Review of Fish Wielder
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revathy sw
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Review of Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
Fish Wielder, by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison, is a hilarious and intelligently written read, meant in every one of its numerous convoluted twists and turns to mock everything that science fiction and epics stand for. Its hero is the buff, omnipotent Thoral Mighty Fist, a brooding, emotional, introspective, and gorgeous (of course) alcoholic and full-time defeater of evil. He lives in the magical world of Grome. His life has been struck by a horrifying tragedy which leads him to drown his sorrows in alcohol and randomly break out into philosophical outpourings and drunken ditties. He goes on his heroic quests and adventures with the intelligent, faithful, and criminally underappreciated sidekick, Brad, a talking koi fish, who, in his sarcastic commentary on the bizarre actions and events in the novel, adds an extra element to its self-reflexivity.
The world of Grome, especially its elves, is plagued by the evil actions of the Bad Religion, a brotherhood led by the Heartless One. The Heartless One is on a quest to recover the lost Pudding of Immortal Life, a concoction that will allow its drinker to wear the dangerous and powerful Bracelet of Evil. The Heartless One seeks to destroy everything and everyone in Grome using the Bracelet. Thoral Mighty Fist must save the land by ridding it once and for all of this evil, while simultaneously managing his fledgling relationship with the spoilt, spirited, impassioned elf princess, Nalweegie (whose name means Evening Snack). What I loved most was the fact that despite getting used to the book’s silliness and unexpected turns of events about halfway through, it constantly kept me on my toes. I didn’t feel like any part of it was predictable.
I had a blast while reading this book. I love reading and watching parodies of well-established and clichéd genres, and Fish Wielder ticks all the boxes when it comes to being a successful parody. From detached talking heads, horses that have claustrophobia, and shy, feminine flying squirrels who save the day to the affected, sometimes downright ludicrous, way that some of the characters speak, this novel has everything you could expect from this genre and more. There were, as can be expected, numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Of the characters, I have to say I liked Brad the best, especially his wit and sarcasm. I also completely understood where Nancy was coming from. She was very normal, relatable, and sympathetic in her beliefs. The novel also spectacularly mocks the trope of the scantily-clad damsel in distress who requires saving by the hero. I loved the running gags about Thoral’s near-death moments, and him getting interrupted every time he begins to tell Brad about his mysterious past. The monsters and villains were fabulous, and it was highly entertaining to read about them being slain. There are enough surprising and bewildering revelations and twists towards the end (especially about Thoral) to give you whiplash but in the best possible way. The book does end on a cliffhanger, and I’m eager to know how the story might be continued.
I do have a few complaints about the book. I felt like it dragged in a few places towards the end. I also found Nalweegie’s character quite annoying. While I completely understood that the way she behaved added to the overall motif of the book, it still got a bit tiresome to read about. I also didn’t like any of the romantic relationships in the novel — neither the one between Thoral and Nalweegie nor that between him and Nancy. However, the general excellence of the novel easily distracted me from these perceived minor flaws.
Fish Wielder was mostly flawless. The story was original, coherent, and just plain wonderful, and the characters (most of them) were delightful. It was also very well edited. For this reason, I am giving the book 4 out of 4 stars.
This book has only some very mild instances of swearing. However, there are intensely explicit, gruesome scenes of gore and bloodshed. It also does get lightly sexual in some places. Keeping this in mind, I would recommend lovers of parodies, sci-fi, and comedies, above the age of sixteen, to read Hardison’s Fish Wielder.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Fish Wielder, by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison, is a hilarious and intelligently written read, meant in every one of its numerous convoluted twists and turns to mock everything that science fiction and epics stand for. Its hero is the buff, omnipotent Thoral Mighty Fist, a brooding, emotional, introspective, and gorgeous (of course) alcoholic and full-time defeater of evil. He lives in the magical world of Grome. His life has been struck by a horrifying tragedy which leads him to drown his sorrows in alcohol and randomly break out into philosophical outpourings and drunken ditties. He goes on his heroic quests and adventures with the intelligent, faithful, and criminally underappreciated sidekick, Brad, a talking koi fish, who, in his sarcastic commentary on the bizarre actions and events in the novel, adds an extra element to its self-reflexivity.
The world of Grome, especially its elves, is plagued by the evil actions of the Bad Religion, a brotherhood led by the Heartless One. The Heartless One is on a quest to recover the lost Pudding of Immortal Life, a concoction that will allow its drinker to wear the dangerous and powerful Bracelet of Evil. The Heartless One seeks to destroy everything and everyone in Grome using the Bracelet. Thoral Mighty Fist must save the land by ridding it once and for all of this evil, while simultaneously managing his fledgling relationship with the spoilt, spirited, impassioned elf princess, Nalweegie (whose name means Evening Snack). What I loved most was the fact that despite getting used to the book’s silliness and unexpected turns of events about halfway through, it constantly kept me on my toes. I didn’t feel like any part of it was predictable.
I had a blast while reading this book. I love reading and watching parodies of well-established and clichéd genres, and Fish Wielder ticks all the boxes when it comes to being a successful parody. From detached talking heads, horses that have claustrophobia, and shy, feminine flying squirrels who save the day to the affected, sometimes downright ludicrous, way that some of the characters speak, this novel has everything you could expect from this genre and more. There were, as can be expected, numerous laugh-out-loud moments. Of the characters, I have to say I liked Brad the best, especially his wit and sarcasm. I also completely understood where Nancy was coming from. She was very normal, relatable, and sympathetic in her beliefs. The novel also spectacularly mocks the trope of the scantily-clad damsel in distress who requires saving by the hero. I loved the running gags about Thoral’s near-death moments, and him getting interrupted every time he begins to tell Brad about his mysterious past. The monsters and villains were fabulous, and it was highly entertaining to read about them being slain. There are enough surprising and bewildering revelations and twists towards the end (especially about Thoral) to give you whiplash but in the best possible way. The book does end on a cliffhanger, and I’m eager to know how the story might be continued.
I do have a few complaints about the book. I felt like it dragged in a few places towards the end. I also found Nalweegie’s character quite annoying. While I completely understood that the way she behaved added to the overall motif of the book, it still got a bit tiresome to read about. I also didn’t like any of the romantic relationships in the novel — neither the one between Thoral and Nalweegie nor that between him and Nancy. However, the general excellence of the novel easily distracted me from these perceived minor flaws.
Fish Wielder was mostly flawless. The story was original, coherent, and just plain wonderful, and the characters (most of them) were delightful. It was also very well edited. For this reason, I am giving the book 4 out of 4 stars.
This book has only some very mild instances of swearing. However, there are intensely explicit, gruesome scenes of gore and bloodshed. It also does get lightly sexual in some places. Keeping this in mind, I would recommend lovers of parodies, sci-fi, and comedies, above the age of sixteen, to read Hardison’s Fish Wielder.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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