Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight a hilarious sounding upcoming fantasy novel with the very interesting read The Dungeon Book by Gareth Hanrahan.

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I’m always on the lookout for fun and unique sounding fantasy novels, and the second half of 2026 has something very special with a new release from acclaimed fantasy author Gareth Hanrahan.  Known for his Black Iron Legacy (which started with his debut The Gutter Prayer) and his Lands of the Firstborn series, Hanrahan has written some very interesting novels over the years, but one of his craziest books could be his next, the upcoming standalone novel The Dungeon Book.

Set for release in August 2026, The Dungeon Book (as told by Cornelius the Skull) will turn the tables on tradition dungeon-focused fantasy stories by telling the story from the perspective of the monsters who inhabit them, including a young human girl with the amusing, if concerning, name of Bait, who is raised by the dungeon denizens and calls them family.  However, when treasure hunters and adventurers start to invade the dungeon, Bait finds herself caught between two worlds and must determine just how monstrous she truly is.

Plot Synopsis:

A young girl is left to die in a wizard’s dungeon but finds a new home with the monsters around her in this humorous and heartfelt standalone epic fantasy from acclaimed author Gareth Hanrahan.

Enter a world of dungeons and dragons, magic and manticores, and goblins and gargoyles . . .

Bait doesn’t remember a time before the dungeon. Before the dragon stole her from her cot. She doesn’t know what her name was before she was handed over to the monstrous denizens of the dungeon beneath the sorcerer’s tower. Luckily for Bait, they decided not to eat her. And so she grew up in the dark – the goblins her adopted family, a vengeful minotaur her protector, a sentient skull her tutor, and a blob of corridor slime her main source of nutrition.

But the labyrinthine dungeon, with its haunted halls, buried temples and forgotten magics, draws treasure hunters like moths to flame. And as the outside world starts to intrude, Bait will learn what it means to be monstrous and she will have to decide where she truly belongs.

I really love the sound of The Dungeon Book, which I think has a ton of potential.  Looking set to combine unique characters with an entertaining fantasy narrative, The Dungeon Book will likely be a hilarious and highly inventive read, that will be both amusing and heartwarming.  I love the idea of seeing a character raised by monsters, especially when they’ll then have to overcome the best, and worst, of humanity.  Sure to be one of the most compelling reads of the year, I think that The Dungeon Book has a ton of potential, especially with Gareth Hanrahan’s amazing imagination behind it, and it is currently one of the top books I am looking forward to in the second half of 2026.