Review of Fish Wielder

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BowkerLady
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Review of Fish Wielder

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison should be read without any expectations – both of what the novel should be, what the characters should do, or how the plot should unfold. Thoral Mighty Fist, warrior of the realm of Grome, travels with his best friend, Brad – a walking, talking koi fish. As they travel to battle evil in this confusing and backward realm, they run into obstacles they thought were previously defeated, triumphs that seem to only make sense to Thoral, and dire situations the hero should probably die in – sometimes at the same time. Hardison will leave you trying to figure out who is who and which characters fit together, and what the plan of these characters and plot is, even though you swore you knew for sure two pages ago.

Thoral Mighty Fist is a powerful warrior who has an unknown, tragic past, drinks to excess when he does not have an evil foe to vanquish, and comes out of fights with the most astounding stories of near escape. Sound familiar? Thoral is not who he seems to be – though in Hardison’s clever novel, no one is to be taken at face value. He paints an amazing picture of all of the clichés in stories of adventure, quest, and fantasy. There is magic, talking animals, damsels to save, evil to defeat, and a mysterious past to uncover. Thoral and Brad take the reader through a storyline that seems to be just one step ahead of the reader’s understanding. There are numerous times when the story changes abruptly or takes shape in an opposite form than expected. For all that their adventure seems to mimic the great adventures in literature, leave all expectations at the cover because you will not expect the actual happenings of this novel.

I gave Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison a 4 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book to the full extent and could not find something that I disliked about it. Once I set aside all expectations of what I previously thought novels should be, I realized that the story and characters are extremely enjoyable and the way Hardison reads is funny. The ending is something that will catch you off guard, even when you have come to expect being caught off guard throughout the rest of the novel. I think it is exhilarating when reading to continue to be surprised by what occurs – there is nothing worse than being bored in the middle of a book.

My favorite part of reading this novel was catching the portions where Hardison sarcastically describes the daring deeds of our hero, Thoral. In other novels, it is common to see extreme talent or luck bring these warriors out of tight situations and marvel over what has been done. Hardison makes it very clear that the reader is to understand how extremely unlikely Thoral’s feats are and the commentary is hilarious. This book was extremely well edited and any minor errors were not anything that would distract from reading the novel.

I would recommend this book to any person who enjoys reading, any person who enjoys literature, and any person who enjoys a lighthearted commentary on the serious matters of either. It is a book that can be good for a fun read, for someone who wants to just enjoy, or for anyone who wants to give it a try. The only advice I would give to the reader is that this book is for everyone – as long as all expectations are dropped – just let the book take you on its crazy ride.

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Fish Wielder
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