Review by itashichan -- Fish Wielder
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itashichan
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Review by itashichan -- Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
4 out of 4 stars
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So, this book had me at “fantasy parody.” Didn't even hesitate starting it as soon as I got it. No regrets.
Fish Wielder follows the adventures of the barbarian warrior Thoral Mighty Fist and his talking fish friend Bradfast, as they quest to protect the land of Grome from the Bad Religion, who seek to enslave it with the Pudding of Power.
Obviously, if you're not a fan of silly humour, you'll have a lot of trouble getting into this book. Wizards with gorilla bodies and elephant trunks for arms kind of silly (as you can see from the cover). It has some decent drama too, but for at least the first half, it's all world and character-building via playing around with fantasy tropes.
Personally, I wasn't totally sure I was going to enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped; the beginning felt a little like a bunch of cliches stuck together with the over the top purple prose of a teen's fan-fiction. I found the repetition a little bit irritating (e.g. the running joke of “Thoral was totally going to lose this time. No, really,” only for him to obviously not lose at all. First time or two it's funny, when it happens too frequently it ruins the suspense and I found it hard to care about the fight scenes because Thoral was rarely in any actual danger. There were times where it was used effectively though, so I can forgive.) Similarly, I often found myself thinking “yeah, I get it, he's got violet eyes and she's got emerald ones and they're both hot. You don't have to keep reminding us.” I presume this is part of the parodying the genre, but seeing eyes described with jewels gives me instant Fanfiction. net flashbacks. I thought it could've done with a smidge less emphasis on Nalweegie's body in every paragraph about her, not to mention the swooning and damsel-in-distress stuff, but then again the other characters, such as the band of all-female elven warriors, did even things up a bit on the feminism front. It managed to not be particularly demeaning while still using and toying with the save the princess trope.
By the end, all the little details later came together to reveal foreshadowing, character depth and plot twists that I couldn't have possibly predicted. Thoral was more than just a big buff, violet-eyed, tawny-haired barbarian. Before I knew it, I'd gone from “this is dragging on a tad...” to “OH MY GOD WHY IS THERE NO SEQUEL?” Seriously, though. Where is it?
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and highly recommend it to any fan of fantasy and comedy. Even moreso to fans of Pratchett, Tolkein and Lewis. It honestly hurts me that I can't go into more detail about my favourite scenes and lines without spoiling the best parts of this story.
******
Fish Wielder
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4 out of 4 stars
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So, this book had me at “fantasy parody.” Didn't even hesitate starting it as soon as I got it. No regrets.
Fish Wielder follows the adventures of the barbarian warrior Thoral Mighty Fist and his talking fish friend Bradfast, as they quest to protect the land of Grome from the Bad Religion, who seek to enslave it with the Pudding of Power.
Obviously, if you're not a fan of silly humour, you'll have a lot of trouble getting into this book. Wizards with gorilla bodies and elephant trunks for arms kind of silly (as you can see from the cover). It has some decent drama too, but for at least the first half, it's all world and character-building via playing around with fantasy tropes.
Personally, I wasn't totally sure I was going to enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped; the beginning felt a little like a bunch of cliches stuck together with the over the top purple prose of a teen's fan-fiction. I found the repetition a little bit irritating (e.g. the running joke of “Thoral was totally going to lose this time. No, really,” only for him to obviously not lose at all. First time or two it's funny, when it happens too frequently it ruins the suspense and I found it hard to care about the fight scenes because Thoral was rarely in any actual danger. There were times where it was used effectively though, so I can forgive.) Similarly, I often found myself thinking “yeah, I get it, he's got violet eyes and she's got emerald ones and they're both hot. You don't have to keep reminding us.” I presume this is part of the parodying the genre, but seeing eyes described with jewels gives me instant Fanfiction. net flashbacks. I thought it could've done with a smidge less emphasis on Nalweegie's body in every paragraph about her, not to mention the swooning and damsel-in-distress stuff, but then again the other characters, such as the band of all-female elven warriors, did even things up a bit on the feminism front. It managed to not be particularly demeaning while still using and toying with the save the princess trope.
By the end, all the little details later came together to reveal foreshadowing, character depth and plot twists that I couldn't have possibly predicted. Thoral was more than just a big buff, violet-eyed, tawny-haired barbarian. Before I knew it, I'd gone from “this is dragging on a tad...” to “OH MY GOD WHY IS THERE NO SEQUEL?” Seriously, though. Where is it?
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and highly recommend it to any fan of fantasy and comedy. Even moreso to fans of Pratchett, Tolkein and Lewis. It honestly hurts me that I can't go into more detail about my favourite scenes and lines without spoiling the best parts of this story.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like itashichan's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
