I wanted to enjoy this book but nothing about it really caught my attention. It felt repetitive with none of the main characters being particularly likable or relatable. While this book might be great for some I do not see it being a hit in my library.

Thank you to NetGalley and Birchwood Press for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It begins with an introduction of Wincott, a thief that finds himself in a pickle of his own doing once again. With enemies hot on his tail, he flees into Roan - a city of myth - where he stumbles upon his son Sish Torren. While Sish has learned much from Wincott, they are different in many aspects and as the story unfolds, those differences become more and more clear. The venture into Roan is its own story, but a second story is told throughout the book. That of how things came to be. The first time you'll come across a chapter like this, it will be jarring but after a few switches like this, you get used to the back and forth of present and past.

The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan gave me vibes similar to Legends & Lattes, with adventure around every corner but with a much more vivid world building and certainly far more action-packed. Fans of D&D will have a blast with this one, and perhaps even pick up an idea or two for their next one-shot or campaign.

This was a fun dungeon diving adventure. As an estranged father and son pair of thieves, a group of mercenaries, a group of dungeon were, and a troop of goblins converge in a mysterious, long abandoned city the race is on for it's fabled treasure. Lots of adventure, plenty of monsters, and sarcasm. I wasn't super invested in the family history/drama, but the setting and plot were a fun read.

This was so much fun to read! I really liked the character ensemble. The plot is an adventure and peeks my interest all the time. Such a good read for middle graders and adults.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan by Joel McKay is a prototypical fantasy romp about two semi-competing thieves heading for some mythical treasure hidden in the abandoned city of Roan. For anyone with a passing interest in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, this book will feel familiar, like a nice, comfy blanket you've kept a little too long. You'll meet the typical cast of an adventure party: the hunter, barbarian, wizard, and thief. They'll face all manner of monsters, traps, and puzzles. And they'll have to work together to survive.

Character Work

The two main characters of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan are the estranged father-son duo, Wincott and Sish. Wincott is an old burglar who's well past his prime, looking for one final score. Sish is the youthful thief who had split from his father over some unknown tiff. They, of course, meet up trying to get into the city of Roan and end up working together.

On their trek into Roan, they meet up with, usually during some precarious position, various people from their past. There is the aforementioned adventuring party, which contains Sish's love interest, Liv, and the former Company man, Fulk, more on him later.

Perpectives

Throughout the course of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan, Wincott and Sish both come to terms with who they are and what kind of people they will be. The book is told switching between past and present as the reader learns more and more about what caused them to split up, and helps to fill in the background history of the characters.

At first, the switch-up is a little jarring, and it is hard to tell immediately whether the chapter was set in the past or the present. As I got further into the story, though, the difficulty lessened, and I found myself being more and more invested in the father/son duo.

Wincott and Sish are both flawed characters who, despite being thieves, aren't necessarily bad people. They may have done some bad things, but they also have some good in them. Sish, especially, spends the course of the book trying to figure out who he is exactly and what he wants.

The side characters, while mostly being static and a little clichéd, do add to both Sish and Wincott's internal struggle. They also add a lot of charm and help me care about the two thieves.

World Building

The strongest aspect of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan is its world-building. Joel McKay builds an interesting fantasy world that I found myself wanting to explore. It's a shame I'm not running a player character, as I wanted to know more about everything in the world. There are two competing trading companies vying for control of the world, the Erdor and Expanse Trading Company and the Kingdom of Mordren's Royal Merchant Guild, who are the catalysts of most of the conflict in The Dungeoneers.

The city of Fort Rivers, where most of the flashback chapters take place, was a lively city where many adventures were waiting. McKay does a great job of building a city that the reader wants to explore and learn about. It is the biggest place where I wished I was a character in the world playing in a tabletop RPG.

Plot

The introduction of this review pretty much gives away the entire plot of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan. Two thieves need to break into the city of Roan while being chased by some Goblins. They meet Fulk and the adventurers and face various traps and monsters while splitting into smaller groups due to things going awry. The groups all head towards the climax, where the treasure is, and have one final showdown.

Overall, the plot of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan is nothing special. It's a bog-standard fantasy RPG plot. One you would see at many weekly tabletop games. The strength comes from how the characters, especially Wincott and Sish, grow and change from the events they face. The plot is snappy enough to keep me interested even if it is overly familiar.

Final Thoughts

While The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan by Joel McKay does nothing new when it comes to fantasy storytelling, it does have an interesting main duo and an engaging cast of side characters who pushed me to keep reading. The ending of the story falls a bit flat, but the journey is well told. The themes of finding yourself and what family actually is, are sure to appeal to young adults. If you enjoy Dungeons and Dragons, you'll enjoy The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan.

Recommend-O-Meter: Great for people who like D&D and also have daddy issues

So Wincott and Sish are an estranged father-son thieving duo in a kind of RPG-esque world. Very estranged. I’m talking, ready-to-kill-each-other in the first few chapters kind of estranged.

It’s particularly interesting because the book’s perspective shifts between them, allowing you to view the animosity from opposing sides. Aside from that, chapters also seesaw between the present-day plot and backstories in the past. I concede that it could be a bit confusing for others as there seems to be no set pattern for these changes, but it worked out fine for me.

My main gripe is that aside from the two main guys, most of the other supporting cast aren’t really delved into deep enough, which is difficult when there are so many other important characters. Like Terry. I really wanted to know more about Terry! And I also kinda wanted an epilogue of sorts, or at least a properly drawn out conclusion. As it stands, it feels pretty abrupt to me.

But anyway. The important part is that this book gave me Meat Cleaver the goblin. I would die for Meat Cleaver the goblin. Everything else is only secondary to him.

The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan delivers what it promises dungeon exploration with two reluctant thieves whose dynamic drives much of the story. Wincott, a weary burglar, who is feeling his age, and his son Sish Torren, who was never really good at the thieving thing, make for an interesting, messy, team as they navigate monster-infested ruins for a legendary treasure. The book contained action packed adventure scenes and a very atmospheric dungeon.

However, the truth is that I didn't really think the book delivered everything it promised. I didn't really see any humor, at all. Let alone the "dark humor" it purports to have. I also did not like all of the flashbacks. I get why it was there and it did help set up the characters back story but it jumped back and forth so much and I found it annoying and confusing. I wanted more Dungeons delving and thought that I was getting something similar to a LitRPG and if that something you want, this book is not for you.

Overall it was a solid and entertaining middle-grade/YA adventure. Good, but not quite great.

With a D & D feel, this fantasy adventure as it all: suspense, monsters, romance, battles, ancient civilizations, and even good-hearted thieves! I did take awhile to warm up to the book since the beginning is spent introducing the various factions approaching Roan. By the middle, however, character relationships are well-established and the action flows from one event to another. The author's use of flashbacks helps the reader get to know the characters better while the scences from the present flesh out the details of Roan and its treasure. If you want a fun fantasy read filled with warm hearts, you need not look any further than The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan!

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

A humorous fun ride! There were a lot of time jumps, which took me out of the story a bit, but I really enjoyed the characters and the group dynamic in thsi classic-feeling fantasy. I've not read anything by Joel McKay, but im going to be on the lookout for more from this author! 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Birchwood Publishing for offering this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

This was a fun adventure story with an engaging cast of characters that were enjoyable to read about. I will admit, I didn't love most of the characters in the story, and feel that the relationships between most of them could have been more fleshed out, it was still fun. I do wish, however, that the world had been more well developed, or at least, that we got to see more of that development. Things were mentioned a lot, groups and factions and all that, however I was never able to fully follow what was being talked about because I feel like nothing was ever explained quite well enough to really understand it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC

This is a plot driven book. Lots of action and constant running for your life style book. Each chapter either has a change of perspective from the father to the sons or reverts back and forth from the past to the present in different chapters.

The whole book feels like a slowly building character arc but takes at least half the book to really get to know the characters and some you just never really connect with.

Loved the story and feel like it would be great for younger readers. Had a bit of magic that wasn't really explained or utilized except where it's convenient to the story.

I had a BLAST reading this!

The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan is an adventurous romp that blends classic dungeon-crawling vibes with clever humor and heart. Joel McKay delivers a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously while still managing to create an engaging plot with stakes, secrets, and plenty of witty banter.

I thought the characters were colorful and full of personality—each bringing something unique to the party dynamic. I especially loved the camaraderie and playful tension between them; it gave the book a bit of that found-family charm that I always look for in a fantasy read.

What stood out most was the tone—it struck a great balance between action and light-heartedness. If you're a fan of role-playing games, entertaining fantasy, or stories that feel like the best parts of a D&D campaign, you’ll probably have a great time with this one. I sure did.

A solid 4 stars from me, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more Dungeoneers stories in the future!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts with us following an overweight, over the hill thief, running from goblins he tried to steal from. He decides to try and lose them in an old cursed abandoned city, and runs into his son. They are not exactly on speaking terms but make a plan to get away from the goblins. While entering the city they run into two more groups of people they know... A thousand year abandoned city and suddenly four groups randomly want something in it ... Something is definitely up...

This story is split into two, one part we follow the thieves and adventurers to see who will get to the treasure first. It is fun, dangerous m,but full of humour as they navigate the city. They meet monsters, deal with spells, just good old adventuring. The second part of the story tells us the history of the characters and how they know each other. Why aren't father and son talking, why are they trying to avoid the other groups etc. This part is more serious and nostalgic and you get to know the characters, who are not always what they seem to be on the surface.

I really enjoyed the story, perhaps I would have liked a bit more of the adventuring side and the puzzles. But the way the story is structured works well, you don't get overwhelmed with back stories and they are broken up by fun adventures. The characters are interesting and you want the good guys to make it and will cheer if the bad guys get what's coming to them. The pacing is good and it feels like an easy read.

Overall a good story and I'll be looking for more books from this author.

DNF
There was so much language! This said it was done middle grade and YA, but there was S-words, A-words, multiple types of B-words, and a f-words. Plus several parts that were not too appropriate. This is not a clean book at all and I didn’t even finish it.

This book should appeal to fantasy fans on all levels. It has so much great content for those partaking in their 1st adventure through an abandoned city, to those feeling Nostalgic, writing or being part in their 100th advanced D&D campaign!

The story is driven by the story & the characters, which are both realistic, well thought out and imaginative.

Specifically the characters are excellent in their realism, with thoughts & feelings. The characters have genuine emotions and most are fleshed out enough to inspire faith in any genre.

The story is twisty & turny, and doesn't reveal too much, too quickly. The settings definitely bring me back to my early days of ready fantasy in all the best ways....unique monsters, swords, legit sorcery, and amazing ADVENTURE, complete with surprises.

There aren't many complex names or vague descriptions that confound, but there is fun. I o ly highly recommend this book. Thanks to Joel and Netgalley for making an advanced copy possible

I LOVED this story so so much. It felt like the best kind of adventure fairytale. Wincott and Sish were so fun to read about. Their adventures were insane and delicious and witty and hilarious.