The Bookwyrm's Review of The Guild Core: Dragon Bourne by TJ Reynolds

Author: TJ Reynolds

Length: 556 Pages/ 16 Hours, 5 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: September 23, 2020/ October 6, 2020 (Audio)

Narrator: Steve Campbell

Genre: LitRPG/Cultivation

Amazon Link

Continuing my current trend for LitRPG books, it's time to review Dragon Bourne, the first book in the Guild Core series. I got a chance to listen to the audio version, so got the added bonus of Steve Campbell's narration. I'm glad to have added this to the recent collection of LitRPG reads/listens.

PLOT SUMMARY

Wake a Dungeon.
Form a Guild.
Fight to Restore the World.

Kai was the least likely young man to ascend. Raised on his uncle’s potato farm, he began his career as an adventurer with empty pockets and little skill. But a foolish attempt to prove his bravery leads Kai to unlock hidden power within himself and acquire a most unlikely ally.

Rhona is a battle-scarred soldier who’s as likely to toss a quip as she is to throw a punch. After setting aside a promising career in the army to pursue the Path of the Bleeding Tiger, she sets out to stop a war and seek atonement for a bloody past.

When Bancroft the Earth Core awakens, he can’t wait to clean up his dungeon and begin building things anew. A recovered item from his past reminds him that more is at stake, however, putting an end to such pleasantries.

Join The Guild Core, a small band of friends determined to restore the world to an age of dragons, heroes, and honor.

MY THOUGHTS

I found this to be a nice genre mashup, setting the story in a fantasy world but having character powers and abilities grow through the use of of RPG mechanics, in this case having cores that  collect aether, allowing the characters to ascend to higher levels of power. I thought the use of dragons to create sentient cores that form dungeons was also an interesting variant, giving it a game feel while keeping it grounded in the fantasy setting. The excellent world building throws us right into a fully developed world, with tensions between the countries palpable, and with the clash of each culture readily apparent. It feels complex, like real world cultures clashing. It is one of the better bits of world building in the genre.

The characters are just such a treat. Kai, Rhona and Bancroft fit into the story, and eventually into each others lives, so well. Kai is the young, naïve farm boy trope twisted onto its head. The revelations about him as the story progresses are surprising, but his progression from farm boy seeking adventure to competent fighter and potential hope for not only his people, but for the lost dragons and their dungeons as well, is well done. 

Rhona is such an interesting character, moving on from childhood trauma to become a decorated soldier, but deciding the path of the soldier was not for her, and giving up hard earned progression to go on a completely different path. She has such a good arc, and her strength not only of body but of will really draw the reader into her story arc. 

Bancroft, the third part of this trio, is a really fun character, if an unusual one. Unusual in that he's a sentient dungeon core, rescued from being shivered (shattered) by Kai, and he helps mentor Kai, all while working on 'his" own progression. He is just such a good foil to Kai's youthful naivety and Rhona's hard earn cynicism.

As far as antagonists, throughout the book there is more a feeling of antagonism in general to dungeon cores and their extinct dragons. There is not so much a face to it until the last chapter in the book. There are various evil beings in the story, and they're well done, but they aren't the existential threat that an entire country and it's army's antagonism is. I actually liked the way this was done, giving us a bigger world feeling, showing the events in one place have potential to shake the balance of power across the world at large.

NARRATION

The narrative duties are ably handled by Steve Campbell. This is only the second book I've heard him narrate, but I am even more impressed this time than the previous book. He did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life, especially the three main protagonists. You can tell he really enjoyed bringing these characters to life, and his use of various tones, cadences and accents really differentiated each character. There is never a moment where the listener will be confused about which character is speaking. His narrative pacing is top notch, never straying into a monotone or into long pauses. He has definitely joined the ranks of one of my top 10 narrators.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While this is the first book I've read/listened to by this author, it won't be the last. It has so many good moments throughout the plot, with such good characters and worldbuilding, that I am excited to see where he takes the story. I'll definitely be continuing the series, and will check out his other series as well. This book will appeal to LitRPG fans for sure, but traditional fantasy fans can find a lot to love here too, so I recommend they check it out as well.

Rating: 9/10 Stars