Review by Wordforawhile -- Fish Wielder

Wordforawhile · Post by **Wordforawhile** » 25 Feb 2018, 10:15

[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 by J.R.R.R. Hardison is a fantasy novel that parody's other fantasy novels. The story follows the adventures of the legendary Thoral Mighty Fist, a barbarian with more courage than brains, and his trusted sidekick Bradfast, a talking fish. Thoral and Brad travel around the world of Grome having one adventure after another. With the mighty blade Blurmflard and his every reliable steed Warlordhorse, both lent to him by his wizard mentor Yiz, they have more adventures in this one book then in some entire series'

Let me begin by saying I gave this book an indisputable 4 out of 4 stars. From the title page to the end of the tale this book was hilarious. Beginning with the warning on the title page that "This is a work of fiction. Everything in this book is fake" this book grabs you by the funny bone and drags through one misadventure after another.

As you progress, the story grows more and more ridiculous but the characters grow into more believable, and in most cases, more likeable people. Even the nonsense characters like Bradfast the talking fish, and more minor characters like Trenton, the hapless city guard, feel like real people. The character building in this book is done flawlessly.

As for the story itself, the tale has its own story to tell but, at the same time, manages to tip its hat (so to speak) at many other works ranging from The Wizard of Oz to The Lord of the Rings and does so in such a way that it calls itself out for making the comparison. Hardison did a great job of making fun of every trope of fantasy stories that he could while simultaneously writing a fantasy book that falls into almost every trope.

The book was very well written and edited, I found only a few minor errors towards the end of the book. This is a perfect book for anyone who is a fan of fantasy or comedy and a book I would recommend to anyone who doesn't like fantasy because it is too "convenient" when things line up just right. I would not recommend this book to anyone who does not like cliffhangers, as this book does leave you with many unanswered questions (intentionally?), or to anyone who has an issue with alcoholism being included in books, there is a lot of alcohol consumption in this book and references to the fact that the main character was drunk for the vast majority of it.

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Fish Wielder
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vinodsai · Post by **vinodsai** » 08 Mar 2018, 23:41

A barbaric warrior named Thoral Mighty Fist who carries a magic sword and his trusted sidekick named Brad. They try to save the world of Grome and go on the ultimate quest to find the lost Pudding of Power. Love to read Fantasy novels. Thanks for your review.