Review by Rie Sheridan Rose -- Fish Wielder

[Rie Sheridan Rose]

[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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Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison takes all the fantasy tropes and cliches, puts them center stage, and makes them dance. If you like your fantasy over the top with a dash of danger and a sidecar of silly, then this is the book for you. If you like fantasy in the strictest Tolkien tradition, with grim-faced elves and life-or-death quests...probably not your thing. For me, I laughed through the whole thing, reminded of the brilliance of Bored of the Ring. I give it 4 out of 4 stars—not something I do often.

Fish Wielder tells the tale of Thoral Mighty Fist, the brooding barbarian warrior and his sidekick, Bradfast, who is a talking koi. Through carefully disseminated backstory, we learn why Thoral broods, but when the story starts, he’s just another drunken adventurer weeping into his ale. When Brad suggests that maybe an adventure would cheer him up, they are off. Soon running afoul of the Dark Brothers of the Bad Religion, Thoral swiftly (and accidentally) dispatches the threat and they are off to the Godforsaken Swamp in search of trouble.

Arriving at the Swamp, they are swept up in a plot that will lead to a rescued Elven princess, a quest to save the kingdom from destruction at the hand of the Heartless One, magic puddings, and more twists and turns than the yellow brick road—which actually makes a sort of cameo appearance. I don’t think it would be fair to summarize any more of the book. You deserve the chance to discover those secrets yourself.

I am a big fan of parody done well, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done better over such a sustained stretch. I was slow reading this book, but not because I didn’t want to read it—because I wanted to savor it. It was the treat at the end of a hard day, or the way to make a solitary meal seem less lonely. Originally, I was reading it aloud to my husband, and when he wasn’t in the mood for it, I waited...until I got impatient and just read the rest.

The story flows from one outrageous incident to the next in a smooth stream. The characters are archetypes everyone is familiar with: the barbarian hero, the feisty elven princess, the stoic king of the elves, the stalwart companion, the evil sorcerer—and yet each has some quirk of personality that makes them an individual. The stereotypes of character and plot are all turned on their ears. Just when you think you’ve figured everything out, something unexpected pops up. And I found the ending both a surprise and highly satisfying.

The book is well edited, which is a plus. I found two or three errors in two hundred and fifty-nine pages, which is an admirable record these days. None of them was so egregious that I wanted to quit reading.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book, and I hope there will be more adventures for Thoral and Brad in the future. Again, 4 out of 4 stars.

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Fish Wielder
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