Chances of Death: Seven Decks Book I

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Jen wins the lottery, but not any kind of lottery you’ve ever heard of. The "prize" sends her and her best friend Sam through a rainbow portal to the Seven Decks. They must learn how to survive and grow strong in a harsh new world where magic exists and levels can be earned. However, with their experience as CIA operatives and MacGyver-like inventions and skills, they may just be able to overcome the odds.

Chapters released will no longer be every Monday at 5 p.m. I'm sorry, but I can't stick to a schedule right now...too much demanding my attention right now. Chapter release will be somewhat random and may be several weeks apart.

Note - Book 2 is a really slow work in progress, just keep that in mind when reading past book 1.

I recognize from the comments and from personally reading "Two Weeks Curse" Ten Realms (great book in my opinion), there are some similarities (just like many of the other tower climbing stories, Isekai stories, and other Deck progression stories - there will always be similarities). However, I believe there are significant differences in my story, that don't make it a "rip off".

Books that I think are amazing that have influenced my writing (these are professional authors - I'm not claiming that my writing is equal to theirs, just that their stories influence my thoughts as I write this story.)

All of Dakota Krout's books - His MC is sucked into a video game/real world, and they move to higher realms to fight other races.

Delvers LLC by Blaise Corvin - two friends yanked into another world, and learn to use powers and crafting.

Michael Chatfield's Ten Realms books. Two MC are Isekai into the Ten Realms and you have to gain power to move up the Realms. I have read the first 4 (I think he has finished all 10 now) - great books.

Reborn: Apocalypse by L.M. Kerr - great story about a guy that is reborn and gets to redo his life. He is yanked into another world (with the rest of human-kind) and they travel up decks to fight other races.

Towers of Heaven by Cameron Milan

Alpha Test by David R. Pendleton - loved his crafting explanations/creations

Survival Quest by Vasily Mahanenko - great crafting explanations

Life Reset - Shermer Kuznits - great crafting/Macgyver type creations.

World Tree Online - EA Hooper -travelling up higher branches

The Valens Legacy by Jan Stryvant - great crafting and fighting (not my interest... so constantly jumped past the harem descriptions)

Super Powereds by Drew Hayes (liked all his books) - great power descriptions

and many other litrpg and gamelit novels.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: Steveabailey

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 354
Views: 350,722

Reviews

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Community Reviews(8)

SrayanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Very promising story involving (involuntary) portal of an initial group of two (skilled operatives) to a tiered set of worlds. They have advanced notice and a period to "skill up" before the port - a race against time. The story is fast paced with lots of new concepts and information but it all sequences really well so you can retain all of this and enjoy.
Those of you who liked the 'Ten Realms" series will appreciate this one too. While there are some similarities in the basic "world architecture" the actual plot is very different to "ten realms", not least because the attitudes and objectives of the main characters are quite different.
The story is very exciting, lots of skill and knowledge gains, a lot of combat, lots of interactions with interesting characters. But all done with a clear sense of purpose.
At my current chapter the team has grown to four main characters (well 3 and a half since one is a psychic "mana cat" who pops in and out). Two original MCs and a new MC that joins them in the first sector.
So there is the potential to build a party as the team ascends but no apparent intent to "build infrastructure" in a large scale way. This allows for more flow and movement in the story - and there is no loss of focus away from the main group of characters into side quests (which was inevitable in "ten realms" style city/nation building and definitely slowed the pace of that story down).
Each party member has a "specialty" and the ranking up of the skills is interesting too.
There is a fascinating facet of the system quests that I haven't read anywhere else, this facet impacts on the culture of the tiered world in interesting ways. Quite a few plot points hinge in this cultural effect.
Grammar and writing style are good- certainly I have not noted anything that affected reading enjoyment.
Highly recommended
Smac1222Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
what a great story
anouther reviewer said "Very promising story involving (involuntary) portal of an initial group of two (skilled operatives) to a tiered set of worlds. They have advanced notice and a period to "skill up" before the port - a race against time. The story is fast paced with lots of new concepts and information but it all sequences really well so you can retain all of this and enjoy." and i couldent agree more
this is anouther of Royal Roads home runs i rarely write reviews because i dont like the 50 word minimum but for a story this good here goes
the main charactors are really good the running jokes and the banter makes them really come alive and the balance of being competent but makeing mistakes makes them seam more real
great job
ValentineNRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Two spies get isekai'd into a world where the "system" has a gambling fixation.
Both characters are smart and paranoid (though not as visibly obsesive later on), and they avoid making a lot of mistakes. The fact that they're not afraid getting dirty when needed also helps their survival chances.
The chemistry between the two is nice, one young, one old, male and female, straight and gay and so on. There is no romance between the two, no harem or other tropes so abused by the genre.
The best part of the story though is the pacing. One picks up enchanting, while the other gets intelligence gathering and organization.
In most other litrpg books, you'd reach chapter 200+ by now while the author tries to cram in all those skills into a single MC or spread them evenly among his harem.
Bad parts? Well, Jen's motivation is kind of vague. She wants to survive, she wants to help Sam succeed, but it doesn't feel like it's HER goal. More like doing things out of duty than anything else. This is even more obvious whenever Sam remembers his.
The second bad thing is the secondary characters. There aren't any. Or rather, they are, but they get merely a few paragraphs every now and then. Even Jen's love interest.
Tl;dr. Smart characters, doing smart things. Good reading.
JVC1820Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story and I am hooked!
I read book 1 on Kindle a few days ago and could not wait for book 2 to come out so I came here and am now up to date.
I am now anxiously waiting for the weekly postings.
Thank you Mr Steve Bailey
AJbumpkinsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I can't believe this is just a hobby story! It's got some rough edges, but it is incredibly interesting how this story develops. I don't get the reference to the Two Week curse by Mr. Chatfield. I've read that series several times. This is nothing like that except they get transferred from Earth to a new world. That's it.
Kind of a bit of funny, but when I looked at this at first, I thought it was going to a deck building story. Took me a minute to realize the deck was meant in the casino, blackjack, gambling type of deck. Yeah, not my brightest moment!'
This is the first story I've read where the characters can lose ability points. They can also win them. Just like gambling! Lol!
The story moves at a fast pace, with a few slower moments. The two main characters are smart and adaptive, but sometimes drive me crazy. Sam and Jen were both in the CIA. I'm guessing that type of training would teach you to control your feelings a bit more, but Jen and Sam lose it a few times on each other (though I get the "father/daughter" bond, the reactions seem a bit extreme). Sam also, starts not paying attention to anything, but enchanting and loses his situational awareness. I just think for a guy who spent like 30 years in the CIA, that would be a hard habit to break. Those are my only criticisms.
I'm really enjoying this story and I really hope you stick with it. I binge read this and that doesn't happen often! Highly recommend!!!
CpaiseyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Really enjoying the series even though it basically a mash up of 2 other stories. Still it sucks you in. A few errors but overall worth taking the time to enjoy. Keep the chapeters coming. Thanks a lot mr steve bailey. Really hope you dont stop making chapters in the future. Would like to see how it ends
Hero FodderRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Alright, folks, let’s talk about the Seven Decks. Imagine winning the lottery, but instead of a bag of cash, it’s a one-way ticket to a place where magic is the norm, and leveling up is your new pastime. Well, that’s exactly what happens to Jen and Sam, and let me tell you, it’s an adventure.
The premise might seem familiar to those who’ve ventured into other "tower" books. The world architecture feels eerily familar, with government agents instead of students, and a lottery instead of a truck. There’s also the use of the universal father-daughter dynamic. You’d expect the author to leverage the dynamic and highlight eagerness versus resistance to adapt and engage with this new wacky world. Instead, we’re stuck following a “millennial” on a moralistic crusade and her "boomer dad”, who’s about as consistent as the British weather.
The story starts with great promise but quickly devolves into a mess of contrived moral dilemmas, blinkered storytelling, and characters that seem to change their minds as often as a teenager picking an outfit. To be frank, the inconsistencies in character development make my head spin. These are CIA spies with backgrounds in espionage and assassination, but suddenly they’re stuck in a cycle of being indecisive and reckless. It doesn’t add up. Moreover, the narrative feels cold and distant, like watching the chaos from behind a glass pane. The plot moves erratically, with too much reliance on random coincidences to push it along.
Let’s dive into the LitRPG elements of the story. The potential is there, and the beginning hints at some crunchy details. But, as you venture further, the system falls into the shadows, barely explained. You’re bombarded with numerous systems, crafting, mana channels, levels, skill levels, and a system store. The author throws everything but the kitchen sink at you within the first 50 chapters, leaving you confused. It’s like a puzzle with too many pieces, and you can’t find the corners to start putting it togethe
RocksNPebblesRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
The world is near a fan fic of 10 realms in that it is very close plot, with government agents instead of soldiers and a lottery label instead of a 2 week curse. Add in the boomer and father daughter type relationship for the 2 leads and that's the ar'kendrythist part...including that we largely follow he much less interesting boomer male instead of the younger female who adapts and interacts with the world to a much greater degree.
It'd be better to follow Jen as she is more engaged and interesting, but instead the dad is working hard in isolation while the females are hysterical and constantly running into contrived moral dilemmas. And frustratingly like ar'kendruthist the boomer dad keeps ignoring his system messages and is weaker than he could be. Like...it isn't a game to be played badly out of some random weird resentment towards the system messages...and the guy is some cia spy code cracking computer type in one moment, but an anti tech lazy curmudgeon boomer the next..he makes no sense.
This is a contradiction of both their characters as cia spies with one being a former assassin/ triggerman...such folks would be much harder in mindset. The story telling is a bit myopic and fishbowl like, I feel like everything is happening at a distance away from the reader with somewhat cold language in a tell don't show kind of way.
Imagine Jason Bourne, but older, and being a put upon dad who is yo-yo'ing between mass murder and randomly pissing off his unpredictable daughter 8 times in 20 chapters about killing or doing risky magic or getting hurt or saying the wrong thing. All contrived and resolved within a chapter or two. And 90% of dialogue is plagued by banter and jokes to the point thst it is hard to tell what's is happening or the plot gets short quick turns to make more space for the same dumb joke to have 20 permutations.
It is like the author came up with 5 ways a storyboard scene could happen, then instead of picking one to advance the plot...all 5 versions h