4 out of 4 stars
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The Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. Hardison is an amazing and hilarious fantasy novel. This story is about an adventurer named Thoral Mighty Fist, in the vein of Conan the Barbarian, experiencing a bit of depression and restlessness. He sets out, with the encouragement of his fish friend Brad, on a series of adventures where they encounter all sorts of fantastical beasts and enemies, along with making some friends and even finding love. They are led from one mad-cap quest to another, all leading to the big bad, the leader of the Bad Religion who plans to use a magic pudding to rule the people in the magic land of Grome.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars; I laughed out loud reading this book more times than I can count! This story has everything one could want from a fantasy novel; magic users both good and evil, a beautiful elf princess, quests through enchanted lands, revenge and love, and bloody battles to save the world. However, this story is also an incredibly well written parody of fantasy as well, so each page is filled with fantastical elements and hilarity in equal measure. I thought that a parody of fantasy might be ridiculous, which it was, but it was ridiculous in the way that Monty Python and the Rocky Horror Picture Show were ridiculous; that is, in the best way! It was clever and witty, and the writing quality was professional and polished.
The very best part about this book was the writing style. The author interjected humor on nearly every page, while also creating a world that was every bit as expansive and colorful as authors like David Eddings and Terry Pratchett. The hero of the story, Thoral, is the quintessential meathead hero, complete with flowing hair and rippling muscles, but he is also experiencing a serious depression due to a weariness of his rough lifestyle as well as a surprisingly dark back story. His best friend and sidekick is faithful and loyal, and works hard to snap him out of his funk, and is also a talking koi fish. Every element has a bit of ridiculousness that compliments the serious, and often heartfelt, bits of the story, and it works is such a wonderful way.
When I began this book, I was a bit thrown by the way that the story moves seamlessly from a serious fantasy to a silly fantasy from one sentence to the next. However, several pages in I was hooked, and deeply impressed by the author's ability to meld detailed fantasy and comedy into a funny, heartfelt story with characters as lovable as they are absurd. Brad, the sidekick and sentient fish, is as dependable and true and Sam from The Lord of the Rings series, despite the fact that he is a tiny fish who lives in Thoral's hip pouch and helps his friend fight his battles.
Anyone who is a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, or people who simply enjoy fantasy like Harry Potter or the Eragon series will no doubt fall as deeply in love with the land of Grome and the heroes Thoral and Brad as I have. This story combines all the traditional elements of a high fantasy with a range of different comedic styles from dry wit all the way to slapstick, so it has a little something for everyone to find funny and enjoyable.
******
Fish Wielder
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