Review by shravsi -- Fish Wielder

shravsi · Post by **shravsi** » 02 May 2021, 13:39

[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Thoral Mighty Fist (aka The Fist Wielder) is a ferocious fighter living in the mystical world of Grome. With his gigantic height, chiseled features, thick golden hair, and captivating violet eyes, Thoral is the most famous inhabitant of Grome, to say the least. With his fame and strength, he could have won kingdoms and ruled them. But Thoral doesn’t have any such wishes. He just wants to drink, fight, brood, and wander around in forests looking at trees. An orange koi fish named Bradfast, a magic broadsword named Blurmflard, and a tiger-stiped steed called Warlordhorse are his only companions. On one reckless adventure, Thoral is challenged by a Necrogrond-demon in an abandoned castle. To the surprise of Thoral and Brad, an elfish princess named Nalweegie, the evening snack, was held hostage by Necrogrond in the castle. As soon as she sees Thoral, she swoons and falls into our hero’s arms. After that, they happily lived ever after.

You might be thinking, come on, this can’t be that simple. Well, you are right. There are Dark Brothers of The Bad Religion who desperately want to wipe out the elves from the land of Grome. Their leader, the Heartless One, wants to kill Thoral for some reason. But more than anything else, she is in search of the missing Great Pudding of Power. So Thoral and king Elfrod (elf king and Nalweegie’s father) gather a team to fight the Heartless One. To top it all, there is some dark hidden past to our Thoral. Will this past create trouble in Thoral’s budding romance? Why is Thoral wandering around forests looking for a Walking-Door Tree? Will the Heartless One win?

If you want to read more about this Fellowship of the Pudding, then pick Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R (Jim) Hardison. This book was filled with cliches of the fantasy genre: hero’s indestructibility in dire situations, prophecies, badass females who turn into damsels in distress when the hero is around, skimpy clothes, the old mentor, trusty sidekick, gloating villains with convoluted plans, elves’ obsession with weird names and so on. This book will remind you of famous fantasy books such as Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, and Chronicles of Narnia. Even the author’s name seems to have some tongue-in-cheek humor in it. This book might be considered a good-hearted spoof of the fantasy genre.

Although this book exaggerates the cliches, don’t let that fool you. A spoof doesn’t work if the writing is average. There is a well-developed setting, solid plot, and memorable characters with unique quirks. This book made me respect the writing skills of the author. There is Brad, a talking fish, who drowns in the water! Warlordhorse can smell danger but is afraid of heights! Even the gruesome descriptions had a touch of humor in them. I did not expect the recurring twists in the story. The story is capable of surprising its reader by its spontaneity. This is a book that keeps on giving.

I will rate this book 4 out of 4 stars heartily. I did not find any errors, which meant this book was well edited. I have only positive things to say about this fiction. Some of the gruesome deaths make this book unsuitable for teenagers. Other than that, I will recommend this book to fantasy nerds who don’t mind a jibe or two about their favorite genre. If nothing else, this book will make you chuckle. I will promise you that. Oh, before I forget, the elves of this story are gluten-free! Happy reading.

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Fish Wielder
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