Review by TiffWagnerMarks -- Fish Wielder
-
TiffWagnerMarks
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 09 Mar 2018, 02:04
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 2
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tiffwagnermarks.html
- Latest Review: Randy Love...at your service by Shay Carter
Review by TiffWagnerMarks -- Fish Wielder
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
In the book Fish Wielder, the reader is taken through a series of events packed with adventure, humor, irony and overall delightful ridiculousness. The story begins with the introduction of the main character, Thoral Mighty Fist, along with his trusted travelling companion, Brad (who happens to be a talking fish). The main plot line follows Thoral and Brad around as they defeat evil in the land of Grome. As the story progresses, the reader discovers that Thoral is not a happy person and he has a drinking problem. Later on the cause of the hero’s anguish is revealed when he has a heartfelt conversation with Brad where he tells Brad about the loss of his wife, his infant son and his wizard mentor Yiz (who also lent his magical sword, Blurmflard, to Thoral) to a disgusting monster called a grode. The plotline then shifts to revenge as the hero goes on a quest to avenge his dead wife, son and wizard mentor, as well as destroy The Great Pudding of Power (which gives ultimate evil power to whomever consumes it) and to destroy the Bad Religion and their leader, The Heartless One.
The relationship between Thoral and Brad is that of a strong brotherly bond. Though Thoral is the strong hero, Brad is the voice of reason in many regards. There are also humorous exchanges between the two, even in battle, where Thoral cannot think of the name of a word and explains a word or a feeling to Brad, who then tells him what it is called. Nalweegie, the elf princess and daughter of the King Elfrod, is introduced and becomes relevant to the story as she and Thoral become romantically involved. This sparks awkward tension between Thoral and the Elf King as well as jealousy from Brad as he feels like he is losing his best friend.
An important character that brings comic relief would be the wicked wizard Necrogrond. Although he is an evil character, he is clumsy and arrogant. An amusing example of his clumsiness would be when he has assembled a body out of animal parts with the body of a blond gorilla and elephant trunks for arms and he tries to stroke his beard as he always does but ends up slapping himself in the face with the elephant trunk. In my opinion, Necrogrond tries very hard to be an evil villain, but he is often overthrown by his own arrogance and he takes for granted the fact that he is immortal.
The book is written very well with good use of English, but there is some use of language where it resembles the lingo of a teenager which was slightly mind boggling at first, but is later relevant because it is suggestive of the plot and ties in with the big plot twist revealed at the end of the book. An example of the teenage lingo can be seen on page 39: “And it really seemed as if Thoral might lose. Really this time. Only guess what?” Another example is on page 64: “They didn’t have one at the front and one at the back. That would have been stupid.” There are a fair few plot twists in this book which intrigues the reader enough to keep turning the pages.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book Fish Wielder. It is cleverly constructed and has memorable characters that a reader can become attached to. It has intense moments that are lightened with humor and some characters are written well enough to actually annoy the reader making it easier to become involved in the story. It does end on a cliffhanger and I find myself wondering what is going to happen next.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, because it was a very good read and it was captivating, but the teenage lingo in some points was confusing. I did not rate it 4 stars, because I was not constantly thinking about the book and I was not compelled to keep reading throughout the night to find out what happens next. I did not rate this book 2 stars, because it was a very good story and I could find little wrong with it. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story set in a fantasy world. This book would not appeal to people who do not like fantasy, fiction or comedy.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like TiffWagnerMarks's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
In the book Fish Wielder, the reader is taken through a series of events packed with adventure, humor, irony and overall delightful ridiculousness. The story begins with the introduction of the main character, Thoral Mighty Fist, along with his trusted travelling companion, Brad (who happens to be a talking fish). The main plot line follows Thoral and Brad around as they defeat evil in the land of Grome. As the story progresses, the reader discovers that Thoral is not a happy person and he has a drinking problem. Later on the cause of the hero’s anguish is revealed when he has a heartfelt conversation with Brad where he tells Brad about the loss of his wife, his infant son and his wizard mentor Yiz (who also lent his magical sword, Blurmflard, to Thoral) to a disgusting monster called a grode. The plotline then shifts to revenge as the hero goes on a quest to avenge his dead wife, son and wizard mentor, as well as destroy The Great Pudding of Power (which gives ultimate evil power to whomever consumes it) and to destroy the Bad Religion and their leader, The Heartless One.
The relationship between Thoral and Brad is that of a strong brotherly bond. Though Thoral is the strong hero, Brad is the voice of reason in many regards. There are also humorous exchanges between the two, even in battle, where Thoral cannot think of the name of a word and explains a word or a feeling to Brad, who then tells him what it is called. Nalweegie, the elf princess and daughter of the King Elfrod, is introduced and becomes relevant to the story as she and Thoral become romantically involved. This sparks awkward tension between Thoral and the Elf King as well as jealousy from Brad as he feels like he is losing his best friend.
An important character that brings comic relief would be the wicked wizard Necrogrond. Although he is an evil character, he is clumsy and arrogant. An amusing example of his clumsiness would be when he has assembled a body out of animal parts with the body of a blond gorilla and elephant trunks for arms and he tries to stroke his beard as he always does but ends up slapping himself in the face with the elephant trunk. In my opinion, Necrogrond tries very hard to be an evil villain, but he is often overthrown by his own arrogance and he takes for granted the fact that he is immortal.
The book is written very well with good use of English, but there is some use of language where it resembles the lingo of a teenager which was slightly mind boggling at first, but is later relevant because it is suggestive of the plot and ties in with the big plot twist revealed at the end of the book. An example of the teenage lingo can be seen on page 39: “And it really seemed as if Thoral might lose. Really this time. Only guess what?” Another example is on page 64: “They didn’t have one at the front and one at the back. That would have been stupid.” There are a fair few plot twists in this book which intrigues the reader enough to keep turning the pages.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book Fish Wielder. It is cleverly constructed and has memorable characters that a reader can become attached to. It has intense moments that are lightened with humor and some characters are written well enough to actually annoy the reader making it easier to become involved in the story. It does end on a cliffhanger and I find myself wondering what is going to happen next.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, because it was a very good read and it was captivating, but the teenage lingo in some points was confusing. I did not rate it 4 stars, because I was not constantly thinking about the book and I was not compelled to keep reading throughout the night to find out what happens next. I did not rate this book 2 stars, because it was a very good story and I could find little wrong with it. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a story set in a fantasy world. This book would not appeal to people who do not like fantasy, fiction or comedy.
******
Fish Wielder
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like TiffWagnerMarks's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Randy Love...at your service by Shay Carter
