Review of Fish Wielder
-
Snigdha Pandey
- Posts: 168
- Joined: 15 Jun 2021, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)
- Currently Reading: One last stop
- Bookshelf Size: 316
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-snigdha-pandey.html
- Latest Review: Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula by R.F. Kristi
Review of Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
Thoral Mighty Fist is probably the strongest fighter in the world of Grome, where at 6 feet, he is a head taller than most people, at least among the human inhabitants. For Grome is a mystical world with gnomes, elves, monsters, and magic. And of course, talking animals. Like Bradfast, Thoral's best friend, the talking koi he saved from drowning once upon a time. Together, Thoral and Bradfast go on adventures along with Thoral's loyal horse, Warlordhorse. They meet a lot of friends and foes on their journey. And after being interrupted during his big reveal the first few times by some mortal danger or another, Thoral also manages to tell his deepest secret to his friend. What is this big secret Thoral has been keeping? You need to read the book to find out.
Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison has been described as "an epically silly epic fantasy". The description led me to believe that it is going to be a parody of typical fantasy. But I was pleasantly surprised to realise that despite all its silliness, it is in fact a pretty good fantasy book itself. The author points out every cliche and obvious moment himself before the reader even thinks about pointing it out. "And then it really seemed as if Thoral might lose. Really this time." But of course, we all know that he somehow didn't. Another repeated instance includes "because the elves always had to have their own names for everything." But these instances made the book more fun for me. The characters have their quirks, maybe a lot more than the usual cast of a fantasy novel would have. Thoral might be the toughest warrior in the entire Grome, but his hygiene comes first. He had to stop the elfish princess from kissing him twice because he couldn't check her hair for lice. Also, he carries towels with him so he can wipe all the goo off of him after every fight. Then there are the other characters - Brad, the talking fish who is probably the smartest in the entire group; Warlordhorse, the last of Brendylschmylyn, who can smell danger and has a fear of heights; the mighty elfish king Elfrod and his daughter, princess Nalweegie, the evening snack - yes, her name means the evening snack in Elvish. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. There are many more friends and foes in the story, and acquaintances. But it might take pages if I write about them all.
One thing I was not expecting was that the story actually has a lot of turns, which will surprise the readers, especially in the last chapter. The book tells an engaging story and keeps its suspense until the very end even after all the humorous elements, crazy characters and a plotline with major emphasis on pudding. As a reader, I laughed out loud, was amused and surprised at different parts, and overall really enjoyed the story. The story contains a lot of references from The Lord of The Rings, which I have not read but know about from pop culture references, and Narnia, which I have watched. While I love and have read a lot of fantasy books, they are more like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series instead of epic fantasies written by J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett. But my point here is, you will still enjoy this book even if you have not read those.
There is nothing I disliked about the book. I faced a bit of an issue on Kindle Unlimited where the page numbers were repeated, so, for example, the current page and the next page are both numbered as 17 while having different content, which was a little disorienting. But I don't think that would be considered as an issue with the book.
So, as would probably be clear from the review, I give the book 4 out of 4 stars. While I don't want to give away any major plot twist by going into details, trust me, you're going to love this book if you enjoy humour in your fantasy. The book has no profanity or sexual content, but it has some violence and gore. So it might not be suitable for young children, but I think it should be okay for preteens and teens.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Thoral Mighty Fist is probably the strongest fighter in the world of Grome, where at 6 feet, he is a head taller than most people, at least among the human inhabitants. For Grome is a mystical world with gnomes, elves, monsters, and magic. And of course, talking animals. Like Bradfast, Thoral's best friend, the talking koi he saved from drowning once upon a time. Together, Thoral and Bradfast go on adventures along with Thoral's loyal horse, Warlordhorse. They meet a lot of friends and foes on their journey. And after being interrupted during his big reveal the first few times by some mortal danger or another, Thoral also manages to tell his deepest secret to his friend. What is this big secret Thoral has been keeping? You need to read the book to find out.
Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison has been described as "an epically silly epic fantasy". The description led me to believe that it is going to be a parody of typical fantasy. But I was pleasantly surprised to realise that despite all its silliness, it is in fact a pretty good fantasy book itself. The author points out every cliche and obvious moment himself before the reader even thinks about pointing it out. "And then it really seemed as if Thoral might lose. Really this time." But of course, we all know that he somehow didn't. Another repeated instance includes "because the elves always had to have their own names for everything." But these instances made the book more fun for me. The characters have their quirks, maybe a lot more than the usual cast of a fantasy novel would have. Thoral might be the toughest warrior in the entire Grome, but his hygiene comes first. He had to stop the elfish princess from kissing him twice because he couldn't check her hair for lice. Also, he carries towels with him so he can wipe all the goo off of him after every fight. Then there are the other characters - Brad, the talking fish who is probably the smartest in the entire group; Warlordhorse, the last of Brendylschmylyn, who can smell danger and has a fear of heights; the mighty elfish king Elfrod and his daughter, princess Nalweegie, the evening snack - yes, her name means the evening snack in Elvish. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. There are many more friends and foes in the story, and acquaintances. But it might take pages if I write about them all.
One thing I was not expecting was that the story actually has a lot of turns, which will surprise the readers, especially in the last chapter. The book tells an engaging story and keeps its suspense until the very end even after all the humorous elements, crazy characters and a plotline with major emphasis on pudding. As a reader, I laughed out loud, was amused and surprised at different parts, and overall really enjoyed the story. The story contains a lot of references from The Lord of The Rings, which I have not read but know about from pop culture references, and Narnia, which I have watched. While I love and have read a lot of fantasy books, they are more like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series instead of epic fantasies written by J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett. But my point here is, you will still enjoy this book even if you have not read those.
There is nothing I disliked about the book. I faced a bit of an issue on Kindle Unlimited where the page numbers were repeated, so, for example, the current page and the next page are both numbered as 17 while having different content, which was a little disorienting. But I don't think that would be considered as an issue with the book.
So, as would probably be clear from the review, I give the book 4 out of 4 stars. While I don't want to give away any major plot twist by going into details, trust me, you're going to love this book if you enjoy humour in your fantasy. The book has no profanity or sexual content, but it has some violence and gore. So it might not be suitable for young children, but I think it should be okay for preteens and teens.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula by R.F. Kristi
