Review by Vivacia -- Fish Wielder
-
Vivacia
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 05 Jan 2018, 03:07
- Currently Reading: Believe Me
- Bookshelf Size: 1150
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-vivacia.html
- Latest Review: Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison
Review by Vivacia -- Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Meet Thoral Mighty Fist, the Fist Wielder (or is it the Fish Wielder?) The greatest hero in all of Grome, he is the epitome of a barbarian hero: tall, strong, fearless and obsessed with hygiene. Wait what? Hygiene isn’t the strangest thing about Thoral either: you can take your pick between purple eyes, a tiger striped faithful steed called Warlordhorse and a literal walking, talking, fish out of water sidekick known as Brad. Never mind the magical, unbreakable sword with a tendency to glow pink when evil is near.
Join Thoral and his companions on their heroic adventures slaying monsters, rescuing princesses and trying to keep clean in swamps while behind them a larger, darker danger looms. Will Thoral find love? Or will he die first? Is it even possible to kill Thoral Might Fist? The Bad Religion would dearly like to know the answer to that question!
Thoral spends a large amount of his time fighting the evil necromancer Necrogrond, but never quite seems to finish him off completely. In the process of defeating Necrogrond he frees a young elven princess who promptly falls madly in love with him. A little later the king of the elves asks Thoral to free his country of a deadly scourge, one thing leads to another and Thoral is forced to come to terms with his tragic past. His greatest quest yet follows his discovery of his true enemy when the Heartless One reveals herself to him.
Fish Wielder reads like a hilarious spin-off of the traditional epic fantasy saga. It feels as though Lewis Carroll, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams sat down to write Lord of the Rings (or was it Lord of the Puddings?) with characters unlike any Tolkien ever dreamed of. And the setting? The world of Grome is a strange mix of the expected and the unexpected: unicorns, talking animals, gnomes and elves, but all with a twist. The elves are not so very noble, nor are the gnomes evil. Magic abounds, but not necessarily in the places or ways you expect. Of course, there are magical stones and jewellery, but confectionery can grant amazing powers too!
The narrator may sound like a teenager earnestly trying to tell a story without any misunderstandings. But he is quite capable of steering the reader through this complicated tale and of adding his own breathless commentary to every fight scene! With sudden changes in subject readers will be kept on their toes as they try to follow the convoluted twists Fish Wielder takes.
As a whole, Fish Wielder is a wonderful satire on the style of high fantasy while remaining a hilariously good story. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy high fantasy and are able to laugh at their own assumptions. Readers of any age can enjoy this book with its call to the young at heart.
I give Fish Wielder a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because I did not notice any spelling errors or large grammatical errors, indicating that it has been professionally edited. I also enjoyed the story and the characters that wove it together very much. I must admit that at first, I struggled to understand the world of Grome, but by the end of the book I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like Vivacia's review? Post a comment saying so!
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Meet Thoral Mighty Fist, the Fist Wielder (or is it the Fish Wielder?) The greatest hero in all of Grome, he is the epitome of a barbarian hero: tall, strong, fearless and obsessed with hygiene. Wait what? Hygiene isn’t the strangest thing about Thoral either: you can take your pick between purple eyes, a tiger striped faithful steed called Warlordhorse and a literal walking, talking, fish out of water sidekick known as Brad. Never mind the magical, unbreakable sword with a tendency to glow pink when evil is near.
Join Thoral and his companions on their heroic adventures slaying monsters, rescuing princesses and trying to keep clean in swamps while behind them a larger, darker danger looms. Will Thoral find love? Or will he die first? Is it even possible to kill Thoral Might Fist? The Bad Religion would dearly like to know the answer to that question!
Thoral spends a large amount of his time fighting the evil necromancer Necrogrond, but never quite seems to finish him off completely. In the process of defeating Necrogrond he frees a young elven princess who promptly falls madly in love with him. A little later the king of the elves asks Thoral to free his country of a deadly scourge, one thing leads to another and Thoral is forced to come to terms with his tragic past. His greatest quest yet follows his discovery of his true enemy when the Heartless One reveals herself to him.
Fish Wielder reads like a hilarious spin-off of the traditional epic fantasy saga. It feels as though Lewis Carroll, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams sat down to write Lord of the Rings (or was it Lord of the Puddings?) with characters unlike any Tolkien ever dreamed of. And the setting? The world of Grome is a strange mix of the expected and the unexpected: unicorns, talking animals, gnomes and elves, but all with a twist. The elves are not so very noble, nor are the gnomes evil. Magic abounds, but not necessarily in the places or ways you expect. Of course, there are magical stones and jewellery, but confectionery can grant amazing powers too!
The narrator may sound like a teenager earnestly trying to tell a story without any misunderstandings. But he is quite capable of steering the reader through this complicated tale and of adding his own breathless commentary to every fight scene! With sudden changes in subject readers will be kept on their toes as they try to follow the convoluted twists Fish Wielder takes.
As a whole, Fish Wielder is a wonderful satire on the style of high fantasy while remaining a hilariously good story. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy high fantasy and are able to laugh at their own assumptions. Readers of any age can enjoy this book with its call to the young at heart.
I give Fish Wielder a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because I did not notice any spelling errors or large grammatical errors, indicating that it has been professionally edited. I also enjoyed the story and the characters that wove it together very much. I must admit that at first, I struggled to understand the world of Grome, but by the end of the book I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like Vivacia's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison
