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The Guild Core 1: Dragon Bourne
- A Dungeon Adventure
- Narrated by: Steve Campbell
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Categories: Teen & Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Non-member price: $34.76
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Publisher's 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.
The Guild Core is a novel by TJ Reynolds, fantasy LitRPG author of Eternal Online books one to three. The Guild Core was inspired by the Divine Dungeon series, The Wheel of Time, and classic films like The Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.
This story takes place in an epic fantasy world governed by gaming mechanics. It contains light to moderate litRPG, gamelit, cultivation, and dungeon core elements. Features realistic violence, three MC POVs, and more than a few quaint jokes. Language and adult content is appropriate for teen listeners.
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What listeners say about The Guild Core 1: Dragon Bourne
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- Kisieju
- 22-11-2020
Dnf
the book for me is to easy, where is the struggle and reward? maybe I'm just a cynical old man reading ya fiction. go figure
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 15-10-2020
Dragon? Draaaaagon!
Good book, well performed with a story which was very enjoyable. Some litrpg elements but honestly you could write this book without and it would be just as good. Characters are good, looking for some solid development in the next novel!
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- Adedayo Makinde
- 09-10-2020
Just wow
Whoaa..I'm in the epilogue right now.... awesome.. there is usually something that I don't like about books and for this book it's that I don't have the rest of the series right now..... very well done, its actually better than the inspiration; Divine dungeon... there was a perfect balance of all the various things that make a good novel.. 1. The MC is not OP and worked for all his advancement. 2. The cultivation system is defined and makes sense. 3. All the creatures are all on the same cultivation system, so comparison is easier. 4. The world building is expanding gradually and not trying to overbuild and then you forget most places as they mention them because it was never used again. 5. Although this took inspiration from other novels I find myself liking this book much more than the original.. 6. Interaction between the various characters is so natural and unforced...You can easily relate to each of them.. I got this book for free from the author but I will be buying all the rest of the series as it comes out because its a great series, and author is such a chill dude..
7 people found this helpful
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- Jason
- 09-10-2020
Great dungeon Core book with a terrific narrator.
This book is a lot of fun and does a great job of codifying elements while keeping things fun. I really dug it and am looking forward to more. I love all of the characters, including the strong female character who everyone would understand was both strong and female without the author repeating it again and again through every characters dialogue and thoughts. still that's a minor annoyance in an otherwise strong book.
4 people found this helpful
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- Robert J. Triveri II
- 13-10-2020
Steve and TJ make a good team
As a warning, I won this in a contest, but my opinions are my own. With all the characters throughout the Guild Core, I didn't know what to expect from the Guild Core audiobook. The story itself was a fun, unique take on a Dungeon Core, and Steve is a narrator I always enjoy. he has great rang that I've had the pleasure of listening to during Tower of Heaven. Steve does the story all the justice it deserves for both the male and female voice acting, adds a good level of spirit to an already spirited work, and just makes a good read better. If you just liked the regular book, you'll love the audio translation. The pair really hit it out of the park. I don't think there's much else ot say on the matter.
3 people found this helpful
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- Stuart
- 11-10-2020
I loved this book, would definitely recommend.
I really liked seeing an Mc that wasn’t just another sword user. The characters were well written and likable. The storyline was interesting and fun to follow. The narrator did a great job with the voices, especially for the dungeon.
3 people found this helpful
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- Josh Noneya
- 21-12-2020
fantastic!!!
Great story and narration! Kai is a social outcast in his small village, but his will to become an adventurer, and a late night dare will change his world. All of the dungeons are dead or bound to the empire. Or are they? Steve does a wonderful job with the narration! I started this book as a skeptic but quickly became engrossed in the story! This is a wonderful book and I'm glad that I gave it a chance! I can't wait to find out what happens next!!!
2 people found this helpful
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- Nathan Gleaves
- 27-10-2020
Solid first entry of what I hope to be a fun ride
mild spoilers. I think the narration made this book for me. it wasn't like most dungeon core books which is good but, I feel like the main character's progression was handed to him on a silver platter. I think the two separate storylines were brought together very well and the ending was satisfying. I think my favorite part of the book might have been the narrator's job on the dungeon core Ban.
2 people found this helpful
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- Yoshi
- 26-10-2020
Great story, can't wait for the next one!
Let me start by saying that I understand why people complain about the slow start. That's aside once the ball starts rolling it doesn't stop until the very end. I enjoyed all the characters and was invested in the story line. I liked the character development and enjoyed the action and adventure. The audio, can I just say Steve does an awesome performance he had me totally immersed into the story and I could tell who was talking just buy the accents and tone! Awesome job to both the Author and Narrator.
2 people found this helpful
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- Brian
- 22-10-2020
Everything You Ask For From LitRPG
4.5 out of 5 stars If you can’t build both believable easy-to-like characters along with beautiful and well described worlds – then you don’t belong writing a fantasy novel, especially a longer one like this story is. Thankfully, the major places that this story shines is in its character and world building. I also don’t always pick up books like this since I’m not a huge epic fantasy fan, but, I am a fan of a good LitRPG regardless of where it’s set. I knew going into this that it was either going to challenge me or it was going to bore me. Thankfully, it was the former. It challenged how I feel about stories like this and it really felt like a unique LitRPG story set in a place I couldn’t have dreamed up The story jumps around a bit since it’s a multi-narrative one, but that didn’t bother me. Honestly, in longer books like this I need the change of pace and Dragon Bourne gave me that in spades. The two main characters that it follows were fun to root for, along with easy to follow. The narration, done by Steve Campbell, really shined too. I feel like with a book this long and in depth he was really able to shine. He showed off his narrating skills along with his skill as a storyteller. Now, I know and understand that he didn’t write the story, but a good narrator can take an already good story and make it their own – turning it into something even better. I think that Campbell did that with this one, and I’m glad that he was on board to do this book. Overall, a really interesting LitRPG Fantasy book that kept my interest throughout. There was a lot of great character and world building, along with a story that I wanted to continue reading. I needed to figure out what was coming next.
2 people found this helpful
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- M. Dellaro
- 04-01-2021
Wow
I saw this book and have passed it by a couple of times. Please do not make this mistake. The novel was filled with adventure, action and a very well done multiple point of view setup. Thanks to TJ Reynolds and Steve Campbell for bringing us an awesome audiobook.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jenna Rideout
- 28-11-2020
I'm Now Hooked on Dragon Core
Normally I start my reviews off with a teaser-style synopsis in three sentences or less, but there’s a lot going on in the book, the official synopsis that’ll be included in any place you’re reading this review does a good job, and I’ve got other things to talk about that aren’t just a gloss over of the plot, so let’s skip that. I loved this book, but I had absolutely no idea how to formulate my thoughts when I was done, so I hopped on Goodreads to see what previous reviewers were saying about it. I had no idea that this (dragon core) was a wider genre with established norms and tropes and I feel like a n00b now because I don’t know if the things I loved about this book are standard issue or not. I did grow up with geeky friends and spent my early twenties dating a World of Darkness (White Wolf) Storyteller (think D&D Dungeon Master, but different company’s umbrella of games) so I’m familiar with tabletop and live action RPG, I just had no idea that more than one person had thought to novelize the concept beyond companion books from the publishers of Dungeons and Dragons, World of Darkness, etc. (By the way, protip to other significant others of DMs/storytellers/etc., when you agree to NPC for them play 20 questions and make sure you know who you’re playing. Being set loose with a stats sheet and no back story only to be kidnapped by the player vampires because you’re actually the rival court’s queen and you should know important things… We’re still friends, that was over a decade ago and I still haven’t let him live that down. Hey, Chris?) Okay, review, I’m supposed to be reviewing. Other reviewers are discussing how the dungeon is usually the main character and this book flips that trope on its head by primarily following a chosen one instead. Obviously I wouldn’t have known that and as a first timer to the genre nothing felt wrong with the character arrangement, but I do think it’s interesting that the dungeon normally would be the MC. If this genre is a spinoff of Dungeons and Dragons in particular then that kind of makes intuitive sense in that the person telling the story and leading the campaign in D&D is the Dungeon Master and the game’s dungeon (setting) is the source of all of the plot elements (be they NPCs or environmental obstacles.) It really is interesting then that Dragon Bourne pushes the dungeon character off to the side in a supporting role. I suppose that’s the freedom of translating this type of story telling into a novel (and not a choose your own adventure one at that) because in an RPG campaign you have actual people behind so many of the other characters making choices and forcing changes upon the story. The only way to think of that sort of story telling as having an MC without alienating all but one player is to think of the DM or the dungeon itself as the MC. (If you’ve made it this far through the review and you’re utterly lost because you aren’t even familiar with RPG but you’ve at least caught on that this would make the MC the antagonist, keep in mind that main characters don’t have to be protagonists regardless of genre.) Some things that I enjoyed about this book and its world and characters that I’m now thinking may possibly be parr for the course in the dragon core/LitRPG genre: * The cores being tied to single elements means this book uses an elemental magic system (at least in part) and I’m a sucker for elemental magic. * Not only does the plot involve characters levelling up and literally applying points to their stats and experiencing an immediate change (obviously this must be standard to the genre) but some of the characters have to be instructed about this process and their initial excitement about it followed by a more careless approach as it becomes routine is hilarious and spot-on for how new players handle it in actual RPGs. * I love the fact that when characters choose to change their class and do something else with their lives their stats sheet shows the skills and abilities they used to have that have now been deleted. The plot absolutely reads like the progression of an RPG campaign with several different players who have their own goals in mind. The world building and description in this book is so thorough and vivid. There’s a lot of humour used, too. Mostly it comes out in what the different characters are thinking or saying but there’s the occasional clever use of situational humour as well. At 16 hours and change this is a fairly long audiobook. Due to the timing of this tour stop in comparison with other review stops I ended up cramming it into a shorter timeframe than I really should have allowed for and I found myself getting bored at times. I think that’s okay for a book in this genre. RPG campaigns don’t start and finish in just one session unless you’ve specifically gathered for a marathon session. It makes perfect sense that an adaptation of that into a format that is simply read or listened to passively would be best consumed in chunks. The fact that I got bored at places is not a negative reflection on the writing nor on the narrative performance (which was excellent, by the way.) It’s a reflection of the fact that it should feel epically long and require breaks. Since I’ve mentioned it: the narrative performance. I started playback at my usual 1.5x speed but ended up on 2x as I was trying to push through with enough time left to compose a thoughtful review. This performance was easy to listen to and follow at those speeds, but I don’t feel like I would have been able to go faster, which leads me to the conclusion that Steve may narrate faster than the average narrator I’ve come across. (Remember this is my first dive into the genre, so that’s not a statement about LitRPG narrators.) His voice was clear and he made each character sound unique without doing the annoying overly pitched-up thing men frequently do when voicing a female character. One of the characters ended up sounding a little like C-3PO, which I loved, but I’m not sure it would come across that way played at normal speed. Perhaps it’s a fun little unintended easter egg for us speedy listeners. Overall, I loved this book. As someone who is familiar with RPGs but had no idea there was a LitRPG or dragon core genre out there to explore I can assure you this is a great place to start if you’re also in that position. I didn’t spot any of those things above that are apparently up for debate without seeing other reviewers bring them up, but I wasn’t lost at all in the book itself, which means this book does an excellent job of relying on the tropes of RPGs and otherwise standing on its own as a piece of fiction to pick up and read without prior experience. I was granted complimentary access to a copy of Dragon Bourne by the author through Audiobookworm Promotions in exchange for an honest review as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title. Thank you to T.J. Reynolds and Audiobookworm for this opportunity! This has not swayed my opinion. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
1 person found this helpful
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- Samuel Kings
- 14-01-2021
An excellent start to a trilogy
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book, only made better by the great narration. The three main characters were all likable and endearing and I eagerly anticipated there eventually meeting. The world building was also great and the magic/leveling system was coherent. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-01-2021
Pretty good
I like the book and will continue the series, but it doesn't get me excited to think how the story will progress, just a pretty good listen. Core system made me feel like I was listening to the cradle series tbh, but it's not so similar. There are fewer LitRPG elements with the characters than I wanted. It's cradle meets dungeon core with dragons, pretty good just not 5/5 atm, the story has potential to make it truly epic. The dungeon's persona is perfect though.
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- Sky ;)
- 17-12-2020
Fun book .
Fun book great characters story of redemption story of finding oneself this book I highly recommend to anybody who is LITRPG. The mechanics are not all in your face but they are they’re very subtly and used very well. Can't wait for the next book .
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- Tristan
- 21-10-2020
Simply Brilliant
I enjoyed every minute of this book. Good progression and a clever but not OP set of main characters. I am looking forward to book 2.
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- Glennccc
- 13-10-2020
Great new series
TJ Reynolds is one of my favourite new authors within the littpg genre. a fantastic storyteller, the author has come up with a fantastic new series. bits is dungeon core, slice of life and cultivation told from several pov's. Really well written with great characters. The narrator, Steve Campbell has a good smooth delivery and tells the story well.
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