Review by ERosario -- Fish Wielder
Posted: 07 Jul 2019, 19:00
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
2 out of 4 stars
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The Fish Wielder focuses on a barbarian named Thoral Mighty Fist in the Lands of Grome. He is a heroic figure that has given up on life; dejected, he drinks away his sorrows. That is until he goes on a quest to kill a necromancer with his sentient koi fish friend, Bradfast, and the last of the mighty Brendylschmylyn, Warlordhorse to fight and die a hero’s death. Braving the dangers with the magical broadsword Blurmflard, he decapitated the necromancer, discovered - and rescued an elven princess, who had been held hostage. Unbeknownst to them, the necromancer’s head still lived and vowed vengeance even while his mysterious master skulks in the background. This is where the story truly begins. Their adventures become more ridiculous as the danger becomes increasingly more deadly until the end, as coincidences abound and a massively convoluted scheme is revealed. The fate of Grome is cast from their hands and thrown back into what one would call reality.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. What can I say about this novel? Frankly, it is an interesting tale even with its absurdity, and use of tropes that have become a staple of the fantasy genre. Though this is not always a bad thing, the story truly puts them into perspective. It is a wild ride, but would I recommend it? Yes, but no anyone who is looking for a story that could be considered serious fantasy like Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia. Though there is blood, gore, and fighting; there is also a lot of telling than showing when it comes to the skills of the characters instead of it being subtle, more nuanced. Making this story almost felt as if it were meant to be read as the written version of a Dungeons and Dragons game played by a bunch of teenagers who decided to make a pair of irresistibly, overpowered characters. It clearly has the mark of a first-time writer.
The elements I liked most about this story are mainly the interactions between the characters. For Thoral and Bradfast, there is an actual friendship that could be felt between them and it is heart-warming. I’ve come to see the koi fish as being the Jiminy Cricket to Thoral’s Pinocchio, acting almost like a conscience for the barbarian, where the knowledge and wisdom comes from. There is humor also, scenes that no matter how much you wish to rage at the novel for the plot’s utter lunacy, makes you laugh and enjoy it, almost like a pleasant shot of novocaine. It was noticeable very early in the story, when the three Dark Brothers have a bit of a Three Stooges moment. If nothing else, get the book just to see that scene because it had me rolling on the floor from the sheer madness of it all. Yet besides the necromancer, who was just a massive pain, the character interactions were genuine and progressively felt more real as the story continued even with the minor character. But if I have to praise anything, it would be the ending. How twisted it was and the emotion that came from the two, having a second chance at life was palpable with one wishing to return and the other, vehemently trying to deny it all as a dream. This alone was worth the rating but it was, unfortunately, not enough to save the novel in my opinion. Even the main villain was written appropriately; evil, cunning… and even incompetent, in a way. For plans to made within plans which only serves to complicate them in the end, to a truly convoluted conclusion that almost made him seem laughable yet also an even more severe threat as they came to pass.
The elements that I disliked most about the story mainly comes from Thoral himself. Though this was explained as to why he possesses these quirks in the later sections of the novel, I still cannot get over the feeling that this is a play on the ‘hero is invincible’ trope. And when I say that, it’s not that he cannot be injured, which happens many times in the story, it's more that he can never truly lose. Any truly life-threatening situation present to Thoral is one where he can literally rush, head first, and win with a macguffin, like a wand or a sudden increase in attributes that is merely written off as a “He wins” moment. There are only three moments in the story where there was any real tension, in my opinion. Though greatly written and expertly edited, that just ends in a “hero wins” moment, save for the last one, which leads to a cliffhanger that I would applaud. Whether this book is a play on the fantasy tropes, which I believe it is, or just for fun, the story does suffer from this, which is why it has such a low rating. Adding into the fact that Thoral and the Heartless One, who is accurately named, are both overpowered and practically unstoppable entities in their own right, matched only be each other, it removes much of the tension and even danger from the story. Because around every corner, you can expect that Thoral will get out, will survive, and will only continue to wreck everyone’s day.
In conclusion, I had to research to make sure that this was truly a first attempt at a novel and, to my relief, it was. Because while this novel has been one wild journey, filled with laughs, headaches, and pains from my side alone that was only exponentially magnified on the other side for the characters. And despite everything negative I’ve said in this review, I do like the author’s writing style, even if the first sections of the story made me want to tear my hair out It is gratifying to know that this was only the first novel, and hopefully there will be more opportunities to read his works in the future.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
2 out of 4 stars
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The Fish Wielder focuses on a barbarian named Thoral Mighty Fist in the Lands of Grome. He is a heroic figure that has given up on life; dejected, he drinks away his sorrows. That is until he goes on a quest to kill a necromancer with his sentient koi fish friend, Bradfast, and the last of the mighty Brendylschmylyn, Warlordhorse to fight and die a hero’s death. Braving the dangers with the magical broadsword Blurmflard, he decapitated the necromancer, discovered - and rescued an elven princess, who had been held hostage. Unbeknownst to them, the necromancer’s head still lived and vowed vengeance even while his mysterious master skulks in the background. This is where the story truly begins. Their adventures become more ridiculous as the danger becomes increasingly more deadly until the end, as coincidences abound and a massively convoluted scheme is revealed. The fate of Grome is cast from their hands and thrown back into what one would call reality.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. What can I say about this novel? Frankly, it is an interesting tale even with its absurdity, and use of tropes that have become a staple of the fantasy genre. Though this is not always a bad thing, the story truly puts them into perspective. It is a wild ride, but would I recommend it? Yes, but no anyone who is looking for a story that could be considered serious fantasy like Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia. Though there is blood, gore, and fighting; there is also a lot of telling than showing when it comes to the skills of the characters instead of it being subtle, more nuanced. Making this story almost felt as if it were meant to be read as the written version of a Dungeons and Dragons game played by a bunch of teenagers who decided to make a pair of irresistibly, overpowered characters. It clearly has the mark of a first-time writer.
The elements I liked most about this story are mainly the interactions between the characters. For Thoral and Bradfast, there is an actual friendship that could be felt between them and it is heart-warming. I’ve come to see the koi fish as being the Jiminy Cricket to Thoral’s Pinocchio, acting almost like a conscience for the barbarian, where the knowledge and wisdom comes from. There is humor also, scenes that no matter how much you wish to rage at the novel for the plot’s utter lunacy, makes you laugh and enjoy it, almost like a pleasant shot of novocaine. It was noticeable very early in the story, when the three Dark Brothers have a bit of a Three Stooges moment. If nothing else, get the book just to see that scene because it had me rolling on the floor from the sheer madness of it all. Yet besides the necromancer, who was just a massive pain, the character interactions were genuine and progressively felt more real as the story continued even with the minor character. But if I have to praise anything, it would be the ending. How twisted it was and the emotion that came from the two, having a second chance at life was palpable with one wishing to return and the other, vehemently trying to deny it all as a dream. This alone was worth the rating but it was, unfortunately, not enough to save the novel in my opinion. Even the main villain was written appropriately; evil, cunning… and even incompetent, in a way. For plans to made within plans which only serves to complicate them in the end, to a truly convoluted conclusion that almost made him seem laughable yet also an even more severe threat as they came to pass.
The elements that I disliked most about the story mainly comes from Thoral himself. Though this was explained as to why he possesses these quirks in the later sections of the novel, I still cannot get over the feeling that this is a play on the ‘hero is invincible’ trope. And when I say that, it’s not that he cannot be injured, which happens many times in the story, it's more that he can never truly lose. Any truly life-threatening situation present to Thoral is one where he can literally rush, head first, and win with a macguffin, like a wand or a sudden increase in attributes that is merely written off as a “He wins” moment. There are only three moments in the story where there was any real tension, in my opinion. Though greatly written and expertly edited, that just ends in a “hero wins” moment, save for the last one, which leads to a cliffhanger that I would applaud. Whether this book is a play on the fantasy tropes, which I believe it is, or just for fun, the story does suffer from this, which is why it has such a low rating. Adding into the fact that Thoral and the Heartless One, who is accurately named, are both overpowered and practically unstoppable entities in their own right, matched only be each other, it removes much of the tension and even danger from the story. Because around every corner, you can expect that Thoral will get out, will survive, and will only continue to wreck everyone’s day.
In conclusion, I had to research to make sure that this was truly a first attempt at a novel and, to my relief, it was. Because while this novel has been one wild journey, filled with laughs, headaches, and pains from my side alone that was only exponentially magnified on the other side for the characters. And despite everything negative I’ve said in this review, I do like the author’s writing style, even if the first sections of the story made me want to tear my hair out It is gratifying to know that this was only the first novel, and hopefully there will be more opportunities to read his works in the future.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon