Review by MrunalT -- Fish Wielder
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Mrunal Tikekar
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Review by MrunalT -- Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
Thoral Mighty Fist, the barbarian warrior, is on a mission. It has fallen upon him to prevent the Heartless one from consuming a secret, magical chocolate pudding. This pudding concocted by The Dark Lord holds enormous power. The one who consumes it would rule all the people of Grome. The leader of Bad Religion has discovered this secret formula after thousands of years and would go to any length possible to retrieve the pudding. Thoral Mighty Fist has a quirky army by his side. A talking Koi fish is the barbarian’s constant companion, advisor, and friend. The duo is accompanied by the gullible Elvish king on a personal secret agenda. The king’s daughter is smitten by Thoral and believes herself to be a vital and indispensable member of his little army. Now that the army is formed, and the goal is set, will Thoral be able to stop the Heartless one? Why is he not called the fist wielder instead of the fish wielder? Read Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison to find out.
If you enjoy the works of Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Rober Howard, etc., this book is for you. And no, this is not just an unimaginative parody that one might think it is reading the summary of the book. Sure, there are elements similar to those one might have come across in works of other renowned authors, but Hardison has woven a story that is unique, intelligently imaginative, and classically silly. There are all the quintessential elements of a fantasy tale. The Koi fish cannot swim. The Elvish princess thinks her dreams all come true. Thoral does not know why his eyes are purple. There is an evil bracelet in search of its master. And then there is an accidental hero- a flying squirrel with a long, cute name. Hardison has woven all these elements into a silly fantasy tale that has undercurrents of something dark and sinister.
The first half of the book is not much interesting. The readers do not know much about the characters and the plot seems fussy. Thoral goes by several names. At times he is referred to as the barbarian, at times as just Thoral, sometimes as just the warrior. I had a hard time figuring out that these names were all of the same person. In this part of the book, the author is verbose. He invests more in prose than in character development. It is in the second half of the book that the fun begins.
My favorite character was the fish. I found him to be the most intelligent of them all. He was also sarcastic and extremely witty. Thoral had his own charm. Beneath all the muscle and brawn, there was a soft heart that made Thoral tough and silly, both at once. The episodes where the fish points out the stupidity of all the characters and their plots were extremely hilarious. Unlike what the cover suggests, this book is not as much about gore as it is about senseless plots gone hilariously wrong.
The author keeps his readers engaged with twists and turns. Just when you think you have figured it all, you are thrown into a parallel reality that shakes your world. The pace of narration is perfect. The language is fluid and the vocabulary is rich. Apart from the somewhat boring first half of the book, I do not have any other complaints about the story.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. There are no grammatical errors in the book and is professionally edited. There are some sex scenes, and although I thought they were misplaced, they were not graphic. Sensitive readers have nothing to work about. The villains might sound menacing and brutal, but they are also funny and absurd. If you are up for some sarcastic fantasy tale that doubles as a parody, pick this book right away!
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Thoral Mighty Fist, the barbarian warrior, is on a mission. It has fallen upon him to prevent the Heartless one from consuming a secret, magical chocolate pudding. This pudding concocted by The Dark Lord holds enormous power. The one who consumes it would rule all the people of Grome. The leader of Bad Religion has discovered this secret formula after thousands of years and would go to any length possible to retrieve the pudding. Thoral Mighty Fist has a quirky army by his side. A talking Koi fish is the barbarian’s constant companion, advisor, and friend. The duo is accompanied by the gullible Elvish king on a personal secret agenda. The king’s daughter is smitten by Thoral and believes herself to be a vital and indispensable member of his little army. Now that the army is formed, and the goal is set, will Thoral be able to stop the Heartless one? Why is he not called the fist wielder instead of the fish wielder? Read Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison to find out.
If you enjoy the works of Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Rober Howard, etc., this book is for you. And no, this is not just an unimaginative parody that one might think it is reading the summary of the book. Sure, there are elements similar to those one might have come across in works of other renowned authors, but Hardison has woven a story that is unique, intelligently imaginative, and classically silly. There are all the quintessential elements of a fantasy tale. The Koi fish cannot swim. The Elvish princess thinks her dreams all come true. Thoral does not know why his eyes are purple. There is an evil bracelet in search of its master. And then there is an accidental hero- a flying squirrel with a long, cute name. Hardison has woven all these elements into a silly fantasy tale that has undercurrents of something dark and sinister.
The first half of the book is not much interesting. The readers do not know much about the characters and the plot seems fussy. Thoral goes by several names. At times he is referred to as the barbarian, at times as just Thoral, sometimes as just the warrior. I had a hard time figuring out that these names were all of the same person. In this part of the book, the author is verbose. He invests more in prose than in character development. It is in the second half of the book that the fun begins.
My favorite character was the fish. I found him to be the most intelligent of them all. He was also sarcastic and extremely witty. Thoral had his own charm. Beneath all the muscle and brawn, there was a soft heart that made Thoral tough and silly, both at once. The episodes where the fish points out the stupidity of all the characters and their plots were extremely hilarious. Unlike what the cover suggests, this book is not as much about gore as it is about senseless plots gone hilariously wrong.
The author keeps his readers engaged with twists and turns. Just when you think you have figured it all, you are thrown into a parallel reality that shakes your world. The pace of narration is perfect. The language is fluid and the vocabulary is rich. Apart from the somewhat boring first half of the book, I do not have any other complaints about the story.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. There are no grammatical errors in the book and is professionally edited. There are some sex scenes, and although I thought they were misplaced, they were not graphic. Sensitive readers have nothing to work about. The villains might sound menacing and brutal, but they are also funny and absurd. If you are up for some sarcastic fantasy tale that doubles as a parody, pick this book right away!
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Pursuit of Happiness by Paul Lucas Scott
