Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith [Book 1,2,3,4 stubbed]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Progression, magical cards, weak to strong, card reforging!The young, sickly Irwin has seen nothing but bad luck in his short life. When his brother finally returns with a magical card for him, his luck is about to change. But will it change for the better? Irwin is sent off together with another group of youths to placate a group of sorcerers. With just a weird utility card granted by his brother, he can only pray to stay alive long enough.

This is a card-gathering story. Crafting is not the main focus at first, but as the story progresses, it becomes increasingly important to the MC.

Slow-paced, starts dark, weak-to-strong (but slow)

For those who like to know these things, the story is currently about 12 books long and will likely grow to about 15 before completion. I will very likely write more in the same universe after that, though I will be letting my Patrons help with that decision.

Release schedule: [Fri and Sun] Roughly 22:00 - On Patron [Fr,Sa,Su]

Booksone,two, andthreehave been stubbed! They are now onAmazonand Kindle Unlimited! More books will be removed as they are released. Future chapters will still be released on RoyalRoad first.

The Audiobook for book one is also finally up!

I am still a non-native English speaker (hard to change), so even with the edits and rewrites, you might find some oddities. Let me know, and I'll fix them right up.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2022
Author: Carrarn

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 3,622
Views: 2,120,849

Chapters(272 total)

What readers say about Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith [Book 1,2,3,4 stubbed]

“This has been my new favorite for the last month. Totally addicted to it. Great story, likable characters, the world starts off small, and expands fairly quickly. Next thing you know they are visiting other worlds and world fragments. Very interesting p…”
OdunRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Over all? The story isn't perfect in terms of writing. Little errors here and there. Though ultimately? They don't impact the story much and some of the writing quirks are easy to get used to. In terms of story? Honestly, it's not a even start but by chapte…”
MxMaythemRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

OdunRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This has been my new favorite for the last month. Totally addicted to it. Great story, likable characters, the world starts off small, and expands fairly quickly. Next thing you know they are visiting other worlds and world fragments. Very interesting power/leveling system, I haven't seen anything else like it. Little bit of romance later on in the story, but nothing profane. I don't want to give anything away, but it's a great blend of living, fighting, and crafting. The crafting scenes are superb, definitely some of the best I've read, and one of the reasons this is a very easy story to give a 5 star rating.
MxMaythemRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Over all? The story isn't perfect in terms of writing. Little errors here and there. Though ultimately? They don't impact the story much and some of the writing quirks are easy to get used to.
In terms of story? Honestly, it's not a even start but by chapter 100 the world building alone is so compelling. There's some really unique races, lore and constantly you're given small insights into sometimes one of characters. Which give you more insight to the politics, or other unique elements of the story. I've only begun to read deck building stories but honestly? Even if was a regular game lit story. I would feel impressed. Though the main character does take a lot of several days to weeks long naps.
NecraaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This book is a well-polished Nanowrimo piece with great grammar and an easy-to-read style. The chapters have a clear buildup, resolution, and cliffhanger, and the flow is great.
The story has a few tropes and is inspired by other works, but the character development is well done, with both the main character and supporting characters getting clear development and goals laid out.
In terms of grammar, the writing is polished and well-edited, with no glaring mistakes or typos. The author has a strong grasp of the English language, and it shows in the quality of the writing.
The writing style is consistent and well-crafted, making it easy to become fully invested in the story. The dialogue is natural and the characters are well-developed, each with their own motivations and goals. The author has a talent for creating believable and relatable characters, making it easy to become emotionally invested in their journeys.
The world building has a few inconsistencies but isn't confusing, though some explanations are lacking. The magic system using cards is intriguing and makes me curious to learn more about it.
The MC isn't overpowered and the story avoids the typical zero to hero trope. However, some characters could use more depth though it's hard because it feels like everyone is a little shell shocked and in a bit of a trauma grinder. Overall, the story is well-written and enjoyable, and I'm excited to see Irwin come out of these dark beginnings to grow in power and ability.
DrFaytRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I made a RR account specifically to review this story!
EDIT FOR CLARITY: I read to chapter 121 before making the account hence the review thinking I have only read to chapter 1!
I have bounced off several card based stories, but this one does it right. A few quick things I love:
It feels very realistic with how cards are treated. Both in economic value and the way they are treated culturally.
The characters and setting all make since, no "why wouldn't they just do X". And yet the story still has very satisfying moments and large arcs. Kind of the best of both a plotter or a pantser.
Really like the pacing and direction. A lot of stories that change setting/goals ((scrappy survival into magical school into battle arena into empire building etc etc)) struggle to keep the momentum and... vibe ((if I can use that word)), but here it feels very natural and well done.
Many stories try to instill that the MC had a rough start or a weak period and they move out of it so fast as to make it not feel real, but the author really makes you feel like Irwin is struggling and has drawbacks for a significant part of the story, so his victories feel more deserved.
Overall just a great story and I feel extremely invested in all the characters. Can't wait to keep reading!
Also the Author is a great guy. I was struggling to catch up before the stub and he helped out when a friend of mine contacted him on my behalf. So if you are said friend or the author reading this: Thank you both so much for helping me read this fantastic story!
MorhRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
TLDR: No isekai, no litrpg. Cards give powers. The MC isn't too OP.
Wizards handle the closing of invasion portals, the MC is mobilised to be thrown in the meat grinder but gets a surprisingly good card by mistake.
It's strongly inspired by "All the skills", but good copies are good so I don't care.
Two main issues: 1) Extreme paraoia of everyone about sharing even basic info on their cards (they'll kill you and steal them from your corpse). It's not very well managed, even people with trash tier cards hide their cards to team mates who have 90% of dying together in the meat grinder the next week.
2) Well, I don't even need if I must mention it given that RR has extreme denial of reality when it cames to sex in its DNA, but in a world where wave after wave of children are sent to die fighting monsters, you don't send girls to die ... they stay behind and make as many babies as they can ... Well, as usual with RR, girls are feminist wonderwarriors. It's not a Litrpg story, but it's as if you can choose boobs on your character sheet and it has 0 effect except cosmetics.
Overall, the story is well written. Maybe the characters lack a bit of depth but it's still reasonably good.
About the clarity, it's correct but as someone listening to it as an audibook while playing video games, combats are often rather confusing and it's not instantly obvious who did what attack, who killed which mob, who got killed by which mob and so on. I think it comes from too little details about specific methods of each character. "Character 3 parried the mob attack" only has the name of the character + parried to indicate that it's the shield team member. Overall, it's clear if you read the story, but it's a bit too dry, so if you don't focus enough on the story, you can't identify who did what. Super popular stories usual have a powerful way of associating characters with fighting style. You'll never confuse who is doing what in a story like Salvos, Path of Ascention or Defiance of the Fall
FoarmRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is slowly but steadily growing on me. I like it that the mc has to struggle physically and mentally and doesn't get everything by luck. Some things he gets by luck, but his luck has a strong shadow side too.
A hard to put away story. That keeps you wondering.
GenPowerEveryNightRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'll try to keep it short and sweet. This is a great novel that any person could read, even if they aren't overly interested in the power-archetype of cards!
The pacing is consistent and keeps you entertained. The characters have weight to them and they draw you in, especially the MC with all of the challenges and the time crunch he faces to achieve his goals. The banter between them is funny and shows the way they're growing, whether that is through pure dialogue, their actions, or their inner thought processes which are shown in some specific chapters.
The story is great and the plot is intertwined heavily. Every action taken is a step towards their general goal (no spoilers) and each character progresses with the MC as they grow, even if they aren't doing it together.
Overall a very well written story that has lots of good characters and plot points! Definitely give it a chance.
CrowbeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'd recommend this for sure. Lots of good points but here's few:
A solid take on card based powers that doesn't feel forced.
Interesting characters that generally make decisions like people instead of fitting to the plot.
Good world building that is fed to you slow and steady.
Solid pacing overall, in terms of conflict escalation and power progression.
Avoids cringy tropes so far
LiliaeaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The world building is very unique and the story well crafted! I read the first three books on Kindle and was happy to see Irwin's Journey continues here! I am invested in what happens from Giard, to the Portal Gallery, Scour, and who knows maybe the main branches someday. I find myself smiling as reading this series! Thank you so much to the brilliant author!! I highly recommend this series.
Rodrick all alongRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Excellent world building.
The magic system is unique and simple, but still complex enough that you'll encounter characters with varied powers, not just "fire, water, earth, wind etc."
MC gets stronger and stronger but still has weaknesses and shortcomings (weaknesses are more interesting than powers - Brandon Sanderson)
Powerscaling is handled well so far. The book lets you know that the world is HUGE and there are people out there waaaaay stronger than the MC, and even interacts with stronger characters.
The book is not super lighthearted but also not super dark, a perfect balance. It has plenty of fun and comedy, but also a lot of tension and stakes. The MC has things to fight for and things to lose, it's not just "Oh yeah, I'm not worried. He's the MC nothing will go wrong."
The only issue I've had is that I've run out of chapters to binge.