Review by Harrygx3 -- Fish Wielder

Harrygx3 · Post by **Harrygx3** » 03 Mar 2018, 16:18

[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 fast-paced fantasy book, written in a silly yet awesome way, by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison. It is the first book in the Fish Wielder trilogy. In the peaceful land of Grome, humans and mythical creatures live alongside each other. One day, the Heartless One, leader of the Bad Religion, decides to search for the Pudding of Power, so that she can rule over the land of Grome. The only ones who can stop such a powerful evil are the legendary warrior Thoral Might Fist, his horse, and his best friend Brad who is a talking Koi fish. There is a problem though, Thoral is depressed and drinks all the time. In an attempt to lift the spirits of his buddy, Brad suggests that they all go do something really hard and dangerous. Thoral agrees and that's how a smartly weaved and funny story begins.

What I like about the book is that, despite its fast pace, it manages to fit a ton of silly little jokes here and there. Having said that, the jokes aren't what won me over. The thing I loved the most is how the story progressed in such an unpredictable way, that not only made me feel closer and closer to the characters, but also made it an entertaining story that I would love to see it made into a movie. All the characters are unique with their own personality and cute silly traits. The author makes fun of the way he has written the book and that puts a smile on your face. I like how he uses different approaches to make you laugh and that keeps the humor fresh throughout your reading. The ending is satisfying leaving you with a question mark as to what the future holds, without making you feel like you have a void that needs to be filled.

The cons are that the story is a bit slow and boring up until the middle of the book. It feels like it lacks depth and doesn't make you curious as to what will happen next. However, this is smartly used by the author to set up some future jokes and turn the tables in the end. I admit that many of the jokes passed over my head, while others didn't make me laugh at all since I found them too childish. Whoever has played MMORPG or RPG video games will find the appearance of the characters and the world of Grome to be mainstream. Beautiful skillful elves, ugly gnomes, magic crystals and such. Only the villains were original in appearance and pretty funny at that. Letting the reader wonder a bit more about how the story will unfold would fix the boring part at the beginning of the book.

I give it a solid 4 out of 4 stars for its interesting story, lovable characters, and smart childish humor. I recommend it to anyone who wants a fun read and loves silly jokes. I wouldn't recommend it to people who dislike those jokes and prefer a more serious read.

Overall the book is enjoyable and will make you smile. No errors were noticed. Surprisingly, despite the many childish jokes in the book, not even one about Uranus was found.

******
Fish Wielder
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Astrocelot · Post by **Astrocelot** » 06 Mar 2018, 13:46

I had the same exact experience with this book. It seemed a little slow in the beginning, but by the middle, it really picked up speed. And by the end, you realize the author had been paving the way for awesome plot twists and unexpected character arcs the whole time! If you reread the first chapter or two, you can really see Hardison building it up from the start. This was an awesome, thorough review!

Harrygx3 · Post by **Harrygx3** » 07 Mar 2018, 18:02

Astrocelot wrote: ↑06 Mar 2018, 13:46 I had the same exact experience with this book. It seemed a little slow in the beginning, but by the middle, it really picked up speed. And by the end, you realize the author had been paving the way for awesome plot twists and unexpected character arcs the whole time! If you reread the first chapter or two, you can really see Hardison building it up from the start. This was an awesome, thorough review!

Agree and I enjoy it when a book is cleverly written like that, it makes the whole thing way more interesting.

Many props to Hardison and good job. Thank you for your comment and have a beautiful day/night!^^

Nmesoma · Post by **Nmesoma** » 24 Jun 2018, 19:53

Intense books with jokes are hard to find, and a plus is that I love books with spirit creatures buzzing around doing incredible inhuman stuffs. I commend your review.