The Dungeoneers - by John David Anderson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An action-packed, funny, and unexpected middle grade fantasy-adventure from the acclaimed author of Sidekicked.

The world is not a fair place, and Colm Candorly knows it. While his parents and eight sisters seem content living on a lowly cobbler's earnings, Colm can't help but feel that everyone has the right to a more comfortable life. It's just a question of how far you're willing to go to get it.

In an effort to help make ends meet, Colm uses his natural gift for pickpocketing to pilfer a pile of gold from the richer residents of town, but his actions place him at the mercy of a mysterious man named Finn Argos, a gilded-toothed, smooth-tongued rogue who gives Colm a choice: he can be punished for his thievery or he can become a member of Thwodin's Legions, a guild of dungeoneers who take what they want and live as they will. Colm soon finds himself part of a family of warriors, mages, and hunters, learning to work together in a quest to survive and, perhaps, to find a bit of treasure along the way.

He's supposed to be training with heroes, but Colm's best talent is thievery. What could possibly go wrong?

• A School for Thieves and Warriors: Colm joins Thwodin's Legions, where picking locks is a required skill and running from monsters is a daily exercise.
• A Team of Young Adventurers: He'll have to learn to trust a fierce barbarian-in-training, a clumsy mageling, and a druid who talks to spiders if he wants to survive.
• Dungeon Crawl Action: Get ready for labyrinthine tunnels, clever traps, and a whole lot of monsters standing between this unlikely crew and a pile of treasure.
• A Rogue's Apprenticeship: Colm's mentor is Finn Argos, a charming rogue with a mysterious past and a few missing fingers. But can he be trusted?

Review Quotes

"From memorable characters to a complex yet accessible plot, this is a superhero story that any comics fan will enjoy." - Publishers Weekly (starred review), about Sidekicked

"As riveting a rendition of superdom as even Superman's creator, Jerry Siegel, could have pulled off." - New York Times Book Review, about Sidekicked

"One of the pleasures of superhero stories is guessing what's coming next, but the joy here is that most of the time readers will guess wrong. Michael is as complex as the best Marvel and DC characters, and his dialogue is just as funny." - Kirkus Reviews, about Minion

"In a delightful deconstruction of role-playing clichés, Anderson gives D&D-style dungeon-delving the Harry Potter approach." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)