Review by The_Vulcan_Nara -- Fish Wielder

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The_Vulcan_Nara
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Review by The_Vulcan_Nara -- 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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This is a review of the book, The Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. Hardison.

When I first started reading this book I was met by two things: a dedication and a drawn map of a world I never knew I would fall in love with but am eternally grateful for J.R.R.R. Hardison for creating. I loved the dedication, it reminded me of when I too used to make up the most ridiculous and fantastical stories, worlds, and realms. The dedication alone made the author human and relatable. The map enabled a better view of the story, it was no longer just random names of a made up geographical place, it was a physical tool that helped me turn words into pictures. I went from reading about a story to envisioning it in my head.

The story revolves around a man named Thoral Mighty Fist, who dresses like a pirate and speaks in an absurd accent might I add, and his traveling companion Brad. Not to mention the fact that Thoral stands a whole head taller than anyone else in his hometown, but is best friends with considerably smaller and more fragile Brad. Brad, by the way, is a fish, who can talk and breathe air. If I was unsure about the comedic aspect of this story before reading it, I was immediately confident of it after being introduced to these two characters!

The first half of the story is about the many adventures of Thoral Mighty Fist and Brad the fish and the friends who they meet and join them during said adventures. So Thoral and his traveling companions, who are just as crazy and funny characters as Thoral and Brad, go questing and do epic and silly battle with many a foe such as, the Bad Religion and the Dark Brotherhood. Quite like J.K.Rolling's character Harry Potter, Thoral Mighty Fist too survives most the time due to sheer dumb, and hilarious, luck. Well, luck and his fists of uncanny strength. He is called Thoral MIGHTY FIST for a reason after all.

About halfway through the book, Thoral embarks on a quest, the ultimate quest, to find the Lost Pudding Power. Unsure of even Thoral's survival of the dangerous quest, but eagerly reading if only to laugh at the no doubt funny new journey, I could only hope that he was well enough prepared as he was armed with his magical swords, vast amounts of leather, Brad, who rides in one of the many velvet pouches on Thorals belt, and the rest of his fellowship. I should never have doubted the power of dumb luck. The amount of times I had to stop reading and just laugh is astounding. This book truly was a Lord of The Rings meets Narnia parody written in the style of Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

One of my favorite things about this story was not only the author's great storytelling capabilities but also the storytelling of his characters! Many time when reading a book, I will notice that while the details and descriptions are astounding the dialogue will fall flat or vice-versa. I am happy to say that was not a problem when reading this book. Another aspect of this story that made it enjoyable, was the dynamic characters. The characters were much deeper than I had expected them to be for such a comedic novel. Never let it be said that the characters in this story were exactly as they were portrayed to be based on physical aspects or general character stereotyping. These characters had many facets of their personalities which made falling in love with the characters easy.

Personally, I am not the biggest fan of novels like The Fish Wielder due to the fact that they are more often not poorly written attempts at comedy that quickly loses most of its humor because it tries too hard to be funny. This novel has restored my faith in comedic adventure books in hope that they may be even a tenth of this book. The comedy never once felt forced, and the action was so well written that I could easily make a movie of it within the confines of my own mind. I have absolutely no regrets about reading this at all, this was one of the most enjoyable books I have read this month.

Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 4 stars. It was everything I could have wanted in an epic comedy type of adventure book. If I was not as prepared of the utterly silly nature of this book or content with the constant comedy, then perhaps I would rate the book with 3 stars, but only out of personal preference. The sentence structure, flow, and writing style of the author J.R.R.R. Hardison was phenomenal. Smooth would be the only way to describe reading the book. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any who enjoy non-stop comedy, epic adventure, and fantasy genre stories. The Fish Wielder is also the perfect book to read if you are simply looking to waste time and relax while reading a book.

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Fish Wielder
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