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A Deck of Cards
A riveting fantasy, an adventure story, a poignant tale of love and heroism and friendship, A Deck of Cards is a novel by acclaimed author Daniel Kelley.
While playing a game of Speed in their family room, nineteen-year-old Alyssa Lewis and her five-year-old sister Sammy witness the appearance of a man who claims to be the Jack of Diamonds. As implausible as this seems, however, several others – the acerbic Queen of Spades, the seductive Jack of Clubs, and the somewhat slow King of Diamonds among them, follow the Jack’s manifestation.
Alyssa and her best friend Mags find themselves fascinated by nearly every aspect of the cards’ lives, both in and out of the deck. And as they pursue explanations while getting to know them, intrigues abound. The Jacks of Hearts and Spades use chicanery and guile in an attempt to acquire life for themselves. The Jack of Clubs enters a relationship with Alyssa’s friend Tonya that can’t possible survive the few days of life the cards are allotted every decade or so. Alyssa and Mags find themselves exploring their own tangled past in their search for what the future will hold.
Mysteries come alive, and enticing secrets are revealed. And Alyssa learns more about who she truly is than she thought possible.
A Deck of Cards is a tantalizing story, an enchanting narrative. Kelley’s works are known for their phenomenally real characters and scenarios, and A Deck of Cards is yet another masterpiece. Brilliantly written and laced with rich humor, this 72,000-word novel is the ideal companion for a quiet evening, a day at the beach, or pretty much anywhere.
While playing a game of Speed in their family room, nineteen-year-old Alyssa Lewis and her five-year-old sister Sammy witness the appearance of a man who claims to be the Jack of Diamonds. As implausible as this seems, however, several others – the acerbic Queen of Spades, the seductive Jack of Clubs, and the somewhat slow King of Diamonds among them, follow the Jack’s manifestation.
Alyssa and her best friend Mags find themselves fascinated by nearly every aspect of the cards’ lives, both in and out of the deck. And as they pursue explanations while getting to know them, intrigues abound. The Jacks of Hearts and Spades use chicanery and guile in an attempt to acquire life for themselves. The Jack of Clubs enters a relationship with Alyssa’s friend Tonya that can’t possible survive the few days of life the cards are allotted every decade or so. Alyssa and Mags find themselves exploring their own tangled past in their search for what the future will hold.
Mysteries come alive, and enticing secrets are revealed. And Alyssa learns more about who she truly is than she thought possible.
A Deck of Cards is a tantalizing story, an enchanting narrative. Kelley’s works are known for their phenomenally real characters and scenarios, and A Deck of Cards is yet another masterpiece. Brilliantly written and laced with rich humor, this 72,000-word novel is the ideal companion for a quiet evening, a day at the beach, or pretty much anywhere.
- GenresFantasy
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2013
8 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Kelley
357 books18 followersDaniel Kelley is an author and a music arranger. His fifth novel, Raffle Ticket, was published in October 2016. Nearly 700,000 books of Daniel’s compositions and arrangements have sold worldwide, and over 30,000 of his e-books have captivated readers. With lyricist JoEllen Doering, he also composed the music to the classic holiday song, “It's Christmas Time Again”.
Daniel mosaics, bakes constantly, annoys practically everyone with puns, is a massive EDM fan, and loves playing games of any kind, though Hearts is his current fave. In 2016, a mosaic of his won the Best of Show monetary prize at the Los Angeles County Fair. He and his wife Cynthia have three children and too many fish. Adair, Darcy and Adele are the names of the children.
Daniel mosaics, bakes constantly, annoys practically everyone with puns, is a massive EDM fan, and loves playing games of any kind, though Hearts is his current fave. In 2016, a mosaic of his won the Best of Show monetary prize at the Los Angeles County Fair. He and his wife Cynthia have three children and too many fish. Adair, Darcy and Adele are the names of the children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 21, 2014
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this storyline! It is a good book for YA readers or just readers who like to be engaged in a story from start to finish. You will find yourself laughing and tearing up as you read. The author does a great job of giving the face cards their own personalities. I will not be able to look at the cards the same lol
I loved this storyline! It is a good book for YA readers or just readers who like to be engaged in a story from start to finish. You will find yourself laughing and tearing up as you read. The author does a great job of giving the face cards their own personalities. I will not be able to look at the cards the same lol
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December 27, 2013
This tale definitely shows the creativity and writing ability of Daniel Kelley. It is one of the most unusual books I have read in a long time. Alyssa Lewis and her younger sister Sammy witness the appearance of someone who calls himself the Jack of Diamonds while playing cards. As implausible as this sounds, other “cards” follow: the Queen of Spades, the King and the Queen of Hearts, the Jack of Clubs. What follows is a most unusual story of how these “cards” have done this several times in the past, how they can immediately just mix right in with the society/culture/country where they have emerged, and a bit of their back story. Alyssa and her girlfriend Mags summer will not be the same once this event occurs. Naturally, everyone who is in on the appearance of the “cards” has tons of questions for their new friends, and over the next several days the “cards” fill them in on who they are, how they come to emerge and how long they stay on in an area once they are out. The story is filled with lots of interesting and intriguing facts and stories about their pasts, and jump starts everyone’s life as the short time passes. There is intrigue, some violence, romance between the “cards” and others, stories from their other “visits” to life, etc. In addition, I found the characters and the stories they told both interesting and very well developed. I loved at the creative thinking on the part of the author that went into this story. However, having read others of his works, I am not surprised, because Daniel Kelley is a very good writer, who knows how to spin a tale for the reader.
There were two things I did not really like, however, which caused me to grade this story four stars instead of five stars. Throughout the book, the author used a sort of dialect/vernacular when Alyssa and Mags speak to each other or to Sammy and when Sammy speaks. I realize Sammy, because she is rather young, may have spoken this way, because she was still young and learning. However, I seriously doubt that Alyssa and Mags would speak this way. Neither comes from a part of the country where such a dialect is prevalent. They are both college students and probably do not speak this way in class or among friends—hopefully they learned to speak properly before college. Sometimes, it may seem like people are speaking in the sort of dialect the author used, but that may be because of speech patterns (e.g. tonality and speed of speaking, to name a few things), but the characters/people are actually speaking correctly. What is spoken is just not heard as clearly as it could be. I really do not know what the author’s goal in this was, but I do know it became a big distractor for me as I read the story and I thought it lent absolutely nothing to the story except for the distraction. I also did not like the ending. I got the impression it would end differently and, suddenly, poof, it was ending abruptly--and not as I felt it would but a lot harsher.
This story will appeal to just about anyone who enjoys something a bit different and who can let his/her imagination run the course with the author’s story.
I received this from Library Thing to read and review.
There were two things I did not really like, however, which caused me to grade this story four stars instead of five stars. Throughout the book, the author used a sort of dialect/vernacular when Alyssa and Mags speak to each other or to Sammy and when Sammy speaks. I realize Sammy, because she is rather young, may have spoken this way, because she was still young and learning. However, I seriously doubt that Alyssa and Mags would speak this way. Neither comes from a part of the country where such a dialect is prevalent. They are both college students and probably do not speak this way in class or among friends—hopefully they learned to speak properly before college. Sometimes, it may seem like people are speaking in the sort of dialect the author used, but that may be because of speech patterns (e.g. tonality and speed of speaking, to name a few things), but the characters/people are actually speaking correctly. What is spoken is just not heard as clearly as it could be. I really do not know what the author’s goal in this was, but I do know it became a big distractor for me as I read the story and I thought it lent absolutely nothing to the story except for the distraction. I also did not like the ending. I got the impression it would end differently and, suddenly, poof, it was ending abruptly--and not as I felt it would but a lot harsher.
This story will appeal to just about anyone who enjoys something a bit different and who can let his/her imagination run the course with the author’s story.
I received this from Library Thing to read and review.
December 14, 2013
Some of the face cards appear in human form out of a deck of ordinary playing cards. We discover that they only have a few days before they must return. We also find out that they have been doing this periodically for centuries. While they are in human form, they can interact with people and even fall in love. There isn't a definite time they must return but it is always less than a week. They have an inate knowledge of the current language and strange but valuable gold coins to spend. The author delivers an interesting tale of their interactions with each other and modern society. Some of them, of course, do fall in love with humans, so we experience the drama and pathos involved. Is there a way that they can become fully human? Do they leave anything other than memories behind? Read it to find out.
November 24, 2013
What a novel concept to have face cards come to life as a group of young people are playing black jack together. Who better to experience this than those still young enough to believe that fairy tales might be true.
Daniel Kelley has created believable characters and built a storyline that will appeal to those who want to believe in good over evil and that heroes still exist. Friendship, first love, family life, dealing with sexuality, sacrifice and what one is willing to die for as well as a number of other topics raise their heads here and there in the story.
I believe this is a book that pre-teens and teens would enjoy.
January 15, 2014
I really enjoyed this fun tale of heroes and love and what happens when a "normal" group of friends comes across a deck of cards comes to life. My favorite part of the book was the characters, particularly the lead character of Alyssa. She is home for the summer from college, must find a job, babysit her siblings, hang out with friends, and now deal with a real Jack of Diamonds. The characters are introduced one-by-one which I found preferable to being overwhelmed by multiple introductions all at once. This fun, light story left me with a smile on my face, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a nice, quick read.
April 18, 2013
I absolutely love this novel! This book has it all. Filled with suspence, mystery, romance, and so much more I am disappointed that it ended. The main character Alyssa is a girl looking to enjoy her summer when she encounters a cast of characters that will change her life. I fell in love with each of them, even the not so nice ones. And as embarassing as it is to say, I totally cried at the end. Written with wit and characters that really "come to life" this story is a page turner and you won't want it to end. I want to read more stories from this author!
July 18, 2013
I just finished “A Deck of Cards” – during the last few chapters I could hardly put it down! I was totally caught up in the emotions of Alyssa, Diamonds, and the others. This book is so well-written that the reader just forgets that the events involving the card people could not possibly have happened in real life. Yet the ordinariness of the lives of the Lewis family and their friends leads the reader to accept the supernatural as fact. There is a lot of wordplay and very clever writing. All in all, a terrific and very satisfying novel!
May 28, 2013
Loved it! I was immersed in the story immediately and couldn't wait to find out what would happen to Alyssa. This is an incredibly well written story that touches upon innocence, friendship, romance and imagination.
November 24, 2013
Very well written. The characters are great. The conversations and feelings are true to life. The storyline is inviting. Good read for a young adult. I plan to buy two paperbacks for each of my nieces.
April 25, 2015
a family playing cards is surprised when the face cards come to life. A story of love, history, betrayal and discovery.
I really enjoyed reading this book
I really enjoyed reading this book
December 9, 2015
Ahhhhhhhhj
Wow this book is amazing, sad ending but absolutely riveting. I wish there was a sequel and SPOILER ALERT, I wish diamonds didn't die in the end. Lol enjoy!!
Wow this book is amazing, sad ending but absolutely riveting. I wish there was a sequel and SPOILER ALERT, I wish diamonds didn't die in the end. Lol enjoy!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews