Shadow Card Guardian

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Dania Ellis has faced warzones and Emergency Room chaos—but nothing prepared her for Drop Night.

Once every ten years, the gods give a deck of cards to a chosen few. These new “deckbearers” are capable of great magical feats, and are the top of every food chain, both metaphorically and literally.

As a combat veteran and ER nurse, Dania knows what it takes to fight for a better life. She’s worked tirelessly to build a future for herself and her orphaned nephew, Jake. But everything changes on Jake’s fourteenth birthday when he receives a Drop Night deck—straight from Nyx, the goddess of night.

The deck grants Jake power, but it also paints a target on his back. Suddenly, he’s a deckbearer hunted by forces that would do anything to possess his special deck of cards. But those hunting him and others like him failed to consider one important thing: Jake may be orphaned, but he’s not alone…

Because Dania will doanythingto protect her kid. Survival isn’t just an option—it’s a promise.

Fast-paced, gripping, and full of heart, this story is in the same universe as Demon Card Enforcer, and perfect for fans of All the Skills and Goblin Summoner.

Volume 1 has been stubbed. Shadow Card Guardian is out in KU as of 16 April 2025! Paperbacks will be live as of 18 April 2025, and Audiobook coming soon!Note: This story is set in the same world as John Stovall's outstanding Demon Card Enforcer. It takes place at the same time as Demon Card Enforcer book 1. John Stovall has read and approved every word of this story, and we will have some overlap with the supporting characters. Enjoy!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Kacey Ezell

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 622
Views: 40,754

Chapters(20 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(9)

engionRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I remember the sneak peak on Patreon that I got to see glad that this piece has finally been released. Love the addition of cards and the abilities also how the brother and sister dynamic. Hopefully they can create a safe home with the cards that they were gifted a shadow empire surrounded by protective beast.
Great story and happy to read it.
DaftWullyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I decided to read Shadow Card Guardian because I had enjoyed several of Kacey Ezell's works in the past, and I have been thoroughly enjoying it!
Shadow Card Guardian is set in John Stovall's Demon Card Enforcer world and centers on a combat vet/nurse who is trying to protect her teenage nephew when he is chosen to be a deckbearer by a dark goddess.
I like Dania, the main character of the story. She is decisive and does not shy away form making difficult decisions, but Ezell is also able to show Dania's fears and worries about protecting her nephew. Putting emotional impact into her writing is something Ezell is particularly good at, and Dania is a more believable character because of it. It is still early in the story, so the other characters have had less time to develop. Jake, Dania's nephew, is a standard overenthusiastic teenager, and I look forward to seeing how he grows.
The grammar and style are excellent, as one would expect of an experienced author.
The story is set in John Stovall's Demon Card Enforcer world, but is has a very different 'voice' than what you find in Strovall's stories, and I have enjoyed the difference.
HeartwontbeatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far I am adoring my time with this story.
Grammar, and style, and story are all good. I'm not really a numbers person when it comes to action so I mostly gloss over the specific information of the LitRPG elements but even without knowing those exact numbers combat still feels important, impactful, and well paced. In particular, combat is visceral with a capital V. Humans are soft, getting stabbed hurts, and a tough encounter will take you out for a week. I love this in a story. It adds so much to tension and believability and has me at the edge of my seat whenever anything serious happens. I know the MC won't die because they're the MC and it would be a really short story if they did, but there is still so much risk to any encounter.
It isn't the grammar (which is totally passable, no objective mistakes that I've noticed.)
Or the style (although as previously mentioned, I like its intensity)
Or its story ( Don't have too much to add here. I'm 10 chapters in and its mostly tutorial and set up. I don't quite have a firm idea of what the grander overarching narrative will be.)
What I love is the characters!
I was immediately hooked by the first couple of paragraphs of this story. The MC is extremely unique generally speaking but especially for Royal Road. And the author isn't afraid to get adult or mature with the themes and ideas explore. It is that one aspect which really propels me through the entire narrative. Oftentimes in a story it feels like it doesn't matter who your protagonist is because its just the world or system that has a personality and motivates the narrative. Sometimes it feels like the protagonist could be swapped with any other in thousands of other stories without anything being changed. Not Here. Who our protagonist is matters, how she thinks matters, and her motivations matters.
Great story so far. I look forward to continue reading it.
Poleaxe PennRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Despite existing in a LitRPG setting and faithfully reporting monster stats, this book deftly avoids getting bogged down by the minutiae of its own setting. This story shares a world with John Stovall's excellent book, Demon Card Enforcer, shares a good deal of that book's tone, but is also its own completely original thing.
Wolfe in DCE has been fighting against deckbearers for years and knows the magic system inside and out. On the other hand, Dani in this book is relying on her super-fan nephew for advice on how to best spend her points instead of devoting chapters to the decision process and rarely pays attention to details like exactly how many points of damage her monsters are doing in favor of visual description and more important (to her) goals like keeping everyone alive... and that's a good thing. You don’t need to know that damage is the square of the attack score minus the defense score of the opponent to notice that a monster with an attack score of 10 rips through opponents easier than a monster with an attack score of 5.
I recommend you read Demon Card Enforcer. I recommend you read this book. I recommend you don’t fall into the trap of asking “Which one is better?”. Despite their differences, I’m fairly certain a fan of one will be a fan of the other, and both books deserve five out of five stars.
Tarvis K'maraRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I wasn't initially going to read this. In the past I have tended to find stories set in another authors world to be subpar or just rip offs of the original. Then I saw that John Stovall himself recommended this so I figured why not give It a chance. So glad I did. This story has been a worthy addition to the universe he created while still being told with a unique voice.
Definitely worth giving a shot if you like Demon Card Enforcer
Temple nRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a perfect first chapter setting up a very interesting story and it made me go and read demon card enforcer 1 & 2. Maybe I’m just a sucker for aunt protecting orphans stories. This seems like good fun and a good fit for the whole demonic enforcement deck building universe
2ndclassnerdRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this world and this particular point of view is even better than the main story. I hope it gets an Audiobook too. It feels like the most diverse so far with beasts, shadows, golems and more as new characters are found. I'm soo annoyed that I'm all caught up now.
charlicoxwritesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have never read LitRPG before, but have been a fan of Kacey Ezell's other work, so I thought I'd give this story a shot. I'm so glad I did! Dania is fierce in protecting her nephew, Jake, and they learn how to level up together. There are so many touching moments that will pull on your heartstrings mixed with intense action that will keep you turning the proverbial page. I'm 30+ chapters in and looking forward to the next "drop" on Friday. If you are looking for a new series to read, check out Shadow Card Guardian!
XenoWolfRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The story is set in a well built setting. The characters and the story arch are well done. I have already purchased the first book. I read it the same day I bought it. I simply could not put it down. The decks are well thought out. The cards are well written and not confusing. Thank you cannot wait for the second book to come out. I have already read the entire set of posts for it and looking for more.