisp Dani names Cal for the calcium that surrounds his pretty gem.

Dani then begins to instruct Cal on how to eat and share the essence of his surroundings and how to build and expand the dungeon. Dani also helps Cal develop monsters, even if the first set are created from fluffy bunnies. The dungeon monsters are modified to have skills and even poisons to fight intruders. Cal learns how to pattern items of the intruders to create ‘loot’ of trinkets, coins or weapons to reward those who survive their visit in the dungeon. Occasionally Cal makes mistakes threatening his own existence, including earthquakes and uncontrolled monsters.

Dale is the sole survivor of the first treasure hunters to investigate the dungeon. Realizing the importance of this find, Dale manages to purchase the surrounding lands. Thus, begins Dale’s journey of growth towards a dungeon warrior and mage who will face Cal several times.

In LitRPGs you usually become, or follow, a hunter into the dungeon to face monsters, seek rewards and progress in levels. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that this was a story describing how the dungeon was developed. Cal grows in ability and in strategic planning to entice hunters with enough adventure and loot to keep them coming back. I found this clever and fun. Most of the story is told of Cal and his sidekick, Dani, but bits also follow Dale and his growth. I appreciated that the battles are active but not overly graphic. The tone is light and contributes to making this entertaining. I may not rush to get the next book right now, but I have it saved to my wish list as a future choice. I do recommend this to fans of LitRPGs and Dungeon fantasy.

Audio Notes: Vikas Adam does a fine job with the narration. He is able to express the naïve wonder and eagerness of Cal and the playfulness of Dani. Adam also captures the various human characters. I enjoyed the audio and will look forward to listening to more in the series.

Source: 1/27/18 Sale for 2017 Audible Daily Deals $3.95. This qualifies for 2020TBR and 2020Audiobook goals.

Audible Book Review: Interview with the Robot by Lee Bacon

I enjoyed this quick, fun story.
Interview with the Robot
By: Lee Bacon
Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Ellen Archer, Josh Hurley, Eileen Stevens, Erin Mallon, Jonathan Davis, Stephen Bel Davies

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
Release date: 01-02-20
Publisher: Audible Originals
Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Science Fiction & Fantasy
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.

About This Audible Original
Ages 10+
Fugitive. Criminal. Robot.
A sci-fi adventure for young listeners, Interview with the Robot introduces a unique heroine who seeks the truth about herself.
Eve looks like an ordinary 12-year-old girl, but there’s nothing ordinary about her. She has no last name. No parents or guardian. She’s on the run from a dangerous and secretive organization that will stop at nothing to track her down.
And most astonishing of all: she’s a robot, a product of Eden Laboratories. When Eve discovers the truth, she realizes everything she thought she knew about herself is a lie. Eve manages to escape, fleeing the lab, the only home she’s ever known.
After being arrested for shoplifting, Eve is interviewed by Petra Amis from Child Welfare Services. Her incredible story unfolds during the interrogation, with flashbacks to her life inside Eden Laboratories, which has a dark secret. Listeners follow Eve from her first consciousness to her evolution as a nearly-human companion to Emory, the son of the founder of Eden Laboratories.
Exploring a range of topics that drive our society and our lives—topics such as artificial intelligence and human nature—Interview with the Robot is a story told by a startlingly original protagonist, a story that explores the vast potential of technology and the deep complexities of humanity.
Interview with the Robot comes to life with a multicast performance including Eileen Stevens as Eve, Ellen Archer as Petra Amis, Jonathan Davis as David Sharp, Kevin T. Collins as Emory Sharp, Josh Hurley as a Boswell employee, Erin Mallon as a device/robot and female barista, and Steven Bel Davies as a store clerk, hotel employee, and office clerk.
©2019 Lee Bacon (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC

Review:
Eve looks like a regular 12-year-old girl, but she is far from it. She is a unique humanoid robot who was caught shoplifting. Eve is in a police interrogation room being interviewed by Petra, an advocate from Child Welfare Services. How and why Eve ended up in the police station is revealed as the interview proceeds. At first her story seems outrageous, but soon visible facts begin to prove what she is saying.

When strangers begin to show up at the station expressing concern for their ‘cousin’, Petra realizes that she has a dilemma on her hands. Does Petra treat Eve as the property of a wealthy corporation with secrets to protect or should Petra try to help Eve in her efforts to escape? 

In the true nature of science fiction, this short story is full of irony and human dilemma. The author does a wonderful job of developing Eve from AI cube to near human girl. Her friendship with awkward, rather geeky Emory is rather endearing especially as it leads to one of the twists in the story. This is a quick, engaging story and can be enjoyed by adults as well as young people. 

Audio Notes: The narration is a god team effort by Kevin T. Collins, Ellen Archer, Josh Hurley, Eileen Stevens, Erin Mallon, Jonathan Davis and Stephen Bel Davies. I have no idea who played which characters but they all did a good job delivering an entertaining and seamless presentation. I am glad that I was able to listen to this quick story.

1/24/2020 Second January Free Audible Original. This qualifies for 2020Audiobook goal.

Sunday Post September 20, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 21, 2020

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress)?

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I was busy again with the big closing that will take place this week.
We lost a day of work thanks to Hurricane Sally. We had no direct damage but I didn't want my staff driving in the bad rain and wind.
I'm getting better with the new blogger editor, but I don't know why sometimes when I go to a line it selects have the text. That is annoying.

Hubby pointed out that we will be getting grapefruit in two months. Here is a picture of some of the growing fruit.

Our weather cooled to the 60s over the weekend. Very nice; even a little cool for mornings on the porch.

I enjoyed my reading and listening this week but if it is going to take me two weeks to read each NetGalley ebook I will have a hard time finishing my NetGalley goal. I finished two audiobooks and one ebook. I posted three reviews and my usual memes.

I visited 18 blogs last week.
Shout Out this week to Life in the Book Lane. Louise is an "Avid reader, reviewer and blogger of all romance tropes and sub-genres."

Don't forget- Audible is offering free children's titles during these days at home.
Audiobooks.com is also offering free listens for children.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post September 13, 2020/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday September 14, 2020.

• NG2019- #NetGalley Book Review: Honor in an Age of Metal and Men by Anthony W. Eichenlaub; Genre: Cyberpunk, Futuristic,Sci-Fi, Western; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: Open Season by C. J. Box; Ecology, Mystery, Suspense My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.
  

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway September 18, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 9/24/2020.

• ATBR- Audio Book Review: Dead Rising (The Templar Book 1) by Debra Dunbar; Genre: Necromancy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Vampires; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

• Sharing Beyond Books #404 Comment Giveaway September 19, 2020. Open Worldwide. Ending 10/3/2020.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement September 20, 2020.

Finished Reading:
1. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Interview with the Robot
By: Lee Bacon
Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Ellen Archer, Josh Hurley, Eileen Stevens, Erin Mallon, Jonathan Davis, Stephen Bel Davies
Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
I did enjoy this quick, fun story.
1/24/2020 Second January Free Audible Original.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Dungeon Born
By: Dakota Krout
Narrator: Vikas Adam
Duration: 12 hrs and 32 mins
This is an interesting view of LitRPG as it is from the view of the dungeon!
Source: 1/27/18 Sale for 2017 Audible Daily Deals $3.95.
Publisher's Summary
A powerful dungeon. A sheep-herder turned Noble. Their path to ascendance through cultivation.
Conquering dungeons and using them to grow has long been the most efficient way to become a powerful adventurer. The only thing keeping the process from being easy is the Beasts that inhabit these places. Questions plague those entering this particular place of power: Where do the "rewards" of weapons, armor, and heavy gold coins come from? Why is a fluffy bunny charging at me? For abyss-sake, why are there so many monsters?
Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. With the help of an energetic friend, Cal grows a dungeon around himself to bring in new sources of power.
When a threat he doesn't fully comprehend bares its many teeth, Cal is determined to survive the attempt on his life. Unfortunately for adventurers, the only way for him to achieve his goal is to eat anyone that enters his depths. ©2016 Dakota Krout (P)2017 Tantor

3. eBook/Kindle (NG2019)

Kit and Elizabeth
by Karen Tuft
I totally enjoyed this delightful, easy Regency romance.
Source: NetGalley (2019 request received 2020).
Click on book title for full description.

Currently Reading:

1. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

The Righteous Mind
Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
By: Jonathan Haidt
Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 07-23-12
This is my nonfiction for September. Already in two chapters it is helping me understand our divides.
Source: 10/16/19 September 2019 Audible Credit.
Publisher's Summary
Why can’t our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens?
In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores the origins of our divisions and points the way forward to mutual understanding. His starting point is moral intuition - the nearly instantaneous perceptions we all have about other people and the things they do. These intuitions feel like self-evident truths, making us righteously certain that those who see things differently are wrong.
Haidt shows us how these intuitions differ across cultures, including the cultures of the political left and right. He blends his own research findings with those of anthropologists, historians, and other psychologists to draw a map of the moral domain, and he explains why conservatives can navigate that map more skillfully than can liberals. He then examines the origins of morality, overturning the view that evolution made us fundamentally selfish creatures.
But rather than arguing that we are innately altruistic, he makes a more subtle claim - that we are fundamentally groupish. It is our groupishness, he explains, that leads to our greatest joys, our religious divisions, and our political affiliations. In a stunning final chapter on ideology and civility, Haidt shows what each side is right about, and why we need the insights of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians to flourish as a nation. Download the accompanying reference guide.
©2012 Jonathan Haidt (P)2012 Gildan Media LLC

2. eBook/Kindle (NG2020)

Silent Bite: An Andy Carpenter Mystery (An Andy Carpenter Novel Book 22)
by David Rosenfelt
I always enjoy the Andy Carpenter Series and I am glad to get to read one of the Christmas stories!
Source: 8/25/2020 Received from Publisher and NetGalley.
Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are finding that all is not calm or bright in Silent Bite, the latest Christmas mystery in this heartwarming series from bestselling author David Rosenfelt.
Lawyer Andy Carpenter can finally take a breath; he’s back on dry land after a family Caribbean cruise forced on him by his wife, Laurie, to get into the Christmas spirit. Of course the family’s first stop is to the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that has always been Andy’s true passion.
But when Andy arrives, his partner, Willie Miller, needs his help. Willie’s old cellmate, Tony Birch, has been arrested for murder. Andy doesn’t necessarily believe in Tony, but Willie does. And Andy believes in Willie, which is why Andy decides to take the case.
Once again David Rosenfelt puts readers in the Christmas spirit in a tale that is equal parts mystery and holiday cheer.

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

The Tracker
Sam Callahan, Book 1
By: Chad Zunker
Narrated by: Noah Berman
Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
I hadn't planned on this one but it started downloading so I started listening and I like the suspense.
Source: 1/14/2018 Audible Daily Deal $1.95.
Publisher's Summary
Trust no one. Sam Callahan learned this lesson from a childhood spent in abusive foster care, on the streets, and locked in juvie. With the past behind him and his future staked on law school, he is moonlighting as a political tracker, paid to hide in crowds and shadow candidates, recording their missteps for use by their opponents. One night, after an anonymous text tip, Sam witnesses a congressional candidate and a mysterious blonde in a motel indiscretion that ends in murder, recording it all on his phone.
Now Sam is a target. Set up to take the fall and pursued by both assassins and the FBI, he is forced to go on the run. Using the street skills forged during his troubled youth - as well as his heightened mental abilities - Sam goes underground until he can uncover who is behind the conspiracy and how far up it goes. A taut thriller with an unforgettable young hero, The Tracker is a heart-stopping debut from an exciting new voice.
Revised edition: This edition of The Tracker includes editorial revisions.
©2017 Chad Zunker (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

I'm keeping track of my Alphabet here as I finish the books. These are the letters that remain:
NETGALLEY:  H  M  U X  Y and Z
AUDIO:             X  and  Z

September 20, 2020 - I am caught up and commited again to reading first thing each morning.
I am still enjoying the devotions and readings with the One Year Bible plan through You Version App. I considered changing but this is the reading group that is closest to my husband's reading so we can sometimes discuss the same passages.
I do plan this week to do the 3-day study: Even Now From Life.Church Worship.

I completed three books and posted three reviews which keeps me up to date.
My NetGalley shelf is now 5, one current and the four titles from 2012-13 which I still hope to read this year. Two are good for October.
I have added no new author review titles this week. I still have one carry over author ebook left. I have two audiobooks from authors. At lease one of these will be for October.
Still many titles through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
No new review titles this week.
Someday I'll check the email requests I have been receiving. {Sigh.}
I picked my second August Audible Credit and I added another 5 Audible Plus titles and one free.
I still get to pick my September VIP at Audiobooks.com and use a credit at Audiobooks.com before 10/3.
I am still eyeing their Audiobook Clubs which allows you to use a credit for a club grouping and you can listen to any of the books in that group for that month. I am just not sure I can fit in enough books so I may wait until the first day or two of October to make that buy.
No free Kindle titles this week.
(Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)  
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

Second August 2020 Audible Credit

Full Share
A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, Book 3
By: Nathan Lowell
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
Release date: 08-16-16

Free

This one was free at Audible.

Jonathan StroudAudible Sessions: FREE Exclusive Interview 
By: Jonathan Stroud, Robin Morgan 
Narrated by: Jonathan Stroud, Robin Morgan
Length: 13 mins
Release date: 11-16-16


   Audible Plus Free Downloads:

Hate Crime Hoax: How the Left Is Selling a Fake Race War
By: Wilfred Reilly
Narrated by: Mirron Willis

The Disaster Diaries: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Apocalypse
By: Sam Sheridan
Narrated by: Donald Corren

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction
By: Lisa Kröger , Melanie R. Anderson
Narrated by: Erin Bennett

The Plot Against America
By: Philip Roth
Narrated by: Ron Silver

Convenience Store Woman
By: Sayaka Murata , Ginny Tapley Takemori - translator
Narrated by: Nancy Wu




No free Kindle titles this week. Free titles often found at Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement September 20, 2020

Although my hubby’s first church online was interrupted by the internet, our service had no interruptions today. Our Pastor wasn’t feeling well so we had a guest preacher, a man previously from our congregation who has worked for years with the local district office.

The question MJ asked this morning was: What Spirit do you have?
There are many types of spirits: beautiful, kind, generous, faithful; also rebellious, mean, selfish, haughty, and religious spirits. In the Bible we learn there is “another spirit” (KJV) or a “different spirit” (NIV). Numbers 14:24.

MJ shared from Numbers 13:17-20, 25-33. Moses assigned a team of men to investigate the land of Canaan. They returned after forty days and reported back that the land was rich ‘flowing with milk and honey’ and filled with fruit (giant grapes). Caleb said ‘Let us go possess it’ but others said ‘No, we can’t attack them. The men are too strong; the land devours and we are but grasshoppers in our own eyes.’

Ten of the men gave a bad report but Caleb tried to argue that God promised to provide the land as gift. Most of the people believed the negative report instead of holding firm to God's promise. The congregation wanted to turn back, rejecting God's promise. They even wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb. God was angry and said, ‘Fine, I'll just wipe them out if they don’t want to follow my way.’ But Moses argued with God and made Him change his mind. Numbers 14:1-25.

We are in days when we have to decide which report we are going to believe and who we will follow. What Spirit will we have?

God gave the Israelites another chance. But those with the whining, contemptuous spirit were displeasing to God and he decreed that they would not enter the land of promise. Numbers 14:23-24. God noted that Caleb (and Joshua) had “a different Spirit”; one that is wholly following God.

All 12 men went on the same assignment, but they responded differently. Ten magnified their inadequacy and the strength of the enemy. Those men left God out of the equation. Two saw God's promise and trusted Him. They were full of their relationship with God.

Today is a time when many show no shame. People are flaunting their wrong spirit. There are those who follow God fully or those who follow partially. What Spirit will you have? We are in a day of decision. You get to choose your Spirit.

The common spirit is a spirit of fear. They follow God when it is easy, convenient, popular, or when it suits them.
Or the ‘different Spirit’ is one who follows God even when it is difficult, when it is not so popular.

Abraham trusted by faith. Hebrews 11:8; God directed Abraham to move from a land full of idols to a land of promise. Abraham agreed to follow to an unknown land. Genesis 12:1-4. God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Genesis 12:22. Abraham exhibited a different Spirit willing to trust God.

When you follow God fully, He will take to unknown places! The Church is being led to unknown places. Don't miss what God has for us by refusing to follow Him. We lose control in the unknown. By faith we follow. We may be tested. We don't know what God is doing but do we trust Him and follow Him fully?

When you follow God, He will lead you with uncomfortable practices. God might ask you to sacrifice anything that takes precedence over Him. He may ask you to lay what you have on the altar. To be All in. Do we do what God wants us to do? Do we embrace what He wants?

When you follow God, He will give you uncommon provisions. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. Literally Jehovah Jireh is interpreted to mean ‘God will see’ or ‘God shall be seen’. God provides even when it is unexpected. He feeds thousands with a few fish and a few loaves. He makes miracles; He makes a way.

In these days, the Church can reflect a place of peace in a world of chaos.
What Spirit do you have? What Spirit do you want?

I love how I start with a song or thought in mind but God leads me to others. I have to let Him tell me which He wants to add to the message. Today it is this song: The God Who Moves the Mountains.

Verses for Today:

Numbers 14:23-24 NIV
23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

God, help me to keep this message in mind each day. Help me to put you first. Help me to read Your Word to start my day rather than checking my stock positions or place in my books.
And please, my Sovereign Lord, open eyes and hearts and bring peace to our land.

Sharing Beyond Books #404 Comment Giveaway September 19, 2020

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB
Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
How has Covid impacted our reading? Four are reading less, four are reading more; three saw no change; two read more at first but then got back to normal; one read more at first and later less; and one is reading the same amount but more re-reading.

The Winner from SBB #403 comments is #8 MARY P who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [11/16/19 I plan to add some review books this week and maybe some new Christmas and Love titles as soon as I locate the box I put them in. 10/5/19 I have pulled some new books and will be adding them to the list in the next week or so.

**NOTE: I did post an Updated ARC and Other books for Giveaways. I have to go back and list the titles -- someday.
Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #404

(One Question.)

Natalija asks: Do you unhaul books? What do you do with your unhauled books??

I had to look up what it means to "unhaul" books. I gather it means to get rid of your 'excess' books. If that is right, I unhaul regularly by giving books away on the Friday Pick and this giveaway. (Which reminds me I need to get more books up for SBB). I also send a box or two to the library every now and then. I think they recently put up a Little Free Library in town and I need to drop off some books there too!

Image found at Indie Book Maven

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month, I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a 1/2 book choice or $2.50 towards GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify them.
September Comments were supplied by Miki and Natalija so they get $2.50 credit each.

Your turn to share. Natalija asks: Do you unhaul books? What do you do with your unhauled books??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday, October 3, 2020, at 5 PM central.