Review by pansuki -- Fish Wielder

[meronpan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Fish Wielder is a humorous, fantasy, adventure story following the main character Thoral Mighty Fist and his koi companion, Bradfast, trying to stop a group ‘The Bad Religion’ from eating the Pudding of Power whilst maintaining the hero looks, pleasing an elf princess and juggling Thoral's little-known known past. Off the bat it sounds complicated, maybe even a little ridiculous, but boy was it worth reading.

I rather enjoyed the pacing of the story, short chapters and easy to read sentences making it a breeze to really get immersed in the story and fully appreciate the laugh-out-loud moments to some of the more outlandish bits of the story. As mentioned by the story blurb itself, it does take on a Monty Python spin and then some. Admittedly, though some parts of the book were a little too over the top, it’s a good start to some wholesome fantasy satire as you’ll come to recognise some very familiar references to famous fantasy epics throughout the story.

Hardison dumps you straight into the thick of the action, quickly introducing the reader to our two main characters, Thoral and Bradfast, before slowly revealing the world of Grome. The motives of the main character aren’t really fleshed out in full till half way through the story, leaving you, the reader, surprised along with the character’s themselves as things don’t always (actually never) go the way you think it’s going to go. For example, the dead never seeming to stay dead, or the incredulous ways Thoral gets out of sticky situations. The characters do grow on you, perhaps even becoming a little predictable, however, the way they were written worked well with the humour the author was trying to achieve.

Under all the slapstick humour, Hardison does pack an interesting plot that slowly unravels, referencing Thoral’s past, prophecies, evil factions and assassins. You’ll have to get used to Hardison almost always choosing the most inconvenient, but funniest, ways to resolve a plot point. Coupled with his flowery descriptions, lots of facepalming moments and clever twists of words and names, it makes for an entertaining and brilliant read, packed with amusement.

Though the characters were enjoyable, the world of Grome wasn’t as fleshed out as I’d liked it to be. Some places were just mentioned in passing and little was explained, leaving some gaps in the creation of a setting that could’ve been more meaningful. The ending of the story and the character’s quirks, made up for it though, leaving me pleased with the conclusion, and wanting to read more. I’m assuming that there will be a sequel since it seems to be part of a series, though Fish Wielder can stand alone on its own as well. The book has little editorial errors, and what little that were present did not distract from the story.

I’m rating this book a 4 out of 4 stars, simply because it was such an enjoyable read, with good flow and some good play on fantasy stereotypes. If you enjoy some satire of the fantasy genre, this is the book for you, otherwise, I’d say pick another read.

******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes

Like pansuki's review? Post a comment saying so!