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All Trades #1
Master of None
Alex is broke. He's pretty much always been broke. A misspent youth led to mistakes which led to convictions and plea deals. No career, no education, no hope.
Now he has a chance to make things right for him and his family when the newest immersive MMO comes with the ability to convert money earned in the game into real currency. Well, it's cryptocurrency but that's real-ish, right? Seeing an opportunity, Alex joins The Realms as Jack Alltrades, looking to make money any way he can. He may be a Master of None, but he's determined to learn every way possible to make money and turn his life around. Along the way, he'll find answers to important questions like:
Can he win Employee of the Month?
Do gnomes dream of electric sheep?
How many kobolds does it take to swing a pickaxe?
Can NPCs commit tax fraud?
OK, maybe he won't answer most of those, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come follow the high margin adventures of Jack Alltrades!
Now he has a chance to make things right for him and his family when the newest immersive MMO comes with the ability to convert money earned in the game into real currency. Well, it's cryptocurrency but that's real-ish, right? Seeing an opportunity, Alex joins The Realms as Jack Alltrades, looking to make money any way he can. He may be a Master of None, but he's determined to learn every way possible to make money and turn his life around. Along the way, he'll find answers to important questions like:
Can he win Employee of the Month?
Do gnomes dream of electric sheep?
How many kobolds does it take to swing a pickaxe?
Can NPCs commit tax fraud?
OK, maybe he won't answer most of those, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come follow the high margin adventures of Jack Alltrades!
331 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2019
616 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
August 2, 2020
This is hands down the worst novel I've ever wasted my time listening to. Here's a bullet list of why:
- There's hardly any descriptions at all. This is a novel, a fantasy, a new world, and we don't even get so much as character descriptions? Really?
- The main character has notification going off every 5 seconds. Half the book is "You were hit for 3 damage" repeated over and over.
- The main character swears in every sentence non-stop. Like really? Is he 5? I thought he was supposed to be a con-man, how come his silver tongue is never shown and instead he has the vocabulary of a 12 year old playing Call of duty?
- Unoriginal plot, boring characters, auto-huge money making set up for main character with huge lucky level gains cuz plot armor?
- This isn't 1st person, 2nd, or 3rd. Instead, the main character is talking to you, the listener half the time, then the Pov switches to first person, then goes to 3rd person, only for him to make a joke in his head then tell the reader he didn't try to make a pun! Really?
- Unoriginal skills, explanation of some things we know but nothing else.
- SOOO much show and never any tell. As I've said before, no descriptions, the characters words and actions don't mash with his back story, and nothing is explained or told instead there's just random "you dodged attack" notification for every movement.
- Main character being stupidly high level things by poking it a bunch.
And this was all within the first 2 hours. This is like the Land, an already not good novel, watered down and stripped of everything interesting it had going for it and replaced with cuss words and more notifications. Like really?! How do you add in more notifications then the land??!
Then it goes on for more mary sue ideals, giving him the main character the IQ of a dead fish but still allowing him to do amazing things no one else ever has before! Cuz, why not? He picked a skill that no one else would have for some reason so of course it's only natural that it makes him broken and the master of everything! Not to mention all his time hating rich people, his horrible written back story, and so, so much more.
- There's hardly any descriptions at all. This is a novel, a fantasy, a new world, and we don't even get so much as character descriptions? Really?
- The main character has notification going off every 5 seconds. Half the book is "You were hit for 3 damage" repeated over and over.
- The main character swears in every sentence non-stop. Like really? Is he 5? I thought he was supposed to be a con-man, how come his silver tongue is never shown and instead he has the vocabulary of a 12 year old playing Call of duty?
- Unoriginal plot, boring characters, auto-huge money making set up for main character with huge lucky level gains cuz plot armor?
- This isn't 1st person, 2nd, or 3rd. Instead, the main character is talking to you, the listener half the time, then the Pov switches to first person, then goes to 3rd person, only for him to make a joke in his head then tell the reader he didn't try to make a pun! Really?
- Unoriginal skills, explanation of some things we know but nothing else.
- SOOO much show and never any tell. As I've said before, no descriptions, the characters words and actions don't mash with his back story, and nothing is explained or told instead there's just random "you dodged attack" notification for every movement.
- Main character being stupidly high level things by poking it a bunch.
And this was all within the first 2 hours. This is like the Land, an already not good novel, watered down and stripped of everything interesting it had going for it and replaced with cuss words and more notifications. Like really?! How do you add in more notifications then the land??!
Then it goes on for more mary sue ideals, giving him the main character the IQ of a dead fish but still allowing him to do amazing things no one else ever has before! Cuz, why not? He picked a skill that no one else would have for some reason so of course it's only natural that it makes him broken and the master of everything! Not to mention all his time hating rich people, his horrible written back story, and so, so much more.
February 23, 2020
Nice story, silver spoon character
While the story is a nice palette cleanser from the standard LitRPG/Fantasy fare, it's almost too simple with its execution.
The main character very quickly becomes overpowered and there's really nothing in place to generate a crisis.
Secondly, I don't think the real/game economics are not very well thought out and while they are fine now at the new of book 1, it will become a very big issue as the story continues.
While the story is a nice palette cleanser from the standard LitRPG/Fantasy fare, it's almost too simple with its execution.
The main character very quickly becomes overpowered and there's really nothing in place to generate a crisis.
Secondly, I don't think the real/game economics are not very well thought out and while they are fine now at the new of book 1, it will become a very big issue as the story continues.
July 7, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I found eleven mistakes scattered throughout this book.
Plot: Basically the MC is playing a game to make real world money.
Characters: I find the MC to be OP. It's done in a way that isn't annoying. The MC is playing smart and has had a couple lucky breaks.
8/10 I look forward to book two.
Mistakes: I found eleven mistakes scattered throughout this book.
Plot: Basically the MC is playing a game to make real world money.
Characters: I find the MC to be OP. It's done in a way that isn't annoying. The MC is playing smart and has had a couple lucky breaks.
8/10 I look forward to book two.
September 19, 2020
OK, so I'd started and stopped this book a few weeks back and didn't remember why. I tried again this morning, and... now I know.
I went all the way to chapter 3 before going: "Nope, this isn't working at all". So what exactly isn't working? Well, a few things. For starters, there's LitRPG-must-be-a-stream-of-snarkiness. That's a classic. But sometimes, done well, it can compensate for other areas, and by Jove does this book have weak legs! Once in a while, I need to clearly state what is wrong in these books, so let this one serve for others. Here we go.
1. Game money tied to real-world money logical fallacies. The explanation for this was one of the weakest I've ever seen. First we're told that the crypto-currency is popular. Then we're told that it's mined by an AI (somehow). Then we're told that the currency is secure (which has actually far less IRL value than you'd think). Then we move on to the reasons why all developed countries adopt said currency, and I can't help but chortle: clearly the author has no concept of a central bank's duties. Finally, we're told that the creator subsequently "buried" the code in the game, to "force" people to play, and that his gambit actually worked... And my eyes are staring at the back of my skull by now. You think that governments would let any single person take an international currency hostage? And how exactly is the game infrastructure tied with financial institutions? At this point, the book has taken a huge credibility hit. If you don't know how something works, don't half-ass it. That's just lazy.
2. The MC needs money. Just as we agree to let 1. slide, we're immediately fed the corollary: MC actually wants to play for the money. Except that we are given a paper-thin (if witty) backstory of a life derailed, and expected to let that carry us. For example, the MC's family is described as... "My family". Yeah. That's it. How engaging, right?
3. The english butler space-time continuum discrepancy. So yeah, MC gets an info-dump sidekick (again... *sigh*) right off the bat. But with a twist! Instead of integrating said sidekick in the game-world as a logical feature, we're given a "Ghost that only you can see". But that's not all. All interactions with said ghost happen outside normal time. So basically, MC can just stop time, have a nice long info-dump with Alfred, then unfreeze time, and continue as if nothing happened. And how is that all possible? Simple: "it's happening in yo' head"! :facepalm: Well of course! You betcha! Except that No! Time is never shown to stop, or slow down when MC is interacting with Alfred! In fact, they chat in realtime, all the time. We're just expected to take it that their sessions happen in a split second. Yeah, it's happening in his head... inside a game that's also happening in... his... head... So it's happening in his head's head... As, the MC says: "Good to know"... How about not being lazy and building proper game mechanics for this, author?
We're only at the beginning of chapter 2 and I've lost all interest. If the author is not ready to put in the world-building effort, why should I fill in the blanks? I allow myself a desultory perusal of the following chapter, my will to read eroded more and more by each occurence of the bullet-time schizophrenic info-dump. Until MC meets the shy Nick and I am totally done with the obnoxiousness.
I sure hope other people like this book. Because I DNF not.
I went all the way to chapter 3 before going: "Nope, this isn't working at all". So what exactly isn't working? Well, a few things. For starters, there's LitRPG-must-be-a-stream-of-snarkiness. That's a classic. But sometimes, done well, it can compensate for other areas, and by Jove does this book have weak legs! Once in a while, I need to clearly state what is wrong in these books, so let this one serve for others. Here we go.
1. Game money tied to real-world money logical fallacies. The explanation for this was one of the weakest I've ever seen. First we're told that the crypto-currency is popular. Then we're told that it's mined by an AI (somehow). Then we're told that the currency is secure (which has actually far less IRL value than you'd think). Then we move on to the reasons why all developed countries adopt said currency, and I can't help but chortle: clearly the author has no concept of a central bank's duties. Finally, we're told that the creator subsequently "buried" the code in the game, to "force" people to play, and that his gambit actually worked... And my eyes are staring at the back of my skull by now. You think that governments would let any single person take an international currency hostage? And how exactly is the game infrastructure tied with financial institutions? At this point, the book has taken a huge credibility hit. If you don't know how something works, don't half-ass it. That's just lazy.
2. The MC needs money. Just as we agree to let 1. slide, we're immediately fed the corollary: MC actually wants to play for the money. Except that we are given a paper-thin (if witty) backstory of a life derailed, and expected to let that carry us. For example, the MC's family is described as... "My family". Yeah. That's it. How engaging, right?
3. The english butler space-time continuum discrepancy. So yeah, MC gets an info-dump sidekick (again... *sigh*) right off the bat. But with a twist! Instead of integrating said sidekick in the game-world as a logical feature, we're given a "Ghost that only you can see". But that's not all. All interactions with said ghost happen outside normal time. So basically, MC can just stop time, have a nice long info-dump with Alfred, then unfreeze time, and continue as if nothing happened. And how is that all possible? Simple: "it's happening in yo' head"! :facepalm: Well of course! You betcha! Except that No! Time is never shown to stop, or slow down when MC is interacting with Alfred! In fact, they chat in realtime, all the time. We're just expected to take it that their sessions happen in a split second. Yeah, it's happening in his head... inside a game that's also happening in... his... head... So it's happening in his head's head... As, the MC says: "Good to know"... How about not being lazy and building proper game mechanics for this, author?
We're only at the beginning of chapter 2 and I've lost all interest. If the author is not ready to put in the world-building effort, why should I fill in the blanks? I allow myself a desultory perusal of the following chapter, my will to read eroded more and more by each occurence of the bullet-time schizophrenic info-dump. Until MC meets the shy Nick and I am totally done with the obnoxiousness.
I sure hope other people like this book. Because I DNF not.
November 8, 2020
Meh. Was alright. Rating up because I'll read more. It was very much a homage to The Land, or how it seemed. Not nearly as well written or enjoyable. It was slow for the most part, but wasn't awful. Good parts mixed with meh parts. I'll try more.
October 20, 2020
I just cannot get into it and stop at chapter 17. Even if the story get better afterward I don't care, I cannot immerse in this world and it feel like a chore to continue reading.
I don't care about the main character goal/motivation.
We know nothing about Jack in the real life other than the basic premise he is a poor con-man tried to make money in the game. And yeah, he loves his non-existing family.
I don't care about relationship between characters.
So far I've be introduced with two other player characters. Whatever friendship jack have with Nick feel forced and inorganic. It does not develop naturally, at one moment jack decided nick is a friend, that just it now he is a friend. As for Destresza, she is a newly introduced so I don't know much about her, but the way she joined with protagonist also feel forced; She rescue jack from a bandit then suddenly she is hire to guard jack. Coincident much, why the hell she is in a middle of a jungle alone? As for the NPCs, they all are just basic NPC I cannot count them as real characters.
I don't care about it's world building.
We first started in the frontier town because Jack want less "competition" with other players, then suddenly Jack decided move to the capital. So far till chapter 17 I still cannot see the world's cultures, politics, or any NPC factions. Even the magical races are meaningless.
I don't care about the main character goal/motivation.
We know nothing about Jack in the real life other than the basic premise he is a poor con-man tried to make money in the game. And yeah, he loves his non-existing family.
I don't care about relationship between characters.
So far I've be introduced with two other player characters. Whatever friendship jack have with Nick feel forced and inorganic. It does not develop naturally, at one moment jack decided nick is a friend, that just it now he is a friend. As for Destresza, she is a newly introduced so I don't know much about her, but the way she joined with protagonist also feel forced; She rescue jack from a bandit then suddenly she is hire to guard jack. Coincident much, why the hell she is in a middle of a jungle alone? As for the NPCs, they all are just basic NPC I cannot count them as real characters.
I don't care about it's world building.
We first started in the frontier town because Jack want less "competition" with other players, then suddenly Jack decided move to the capital. So far till chapter 17 I still cannot see the world's cultures, politics, or any NPC factions. Even the magical races are meaningless.
September 12, 2019
I tried to like it
I really did try to like this book and in full disclosure, I was only able to get 53% of the way through before I had to give it up. It is possible it got better. I’m sure some people enjoy gratuitous cursing but in this case, it almost seemed that it was used to fill a word count. The MC was poorly fleshed out and there seemed almost zero plot. Even the fight scenes seemed lacking. I hate giving a poor review but it’s a no for me dawg.
I really did try to like this book and in full disclosure, I was only able to get 53% of the way through before I had to give it up. It is possible it got better. I’m sure some people enjoy gratuitous cursing but in this case, it almost seemed that it was used to fill a word count. The MC was poorly fleshed out and there seemed almost zero plot. Even the fight scenes seemed lacking. I hate giving a poor review but it’s a no for me dawg.
July 25, 2019
I enjoy books in the VRMMO genre which have IRL complications, and wow does Alex have some. A bit heavy on the crafting/skill-tree elements, but as that's a key element to the story I can't hold that against it. It's an interesting take on the genre, so I look forward to seeing how Alex digs himself out of his IRL problems.
August 7, 2019
Dont Judge the Book by Its Horrible Cover
This was a decent crafting litRPG book, it was pretty crunchy but not overwhelming. The MC never really seems to be in too much danger and there definitely is some deus ex machina going but it was worth the read.
This was a decent crafting litRPG book, it was pretty crunchy but not overwhelming. The MC never really seems to be in too much danger and there definitely is some deus ex machina going but it was worth the read.
July 10, 2023
I stopped reading this novel about the halfway point for the same reason why I stop reading so many novels in this genre:
1 - Watching someone play a game is not interesting, especially the tutorial/introductory levels
There's a huge difference between gaming and storytelling. Gaming is by its very nature interactive. We are engaged right from the start because we are intimately involved in how the game progresses by the very nature of playing that game. Storytelling is one step removed from that because we are not intimately involved in the story, we are reading about people who are. Therefore it requires an author to quickly set up a reason for the reader to care enough to keep reading. Usually, this is through crafting highly engaging and sympathetic characters. Harry Potter is a great example of this. J K Rowling spends the first chapters of that book getting you attached to Harry Potter and invested in his story. You want nothing more than to see him improve his life and therefore have a reason to keep reading through the slower world-building chapters later on.
2 - Bait and Switch
This might be an issue unique to my own preferences right now, but I'm getting really fed up of stories that promise to be one thing and are instead just the same old action-led adventure story I have read countless times. This novel promised to be about a wannabe entrepreneur desperate to make his mark on the world and improve his life. I was hoping for (though not expecting because I should know better by now) a character-driven story of someone who enters a world that is set up for those types of adventure stories, but instead thrives by unusual means by leaning on his entrepreneurial skill instead. That would be a fairly unique premise. Instead, that side of the story is yet again no more than a plot gimmick to tell the usual adventurer-style story that I have read a thousand times before.
Other reviewers mention things like an overabundance of notifications as an issue with this book, and while they might be right, it's the fundamentals of storytelling that truly lets this book down. You might forgive other failings like that if the core of the novel was more substantial.
Overall this is a book that I really didn't connect with at all, and it only gets another star because part of my frustration with this novel is personal and I have awarded it that star to make up for my personal biases.
1 - Watching someone play a game is not interesting, especially the tutorial/introductory levels
There's a huge difference between gaming and storytelling. Gaming is by its very nature interactive. We are engaged right from the start because we are intimately involved in how the game progresses by the very nature of playing that game. Storytelling is one step removed from that because we are not intimately involved in the story, we are reading about people who are. Therefore it requires an author to quickly set up a reason for the reader to care enough to keep reading. Usually, this is through crafting highly engaging and sympathetic characters. Harry Potter is a great example of this. J K Rowling spends the first chapters of that book getting you attached to Harry Potter and invested in his story. You want nothing more than to see him improve his life and therefore have a reason to keep reading through the slower world-building chapters later on.
2 - Bait and Switch
This might be an issue unique to my own preferences right now, but I'm getting really fed up of stories that promise to be one thing and are instead just the same old action-led adventure story I have read countless times. This novel promised to be about a wannabe entrepreneur desperate to make his mark on the world and improve his life. I was hoping for (though not expecting because I should know better by now) a character-driven story of someone who enters a world that is set up for those types of adventure stories, but instead thrives by unusual means by leaning on his entrepreneurial skill instead. That would be a fairly unique premise. Instead, that side of the story is yet again no more than a plot gimmick to tell the usual adventurer-style story that I have read a thousand times before.
Other reviewers mention things like an overabundance of notifications as an issue with this book, and while they might be right, it's the fundamentals of storytelling that truly lets this book down. You might forgive other failings like that if the core of the novel was more substantial.
Overall this is a book that I really didn't connect with at all, and it only gets another star because part of my frustration with this novel is personal and I have awarded it that star to make up for my personal biases.
August 6, 2020
4 Punch Dance Through Emotions Stars
Master of None is the first novel in the LitRPG series All Trades by Shane Walker.
Honestly, the only reason this isn’t a 5🌟 read for me is the overly technical crafting lingo throughout the majority of the book. It’s all fairly interesting and helped to build suspense and fully form the world building, of course. However, it seemed to to detract from the full story after a while. It’s mainly not my cuppa, as the target audience for this genre probably appreciates it more than I do.
Outside of that one discrepancy I thoroughly enjoyed this literary beauty. There’s the vague and rarely mentioned aspect of reality that plays on Jack’s character, while enveloping you in this fantasy world. And that’s not even taking into account the fact that this is clearly a portal to another world. Fascinating concept, to say the least.
Having joined the new VRMMO game, The Realms, to earn money with the new cryptocurrency conversion in game and save his family from life of near poverty. Jack Alltrades manages to continuously luck into these incredible situations, acquiring the World First achievement a ridiculous amount of times. Turning his knack with gaming into a money making machine!
ZEN! All of his varied personalities from each of the jobs, paired with his innate humor, and imparting a bit of Japanese mythology with the kitsune aspect?! Favorite character by far.
Nik is definitely a top runner as well IMO. He’s fairly easy to connect with given his intense social anxiety issues. Watching his character going from stuttering, to utter confidence in his work is a particular enjoyment, for me.
Some girl power with dear Des, the kick ass Champion fencer and Martial Arts enthusiast! She is by far the best fighter we’ve seen to date, besides maybe Rowan Vonn. I’d honestly like to see these two duel, that’d be a boss fight.
So much fun. Encompassing real life issues and fantasy world fun into one wonderful whole.
Master of None is the first novel in the LitRPG series All Trades by Shane Walker.
Honestly, the only reason this isn’t a 5🌟 read for me is the overly technical crafting lingo throughout the majority of the book. It’s all fairly interesting and helped to build suspense and fully form the world building, of course. However, it seemed to to detract from the full story after a while. It’s mainly not my cuppa, as the target audience for this genre probably appreciates it more than I do.
Outside of that one discrepancy I thoroughly enjoyed this literary beauty. There’s the vague and rarely mentioned aspect of reality that plays on Jack’s character, while enveloping you in this fantasy world. And that’s not even taking into account the fact that this is clearly a portal to another world. Fascinating concept, to say the least.
Having joined the new VRMMO game, The Realms, to earn money with the new cryptocurrency conversion in game and save his family from life of near poverty. Jack Alltrades manages to continuously luck into these incredible situations, acquiring the World First achievement a ridiculous amount of times. Turning his knack with gaming into a money making machine!
ZEN! All of his varied personalities from each of the jobs, paired with his innate humor, and imparting a bit of Japanese mythology with the kitsune aspect?! Favorite character by far.
Nik is definitely a top runner as well IMO. He’s fairly easy to connect with given his intense social anxiety issues. Watching his character going from stuttering, to utter confidence in his work is a particular enjoyment, for me.
Some girl power with dear Des, the kick ass Champion fencer and Martial Arts enthusiast! She is by far the best fighter we’ve seen to date, besides maybe Rowan Vonn. I’d honestly like to see these two duel, that’d be a boss fight.
So much fun. Encompassing real life issues and fantasy world fun into one wonderful whole.
September 8, 2020
Ok, as a preface, this was such a fun book to read (and listen to - maybe one of my favorite performances by Nick Podehl)! You can tell the main character (MC) doesn't take himself too seriously, and picks up a good group of people to work with.
Our MC used to be a con man, until he gave himself up to the police. This comes across through our MC's silver tongue when it comes to closing deals, mostly. Having little money and no job prospects (ex con), our MC jumps into a game world to make money for himself and hopefully his family as well. What makes this world unique is that most players are limited in the number of skill levels they can pick up, and our MC counters that by picking a trait in character creation that allows him to have way more skills, but hamstrings his ability to cast magic. This creates a character that ends up being a "Jack off all trades, master of none". And that's where it gets fun! The MC, not really a great fighter, teams up with a socially awkward gnome tinkerer and uses tactics to go forth and conquer! Anyway, without spoiling anything, the MC uses a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and interesting combination of skills and jobs to succeed throughout the book. You'd think that a plot centered around'make more money' wasn't enough for an engaging read, but you would be so wrong! That's just the tip of the iceberg, since once you have a piece of the pie, everyone will want to take out from you! The plot thickens! There's a lot of fun interactions with players and NPCs, in addition to some questing and monster fighting, but perhaps not as much of the latter two than in other books.
Finally, it only got 4 stars since there were some issues with typos and some things like the skill levels cap and some of the worldbuilding was rather unclear (when did the game even launch? It sounded like the game had been developed for years, so how does he get all these world firsts?), but they were pretty minor.
Also, I have read the second and third books of this series, and can confirm that the story continues to get better, so dive on in!
Our MC used to be a con man, until he gave himself up to the police. This comes across through our MC's silver tongue when it comes to closing deals, mostly. Having little money and no job prospects (ex con), our MC jumps into a game world to make money for himself and hopefully his family as well. What makes this world unique is that most players are limited in the number of skill levels they can pick up, and our MC counters that by picking a trait in character creation that allows him to have way more skills, but hamstrings his ability to cast magic. This creates a character that ends up being a "Jack off all trades, master of none". And that's where it gets fun! The MC, not really a great fighter, teams up with a socially awkward gnome tinkerer and uses tactics to go forth and conquer! Anyway, without spoiling anything, the MC uses a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and interesting combination of skills and jobs to succeed throughout the book. You'd think that a plot centered around'make more money' wasn't enough for an engaging read, but you would be so wrong! That's just the tip of the iceberg, since once you have a piece of the pie, everyone will want to take out from you! The plot thickens! There's a lot of fun interactions with players and NPCs, in addition to some questing and monster fighting, but perhaps not as much of the latter two than in other books.
Finally, it only got 4 stars since there were some issues with typos and some things like the skill levels cap and some of the worldbuilding was rather unclear (when did the game even launch? It sounded like the game had been developed for years, so how does he get all these world firsts?), but they were pretty minor.
Also, I have read the second and third books of this series, and can confirm that the story continues to get better, so dive on in!
July 14, 2025
I picked this up as a free Audible download and went in with low expectations. As a LitRPG fan, I’ve waded through more than a few poor entries in the genre — so I was pleasantly surprised when Master of None turned out to be well-paced, witty, and competently written.
The tone is light, humorous, and adult without veering into parody. The main character is well-rounded, the supporting cast is passable, and the dialogue has enough charm to carry the listener along — even if I can’t say I actually liked the protagonist much. Still, I was never bored, and that’s more than many similar books manage.
Where it fell short for me was in depth. The MMO world was pure genre standard — serviceable but uninspired — and the “real-world economic angle” added very little beyond a vague justification for the story to exist. There were faint attempts at worldbuilding hooks or larger mysteries, but they felt tacked on and underdeveloped. A fun ride, but with no compelling thread pulling me toward book two.
Narration was solid, and likely improved the experience. The fast pace of the audiobook smoothed over the story’s thinness. In print, I doubt I would have enjoyed it as much.
Overall, a surprisingly polished but ultimately shallow read. Entertaining, but not enough meat to bring me back for more.
The tone is light, humorous, and adult without veering into parody. The main character is well-rounded, the supporting cast is passable, and the dialogue has enough charm to carry the listener along — even if I can’t say I actually liked the protagonist much. Still, I was never bored, and that’s more than many similar books manage.
Where it fell short for me was in depth. The MMO world was pure genre standard — serviceable but uninspired — and the “real-world economic angle” added very little beyond a vague justification for the story to exist. There were faint attempts at worldbuilding hooks or larger mysteries, but they felt tacked on and underdeveloped. A fun ride, but with no compelling thread pulling me toward book two.
Narration was solid, and likely improved the experience. The fast pace of the audiobook smoothed over the story’s thinness. In print, I doubt I would have enjoyed it as much.
Overall, a surprisingly polished but ultimately shallow read. Entertaining, but not enough meat to bring me back for more.
August 8, 2020
Bluntly put I thought I was going to hate this book just bye the first few chapters, in fact, I disliked it so much I was to the point I was contemplating deleting the book and not even attempting to pick the book back up again. The first few chapters though intriguing we're horrible the amount of repetitive overused fluff and filler to make the word count higher about drove me crazy with aggravation and annoyance.
HOWEVER, I did push through mainly because of how intrigued I was with the concept of the story. Essentially after you get to a part of the book where you're in the main city the book gets better. But the character progression feels extremely rushed though it is very unique and creative, I'm not sure exactly where this author is trying to go with this book meaning it doesn't feel like there's a focus on the content of the book. The combat in the latter part of the book is rushed to the extreme. There's also really not detailed crafting sure they throw things together it just doesn't have the feeling of being thought out it has the feeling of just being fluff.
However, all that being said I do like the concept of the story I will probably check out the second book but it's definitely not going to be a rush to read it.
HOWEVER, I did push through mainly because of how intrigued I was with the concept of the story. Essentially after you get to a part of the book where you're in the main city the book gets better. But the character progression feels extremely rushed though it is very unique and creative, I'm not sure exactly where this author is trying to go with this book meaning it doesn't feel like there's a focus on the content of the book. The combat in the latter part of the book is rushed to the extreme. There's also really not detailed crafting sure they throw things together it just doesn't have the feeling of being thought out it has the feeling of just being fluff.
However, all that being said I do like the concept of the story I will probably check out the second book but it's definitely not going to be a rush to read it.
December 24, 2019
Fun lit RPG with an emphasis on the economy
The author does a good job of balancing adventure and mercantilism. For those who enjoy a crunchy or lit RPG with a lot of explaining the amount of experience and such, note the author rounds numbers out a lot, and sparingly uses stat explanations or summaries. The end of the Book includes a full chart for the protagonist‘s full stats at the ending. The start of the book is probably the most enjoyable part as the protagonist describes the background of the game, its creator, and proceeds to con- I mean enter a verbal contract for a mutually beneficial relationship- his way into a heartwarming partnership. There are cursewords (they don’t feel overused though they seem to be present in every chapter, and it’s usually an f-bomb during an internal monologue for a stupid decision) the violence is about what you’d expect in a young adult novel with no emphasis on gore that I remember. There are demonic enemies in the novel if you worry about that. No ‘adult’ situations are really inferred. I would recommend this book for teens and up depending on if parents are OK with cursewords. Looking forward to reading the sequel!
The author does a good job of balancing adventure and mercantilism. For those who enjoy a crunchy or lit RPG with a lot of explaining the amount of experience and such, note the author rounds numbers out a lot, and sparingly uses stat explanations or summaries. The end of the Book includes a full chart for the protagonist‘s full stats at the ending. The start of the book is probably the most enjoyable part as the protagonist describes the background of the game, its creator, and proceeds to con- I mean enter a verbal contract for a mutually beneficial relationship- his way into a heartwarming partnership. There are cursewords (they don’t feel overused though they seem to be present in every chapter, and it’s usually an f-bomb during an internal monologue for a stupid decision) the violence is about what you’d expect in a young adult novel with no emphasis on gore that I remember. There are demonic enemies in the novel if you worry about that. No ‘adult’ situations are really inferred. I would recommend this book for teens and up depending on if parents are OK with cursewords. Looking forward to reading the sequel!
September 2, 2025
Picked this up on a whim. For me it was an enjoyable book, about growing a crafting empire in an online world. The set-up is a bit corny, a'la Ready Player One. Some rich tech guy has built the best VR game in the world and has forced all the government's to adapt it's currency as their own .. i mean OK, there are so many problems with that premise, that i just skipped thinking about it. But the setup doesn't have to be that believable as it's more a vehicle for the story.
The story itself is engaging and the different characters are a joy to follow. The fast pace of the story means that you are soon pulled in and invested that you always want to know - ooh what happens next and what sort of crazy characters will the protagonist meet next.
I will say that everything goes super well for the protagonist in the first book, and while it is multiple times explained that we are good at everything and expert at none, so far it hasn't really come biting the MC-s behind.
Anyway. Pick it up if you want a light adventure.
The story itself is engaging and the different characters are a joy to follow. The fast pace of the story means that you are soon pulled in and invested that you always want to know - ooh what happens next and what sort of crazy characters will the protagonist meet next.
I will say that everything goes super well for the protagonist in the first book, and while it is multiple times explained that we are good at everything and expert at none, so far it hasn't really come biting the MC-s behind.
Anyway. Pick it up if you want a light adventure.
October 14, 2020
I picked this book up on a whim and I'm really glad I did. I enjoyed it and only had a couple of gripes with the story.
Firstly, it is well written with a good solid story. The MC is fairly relatable with strong motivations for his actions; alongside a nice list of supporting characters.
My main gripe with the story is the the MC has it a bit easy. Almost immediately upon entering the game, he finds a way to easily catapult himself to pretty much being the richest person. It is a bit annoying to be honest. This theme of everything falling into the MCs lap is a consistent one that runs through not just this book, but the rest of the books in the series.
Overall, if you can look past that, it is a nice, easy read with interesting mechanics and a good solid story. Probably closer to a 3.8 out of 5 than a 4 but I still enjoyed it and books 2 and 3 maintain the quality (with 3 being the best of the bunch).
Firstly, it is well written with a good solid story. The MC is fairly relatable with strong motivations for his actions; alongside a nice list of supporting characters.
My main gripe with the story is the the MC has it a bit easy. Almost immediately upon entering the game, he finds a way to easily catapult himself to pretty much being the richest person. It is a bit annoying to be honest. This theme of everything falling into the MCs lap is a consistent one that runs through not just this book, but the rest of the books in the series.
Overall, if you can look past that, it is a nice, easy read with interesting mechanics and a good solid story. Probably closer to a 3.8 out of 5 than a 4 but I still enjoyed it and books 2 and 3 maintain the quality (with 3 being the best of the bunch).
January 15, 2023
Not the usual
Enjoyed book one so far. Without spoiling anything, the characters so far have had typical adventures that aren’t overly outlandish and don’t find themselves in wildly difficult situations to only miraculously level-up or pull the magic ring of enemy slaying out of a bag of holding that can hold everything ever known to exist. Battle scenes are entertaining and imaginative without being overly descriptive and boring.
Having read a good bit of LITRPG, it’s interesting and a bit difficult to follow different jobs having different stats but more interesting than anything.
Negative points for the stereotypical woe is me origin story and real-world drama that will inevitably detract from the storyline. I hope certain characters don’t become predictable, but we’ll see - on to the next one.
Enjoyed book one so far. Without spoiling anything, the characters so far have had typical adventures that aren’t overly outlandish and don’t find themselves in wildly difficult situations to only miraculously level-up or pull the magic ring of enemy slaying out of a bag of holding that can hold everything ever known to exist. Battle scenes are entertaining and imaginative without being overly descriptive and boring.
Having read a good bit of LITRPG, it’s interesting and a bit difficult to follow different jobs having different stats but more interesting than anything.
Negative points for the stereotypical woe is me origin story and real-world drama that will inevitably detract from the storyline. I hope certain characters don’t become predictable, but we’ll see - on to the next one.
April 13, 2023
Nice to have a book that emphasis trade and crafting stuff BUT - this MC gets it all throwing in his lap. Traits, skill, a useful player that has the ultimate weapon for the beginners dungeon and gives gold to finance the first investment and wants nothing in return.
In the next town a big merchant that throws training and wisdom and gold to him for nearly nothing. Other player working for him as crafter so he can do even more money. An economy that has no problem to take more and more of his goods without prices going down. Levels levels levels - and when he is at a level cap he gets some unexpected gain ex machina to raise the level cap again.
In the end that was simply boring.
Adding to that the dialogues feeling artificial and especially at the beginning the wording could need a good editor.
In the next town a big merchant that throws training and wisdom and gold to him for nearly nothing. Other player working for him as crafter so he can do even more money. An economy that has no problem to take more and more of his goods without prices going down. Levels levels levels - and when he is at a level cap he gets some unexpected gain ex machina to raise the level cap again.
In the end that was simply boring.
Adding to that the dialogues feeling artificial and especially at the beginning the wording could need a good editor.
September 1, 2020
Interesting
The good: It quickly moved into the ‘game’, which I appreciate. Things moved briskly and there weren’t multiple charts cluttering the narrative. There were some additional ‘management’ options that added to the narrative. The MC had some depth.
The okay: Secondary characters didn’t develop much, especially if they were off-screen. Especially troubling as some of them were ‘players’. There wasn’t as much cursing as other reviews made it seem.
The bad: ‘Nonplussed’ was used incorrectly. Really threw me out of the scene. Transitioning between game world and real world was unclear, and an early comment about not eating...disappeared as a concern.
I will continue reading. Best recommendation I can offer.
The good: It quickly moved into the ‘game’, which I appreciate. Things moved briskly and there weren’t multiple charts cluttering the narrative. There were some additional ‘management’ options that added to the narrative. The MC had some depth.
The okay: Secondary characters didn’t develop much, especially if they were off-screen. Especially troubling as some of them were ‘players’. There wasn’t as much cursing as other reviews made it seem.
The bad: ‘Nonplussed’ was used incorrectly. Really threw me out of the scene. Transitioning between game world and real world was unclear, and an early comment about not eating...disappeared as a concern.
I will continue reading. Best recommendation I can offer.
December 2, 2020
Spoiler alert: tons of language, particularly F bombs.
But if you can overlook that one aspect, it's an awesome story about using gaming to create currency. Very humorous as an audio book. I'm curious what the physical book would look like because the audio line-read detailed gaming notifications and specs, which I found enjoyable.
If you partake of stories about virtual gaming consistent with movies and shows such as "Ready Player One", "Bofuri", "King's Avatar" or "Sword Art Online" - it's a similar experience. Think Iron Man creating and commercializing Stark Industries in a video game setting with Antman's background.
But if you can overlook that one aspect, it's an awesome story about using gaming to create currency. Very humorous as an audio book. I'm curious what the physical book would look like because the audio line-read detailed gaming notifications and specs, which I found enjoyable.
If you partake of stories about virtual gaming consistent with movies and shows such as "Ready Player One", "Bofuri", "King's Avatar" or "Sword Art Online" - it's a similar experience. Think Iron Man creating and commercializing Stark Industries in a video game setting with Antman's background.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2022
This review is about the series up until book four.
With a unique idea and incredible worldbuilding, All Trades sets a higher bar than most books about traditional VR Roleplaying/DND-style games. The initial books (1-3) in the series are good overall with great worldbuilding, vivid characters, intense fights, and even a few twists. Minor grammatical errors are present, however, they don't affect the book overall. Book 4 is the best book so far with a new environment, new characters, and an entire dimension that I would love to see more of.
With a unique idea and incredible worldbuilding, All Trades sets a higher bar than most books about traditional VR Roleplaying/DND-style games. The initial books (1-3) in the series are good overall with great worldbuilding, vivid characters, intense fights, and even a few twists. Minor grammatical errors are present, however, they don't affect the book overall. Book 4 is the best book so far with a new environment, new characters, and an entire dimension that I would love to see more of.
September 5, 2024
This was recommended to me as cozy litrpg, which it is. What it is not, is interesting. Cozy litrpg usually involves characters doing things and going places with low stakes, and this exactly what this book delivers, and nothing more. There is simply no charm. There are zero descriptions of anything, there is no wonder, there are no colorful side characters, there are no developing relationships, and there is no witty banter. There is also no strife, no clever solutions to problems, and no story either. This book is the epitome of meh.
May 17, 2020
Good book if not a little simple
I enjoyed this book, the character was fun and the story was smooth. Fighting bosses so far out of level seems unlikely given he made the statement that he isn't going to be great at that kind of thing. But i hope there is more flexing it if the characters in book two. I appreciated the slight at the series "The Land" at the end. Gave me a nice little chuckle lol
I enjoyed this book, the character was fun and the story was smooth. Fighting bosses so far out of level seems unlikely given he made the statement that he isn't going to be great at that kind of thing. But i hope there is more flexing it if the characters in book two. I appreciated the slight at the series "The Land" at the end. Gave me a nice little chuckle lol
April 5, 2020
Something Different
I really enjoyed this book. It's a little different in that the main character is kind of a Jack of all trades. It does get bogged down a little bit in the middle of the book but it recover quickly. I give this book a thumbs up and will get the second book in the series.
I really enjoyed this book. It's a little different in that the main character is kind of a Jack of all trades. It does get bogged down a little bit in the middle of the book but it recover quickly. I give this book a thumbs up and will get the second book in the series.
April 22, 2020
Weird but good
This was a weird one. I definitely enjoyed the story, but found that there were parts of it that were sort of superfluous (?) to the storyline and almost complete chapters that I skipped at times. But despite that I will definitely be looking for and reading the second book in the series.
This was a weird one. I definitely enjoyed the story, but found that there were parts of it that were sort of superfluous (?) to the storyline and almost complete chapters that I skipped at times. But despite that I will definitely be looking for and reading the second book in the series.
May 17, 2020
Only made it a tenth of the way through.
This book is about a con man bullshitting his way through life and then through a game. He is not likable, he leaves you feeling slimy after listening to his deals. This is the guy who steals old peoples life savings and says it's in their best interest. If it had a more accurate description then I never would have bothered to start it.
This book is about a con man bullshitting his way through life and then through a game. He is not likable, he leaves you feeling slimy after listening to his deals. This is the guy who steals old peoples life savings and says it's in their best interest. If it had a more accurate description then I never would have bothered to start it.
June 11, 2020
Straight up good but not great Litrpg. I really can't say too much bad about it but can't really get excited to add anything good either. The MC was a little over powered and the setting just did not catch with me. The book did move at a decent pace but I just could not feel myself caring about or being interested in the characters.
November 9, 2022
So the MC doesn't a pot to piss IRL. Starts play a game, lucks out and wins an iron mine, while the city state has iron shortage, starts making bank. Oh and NPC turns over his shop to him and starts helping him grind... He just pramces through game acquiring allies and wealth. Absolutely ZERO, fucking ZERO, ADVERSITY.
January 6, 2020
Almost too much emphasis on crafting and skills and not enough story and plot. I’m not usually one to complain about that but it’s too much sometimes and it’s very very fast paced when plot does happen. Overall it’s a fine book. 6/10
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