Discount Dan: A LitRPG Adventure by James A.
Hunter is the first book in his Discount
Dan’s Backroom Bargains series. James Hunter also has a series, Viridian Gate Online, that I tried
but could not get into. The Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains series
is clearly inspired by the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but has
its own unique elements.
Former Marine and current construction
worker Dan was at a party, got drunk, and passed out. When he woke up, he is in
the “Backrooms” located somewhere else in another part of reality. Thanks to
his drunken partying, he does not know how he got here or why he is wearing a
bathrobe, among other things.
Unfortunately for him, the monsters
waiting there are not going to let him get used to his strange new reality.
Shortly after arriving, he manages to anger one of the most powerful monsters
in the Backrooms, The Flayed Monarch, leader of the Skinless Court. So, he has
made a monster king angry. The same monster king who leads a court of humans, people
who are willing to skin themselves and others for their master…. Yep, they
sound like lovely people.
So, his goals are simple. Try to stay
alive, try to get somewhere safe, find food and water, get stronger and find some
allies.
This is an action-packed humorous
adventure with LitRPG elements and some entrepreneur spirit as Dan attempts to
set up a store in this hell hole. There
are some interesting characters such as Temperance, a furry wearing witch from
the Salem Witch trials armed with a machete, and Croc, a shape shifting polymorph
who befriends Dan and acts as a guide to this new reality. On the one hand he is a warm-hearted creature.
On the other hand, he also a ravenous monster at times. His diet consists of some
type of frozen yogurt and meat.
I read this through Kindle Unlimited
which has all three books that are out currently. The Second book in the series
is called Cul-De-Sac Carnage
where Dan is trying to set up a trading post with the Howlers a small eclectic
group of survivors who are trying to make it in the backrooms. To do this he
needs to clear out the 24th level which is a nice suburbia area filled with
feral Karens, Kannibal Kids, and the tyrannical HOA. Luckily, Dan has friends to
help.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4x6fODR
Scott A. Tipple ©2026
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