Review by uyky -- Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison

uyky · Post by **uyky** » 26 Jan 2018, 11:41

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Fish Wielder is a fantasy book, or more concretely, a parody on fantasy written by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison and it is a book one of the Fish Wielder Trilogy.

Story revolves around a sword wielding barbarian Thoral, his fish friend Brad and a borrowed horse named Warlordhorse. They go together on many dangerous adventures, but the book mostly concentrates on one in particular. That is to save the world from the evil group named Bad Religion that wants to rule the residents of the magical world of Grome with a long-lost magical pudding. Of course. It’s a satirical tale of friendship, bravery and love, so action, battles, betrayal and sacrifices are a necessity throughout the whole book.

If someone wants to be a successful and proper hero, he or she needs some specific traits and characteristics. You need to multiply everything that you think makes a hero by a hundred, add a keen sense for hygiene and you get the main character of the book, Thoral Mighty Fist. Talking, non-swimming fish companion Brad, with no back story whatsoever, is there for a purpose of guiding Thoral and saving him. There is a beautiful and brave elvish princess that has a character of a stubborn child and one of the characters has a habit of being a ’grammar Nazi’ in the most ridiculous situations. All of this sums up the way characters are written. Hardison made his heroes flawed, relatable and unrealistic at the same time.

There are many plot twists in the story. Some excessively obvious on purpose, some unexpected. All of them are shamelessly mocking most of the popular fantasy books, good or bad, and make you laugh out loud. Intertwined into the story were biggest mistakes fantasy writers make, but also things that are almost a must for a good book of this particular genre. Author rips apart Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Alice in Wonderland and so many other classics, and puts them back together in his unique style that will leave you roaring with laughter. Nice hidden tribute to Douglas Adams was carrying a towel everywhere without even mentioning it until it was needed from time to time. I thought pointing out obvious all the time and unnecessarily explaining was a refreshing and humorous way to narrate the story. Also, if you didn’t know, evil has a scent of cumin and cocoa.

The book was edited very well and I liked the style of writing. It was funny and kept me on the edge of my chair the whole time. Parodies tend to get boring or repetitive very quickly and I was waiting for that to happen, but soon I was so engorged with the story that I only noticed the world around me when it was over.

As books go, this was a great relaxing read for me and I rate it 4 out of 4 stars.

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Fish Wielder
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Post by **Alice Heritage** » 01 Feb 2018, 05:49

Thanks for this review. It sounds as if this author is trying to channel Terry Pratchett? I guess if it's funny, that's good.

uyky · Post by **uyky** » 02 Feb 2018, 18:17

ButterscotchCherrie wrote: ↑01 Feb 2018, 05:49 Thanks for this review. It sounds as if this author is trying to channel Terry Pratchett? I guess if it's funny, that's good.

Thank you for stopping by and reading it. It is a parody so it may give that impression. But if I were to compare it with Pratchett, I would say that the writing style of Hardison is much more down to earth, less absurd situations (even though they are by all means still absurd, just in a different way), and simpler characters and storylines. If you like Pratchett, maybe try it.

vinodsai · Post by **vinodsai** » 08 Mar 2018, 23:49

A barbaric warrior named Thoral Mighty Fist and his sidekick named Brad try to save the world of Grome and go on the ultimate quest to find the lost Pudding of Power. I love reading Fantasy novels.

uyky · Post by **uyky** » 22 Apr 2018, 12:42

vinodsai wrote: ↑08 Mar 2018, 23:49 A barbaric warrior named Thoral Mighty Fist and his sidekick named Brad try to save the world of Grome and go on the ultimate quest to find the lost Pudding of Power. I love reading Fantasy novels.

Thank you for reading my review. This book is an amazing parody of all the fantasy. It really is worth reading if you want a good laugh.