All the Skills: A Deck-Building LitRPG

All the Skills, Book 1

By: Honour Rae

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

For a boy coming of age and discovering a magical self-reliance and new powers for every occasion, the future is in the cards, in this fantasy adventure.

Arthur lives with his father, a fallen but proud former noble, in Border Village #49, along with the other good folks condemned to toil in service to the Baron. But Arthur has an edge: a stolen heart card that secretly fell into his possession, thanks to a dragon. It’s a priceless source of power for the Baron and the tyrant will kill to get it back. Invaluable, too, to a young man of spellcasting ambitions.

So, at the behest of his father—and to save his own hide—Arthur flees and joins a trader caravan on the kingdom’s backroads. Mile by dusty mile, he gains new skills and learns more about his increasing capabilities. But when he meets Horatio, his sharp-tongued new best friend and a spell card collector himself, Arthur discovers the greater powers to come by building on the Legendary card hidden close to his heart.

One step ahead of the Baron’s hunters, Arthur and Horatio forge on under a sky full of guardian dragons—from the adorably loopy to the mystically wise—and their unflappable riders. Amidst danger, rescue, and friendships with both humans and those creatures of the more leathery variety, Arthur awakens to a newfound confidence . . . and the extraordinary things that can arise from the simplest magics.

The first volume of the hit progression fantasy series, featuring a unique card-based magic system, now available for the first time!

©2022 Honour Rae (P)2022 Podium Audio

Critic reviews

“A fantastic work that is fast establishing Honour Rae as one of the big names of LitRPG. The characters, plot, and world-building are incredibly compelling, and like many readers, my only issue was devouring it and then having to wait for more.”—Travis Deverell aka Shirtaloon, bestselling author of He Who Fights with Monsters

Really quite enjoyable

I actually quite liked this a fair bit, which is saying a lot given it has some of the tropes I generally hate in fiction.

A child protagonist (12 for two thirds of the book, then 16 for the back end).

Dragons (I'm just so over the fetishization of dragons).

A reactionary protagonist, rather than a proactive one, especially with this skillset (this starts to change by the end of the book, and can be mostly explained away by being a child).

A dumbing down of the protags skillset in a way that feels enforced by the author because they gave them a hilariously OP power that will quickly get out of hand (this is the one that ultimately has me dinging a star. I'd rather read about a hilariously OP revolutionary protag than a neutered one).


Having said all that, this is still enjoyable. It made me not hate a child protagonist, even though Luke Daniels always ratchets up the whining in his characters to an eleven. It made me excited to see where the story will go after the ending. I've hinted at it, but I'm desperately hoping for the gentlemanly thief revolutionary, but I'm prepared to have my hopes dashed also.

Either way, I'll definitely be picking up the next one.

Oh, and maybe buy an attack skill instead of wishing for one you bellend, you clearly have the resources and ability to do so.

Great!!!!

Can’t wait for book 2 and this one ended with me in a rage of excitement and sadness for what happened at the end and knowing I’ll have to wait who knows how long lol

Amazing surprise

Had heard about this book through a group and glad I tried it this series will be one of the best deck building litrpgs I've read. Hope book 2 makes its way to audible soon

I will keep this short to help the LitRPG fans

The Good
A fun unique story that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of LitRPG. Love the unique magic system of deck building and dragon riding. The MC isn't annoying or dumb so that's a win!

The Bad
At times it feels like the world doesn't exist outside of the MC. The world should be full of carded people using magic to affect the world in every way possible, but we hardly see anyone doing anything unique or interesting. We should see carded people using magic for every conceivable task, but we don't! This becomes a problem as MC gets more cards; it feels like no one else has any. Which makes the world feel dull when you notice it.

The Conclusion
The second book could easily fix most of my problem with the story and even show the lack of magic at the current location as intentional. The majority of the story was 4 stars, but it started falling apart toward the end and lost one more. I am harsh on this genre because it's being flooded with terrible books, but I would recommend this one.

that was really good

didn't think I would like this book but it is awesome I am looking forward to the next one

need the next book

This book is a nice refresher on a crowded genre. the system in which it takes place is unique and clear. instead of some BS reason as to why the MCs are gaining power they actively have to grab and reach out for it. every second of this book was beautifully done

This is an excellent book.🤩

This is one of my new favorites ❤
If you are wanting a book with a lot of action this might not be for you but if like me you love a good story you will love this😃

All the Love

This is the gold standard of what all Deckbuilding LitRPGs should strive to be.

loved it

this book was great. I want book 2 and I want it now. but seriously, how long till book 2?

loved it

I could not put it down.
after i finished the book i went straight to RoyalRoad to continue the story.