A collection of seven stories from seven different authors, all taking place on Ludus.
Ludus is a dangerous fantasy world from the series Delvers LLC and Nora Hazard.
Surviving Ludus can be enjoyed by fans of Delvers LLC, or any readers who enjoy sword and sorcery fantasy, dungeon exploration, survival, portal fantasy, magic-on-monster violence, or touching moments of love and honor.
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Blaise Corvin - "Missing in Action"
A story about redemption, family, and loyalty. This story will directly tie into the Delvers LLC storyline, and contains a major reveal for a Delvers LLC main character.
Bastian Knight - "Friends and Enemies"
With a little bit of luck, could an ordinary guy survive on Ludus? What if he meets the wrong sort of people? Then again, what if he meets real friends?
Raymond Johnson - "A Guiding Hand"
Everything Peacehatchet ever cared about has been ripped from him. Does an ork have a soul?
Jon Svenson - "Beyond the Village Borders"
Poor villagers can become adventurers too. Some people on Ludus fall into this lifestyle, but some search for it.
Cory Gaffner - "Enemy Mine"
When a World War II American soldier and a German soldier are transported to Ludus at the same time, will they be able to repay a debt, or kill each other first?
Daylan Ethridge - "Just Another Life on Ludus"
During an attack on Mensk by demons and cultists, many will lose their lives, but some will step up to become heroes. Will an orphan girl defending younger children be a victim, or a shield for the helpless?
Austin Eberle - "Engineering Ludus"
A wide variety of people have been transported to Ludus over the last thousand years. Will an engineering student have any advantage? Is it possible to thrive on Ludus through using brains, not brawn?
My Opinion: 447 pages, $5.98, Kindle Unlimited
Overall a good short story collection. There were a few cultural continuity issues. Nothing major, but you could tell some authors where huge fans that had read every Delver's book and understood the cultures and others were less comfortable with that setting. That polyamory with multiple wives was a necessity, that women had the power, and took all the risks. Stuff that would shift the gender roles. Also, a few small issues with details about how orb bonded got their powers. Again, small things, but it made some stories mesh better than others with the story universe. Overall though, there was nothing bad with any of the stories, but nothing really outstanding either. Very solidly good.
Overall Score: 7.4 out of 10
Engineering Ludus By Austin Eberle
A really good start to the anthology. Good slow character development at the start, mid story power and prep, and it ends with some good action. An engineering student with a logical mind, a Mohali friend, traps, a dungeon, and a bandit threat. Good stuff.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Beyond the Village Borders By Jon Svenson
A dungeon dive. Nothing bad, good action, but not interesting beyond that.
Score: 7.3
Enemy Mine By Cory Gaffner
The main characters of this story are two WWII soldiers, one an American and the other an opposing German. Like the idea that the story would be set so far before the main series, but the beach WWII beach battle at the beginning felt off and awkward. However, once on Ludus the story improved though the language issue isn't handled as well as in other stories. I'd also expected some different cultural norms from a story set decades ago but both the speech and attitudes felt very modern.
Once the story got to the powers, training, and purposeful dungeon dive, it got good though.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Friends and Enemies By Bastian Knight
One of the best rounded stories. It has good action-adventure, really good characters, and it absolutely gets the world and all the little details. Could easily be expanded into a stand alone novel.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Just Another Life on Ludus By Daylan Ethridge, and with editing contributions by Levena Lindahl
The story is set during a major Delver’s event, the invasion of Mensk. The big event overshadowed the characters. No more than a few sentences to get to know the main character before terrible events happened and she reacted. Decent story.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Missing in Action By Blaise Corvin
A really good story that has some action, adventure, and gives some history to a familiar character.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
A Guiding Hand By Raymond Johnson
The story is supposed to be told from an Ork point of view, but the voice is like any other. There's little personality or cultural influence. I did like the nod to the author’s goblin short story.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Overall Score: 7.4 out of 10
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1)
Review by Ian Mitchell
A battle in every bite
I'm not a big fan of short stories or anthologies. This one worked well. The authors other than BC are readers of his work. I enjoyed reading about the world of Delvers LLC from their points of view. Their characters said a lot about what the authors found there. Mainly a whole lot of fighting and brutality for treasure, orbs, or other reasons. Most of the stories were engaging and a couple made me think.I was glad to get to see this world again. I hope book 4 gets here soon.
Score: 8.6 out of 10