I’m back with another book review, and this time I’m reviewing “Dungeoneer Adventures: Wrath of the Exiles” by Ben Costa & James Parks! I reviewed the first “Dungeoneer” book and enjoyed reading it, so I just had to pick up the next one to see what happens next!
Here’s a quick summary so we know what it’s about:
“Coop Cooperson thought he was settling into life as the only human at Dungeoneer Academy, but no one will even remember his Mushroom Maze victory if he keeps failing Riddles and Runes class. Adding insult to injury is the new kid, Kody, who everyone—including Coop’s best friends on the Green Team—thinks is so great…but Coop is convinced there’s more to Kody than meets the eye.
But it’s not just the arrival of Kody; other things seem off at the Academy. After a serious incident at the school dance, Coop, Oggie, Daz, and Mindy, plus a few other students new and old, realize they must step up to try and stop whoever’s wreaking havoc. But the villains are even more dangerous than anyone realizes…and they have a serious vendetta against Dungeoneer Academy.
Coop and his friends put their best junior dungeoneer skills to the test, but their foes are always one step ahead. Can they figure out how to stop them and save Dungeoneer Academy before it’s too late?”
Plot Development: 4 out of 5 stars
The plot was overall quite engaging and fun to write. I do think it lagged slightly in the middle. However, that was mainly because of all the main story’s lore being revealed during then. This book dives deep into the Dungeoneer Academy’s lore/backstory, so this is a must-read for those interested in it. The reader learns a lot more about the Exiles and their leader.
There also are a lot of opportunities to question which side is the correct one – the Exiles, or the Dungeoneers? Though Coop and his friends ultimately stick with the Dungeoneers by the end of this book, there are grave consequences for the conflict they’re now part of. I look forward to reading more about how that goes!
Worldbuilding Development: 5 out of 5 stars
I mentioned the worldbuilding a bit in the plot development section. However, I really did think it was quite well-done to flesh out some of the history of the Dungeoneer Academy and the origin of the Exiles. I don’t want to spoil too much here, so there isn’t too much I can share. However, it does feed well into the overarching main plot and demonstrates how it affects both individuals in the Exiles and Dungeoneers. It also does a great job of showing how this new knowledge affects our main characters and other characters too.
Character Development: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Coop went through more development in this book. However, so did Daz in particular, thanks to the subplot of her potentially leaving the Dungeoneer Academy. It’s not a big subplot, but it’s enough to affect her actions throughout the story as she struggles with her parents’ separation and divorce, which potentially could result in her leaving. She does choose to stay at the Academy in the end despite her parents’ divorce (which is something both her parents, fortunately, support), but it was great to read a more vulnerable side of Daz that shed more light on her overall personality.
I also enjoyed reading Coop’s bullies get some development into becoming better people, too. It’s not as prominent as Daz’s subplot, but said bullies come to the realization that maybe they’re not quite bad enough to be Exiles and that they’re capable of a redemption arc. I’m looking forward to see if that develops further in later books.
Most of the main plot’s conflict is left up to our main characters simply because they’re the main characters. However, I appreciate that the adults in this book actually try to do something about the overarching story in this series. From trying to help in other ways (for example, the Dungeoneer Academy headmaster encouraging the kids to stick around in school for a bit longer and requesting other more experienced Dungeoneers to complete the main quest. That’s likely to go awry, thus forcing the main characters to help out once again in later book. However, at least there is a sense of everyone else being active characters and not just the main cast.
Overall, I’m rating this book 4.5 out of 5 stars!
This was a great next installment in the Dungeoneer Academy series, and I look forward to reading the next one!
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