Pushing My Luck (First Draft)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

There’s good luck, and there’s bad luck. Unfortunately for Ben Walker, he’s been cursed with both.

Dragged into a parallel universe where strange gods grant arcane powers to their faithful, Ben has to make his way while trying to still be a good guy despite the bizarre things happening around him. Things get worse as mysterious and powerful organizations begin to take notice of him and work to take him down.

Oh, and there’s no record of his ever being born, so yeah, that’s fun too. Good luck accomplishing even the mundane things like opening a bank account, Ben. Oh wait, we already covered the luck thing. Guess he'll need to come up with another solution.NOTE: Going back over this, I've decided that it's too rough. I should have polished it up more before posting. Rather than take this down right now, I've decided to postthe final draftas well. Apologies for any confusion. Check it out! The second book in the series will start posting immediately after the final draft is fully up!

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: ItsVance

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 85
Views: 29,256

Reviews

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Community Reviews(4)

NtURoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This was a really fun, fast-moving adventure story. The main character is charming (maybe a little too nice- he could use a few more flaws), and the supporting cast are vivid and down to earth. I love that his support team includes an accountant! Although it is labelled a first draft, it is very polished. The author has a gift for dialogue, and for coming up with barely-plausible ways for Ben to save the day using his unique luck ability. There is plenty of action and plenty of humor.
The vibe of the book reminds me of Simon Green, but less smug and cynical. The action reminds me of a cross between Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Chan.
I heard about this on a litrpg group, and while this has a few litrpg and isekai elements, it really doesn't need them. This story could stand alone without these elements, as a solid urban fantasy/police procedural/adventure.
I love litrpg, but sometimes new authors use the stat sheets, level ups, and skills as too much of a crutch. It's nice to see an author who shows us character development through dialogue and action, not expository interior monologue and stat sheets.
This is a light, fun romp. Stakes are high, but the story is neither dark nor gruesome. I look foward to reading more.
terrapinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
In some ways, this book shouldn’t work. The protagonist’s good luck/bad luck curses mean that basically everything that happens is a deus ex machina, and plot arcs veer in wild directions without warning due to the vagaries of fate. Yet, this is a wonderfully entertaining read, and I think it has a lot of staying power as well—sometimes a gimmick is entertaining for a dozen chapters and then gets old, but I’m 30 chapters in and still excited to read more.
I attribute this to two things: first, the writing quality is great. Very few errors, just the right amount of description of scenes, especially all the wild action ones, and great pacing, again despite the general insanity surrounding the MC.
Second, and more important, is the characters. Ben is a very likable protagonist, and has a real drive to do good. This motivation gives stakes to the action—if he were more passive, then the story would just be a chronicle of implausible events. But because he cares so much, the reader is drawn into the story and really feels invested. But it’s not just Ben, there’s several supporting characters who are also (mostly) likable, and fairly fleshed out.
This brings me to my only real complaint: the synopsis. It sucks. (mild spoilers about the general tone of the story)
Ben almost immediately runs into nice folks in positions of authority, and quickly forms a small group of friends he can rely on—the really fantastical part of this story! :D The society of his new world deals with situations like his often enough to have a reasonable protocol in place for stuff like getting identification and whatnot. The plot quickly moves on to more of a procedural-type story. That’s not to say Ben faces no issues with integrating into a new world, but the story so far is more “NUMB3RS” than “Jason Bourne.”
Anyway, this is a solid urban fantasy/action/mystery story that will probably appeal as much to readers just here to see things blow up as to those who want some meaty character development.
AlsoJohnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The road to hell, or in this case the road to everything being exactly the same - - - - but different, is paved with poorly executed good intentions.
This is a parallel world quantum multiverse story whose blurb doesn't do it justice. I dang near passed it up but now am binging it. It keeps getting more complex and finally detailed. The changes are subtle but substantial. Bar turns into dry cleaners, county seat is different police are pro actively helpful. The system is just an interface on a manditory cell phone. Lots of creativity in a well written work.
wothereRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
What happens when someone with a habit of actively trying making the world a better place ends up in a similar world, with litteral weaponised "protagonist aura" powers that are not exactly a new thing for the locals?
Chaos, unpredictability, always on edge, action escalating very quickly and dropping just as quickly. That's what.
It could easily make for a boring story, with cardboard cutout characters, OP protagonist who don't have to remember the meaning of the word "consequences", and plot armor so thick you can see it under the pretence of "it's part of the setting/it's his thing". (Yes, I saw that happen a lot in RR). This is not what you get here.
Characters: they drive the story forward. Things happen around Ben because of his curses, but he choses to get involved in them, because it's who he is. Same for everyone. They have a reason to be where they are, to do what they do, to act like they act. Ben has his own motivations, with doubts and flaws that pop out organically, and so do the other characters. They feel like real people you'd meet on the street, with their own lives and actual personalities. Even if we don't know them, even those we only see once, even those that are first defined by a single trait.
Which is supported by the style. 1st person perspective used in a way to really drive home how Ben sees the world and himself, his avoidance of certain topics, or how little time he has to examine his surroundings and how off-guard he is caught. It does make some things hard to see, feel or understand for the reader, even when they are clear to him, but it makes the story feel more alive, somehow.
Not much to say about the grammar. I remember seeing some weird formulations, but I was more interested in reading what happens next.
TL;DR: awesome story, excellent at what it does. I recomment you give it a try.
By the end of the first chapter, you'll know if you like the character and the narrative style.
By the end of chapter 6, you'll know if you like the