Review by dadalo -- Fish Wielder by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison

[dadalo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Fish Wielder" by J.R.R.R. (Jim) Hardison.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Fish Wielder
by J. R. R. R. (Jim) Hardison
[amazon=]B01FGRFKV0[/amazon]

If you are a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan looking for an easy entertaining read, then Fish Wielder by J. R. R. R. (Jim) Hardison may be a book for you. The author does not take himself too seriously ("Rs are a mark of credibility and quality in the fantasy genre") and does not take the genre too seriously in this first of the Fish Wielder Trilogy.

The protagonist in this volume is the warrior Thoral Mighty Fist and I have to admit that sometimes early in the book he was referred to as "Fist Wielder" rather than the "Fish Wielder" which confused me until I really got into the story and had the plot and characters straight in my head. The fish is Thoral's sidekick, Brad, a talking Koi fish who follows along on the adventures and misadventures as the pair try to save the people of a land called Grome.

The funny thing about this is that magic and power do not come from sacred objects or people, but rather from special puddings. My immediate connection is not to the "Rs" (JRR Tolkien or George RR Martin) but rather Terry Pratchett, who wrote volumes about a world (the Discworld) that was fantasy, humor and satire rolled into one. I think the author's true calling is more Pratchett and less Tolkein or less Martin. At least I read it that way.

I had to read Fish Wielder twice. I did not “get it” the first time as I took it as a serious fantasy and I kept waiting for a story line to develop. The satire was not as immediately obvious to me as it it with Pratchett’s Discworld books. My experience is that when you open a Discworld volume, you know what you are getting into and I expect the satire throughout. It took me a long time to figure out that this was a satire, hence I had to go back and re-read the text.

I think the book was well edited, if there were errors, I didn't find any. I'd have to give the book 3 out of 4 stars; it was good, very amusing, but not the chuckling or laughter I'd get from a Pratchett novel. I would encourage the author to continue to write in this sub-genre of satirical fantasy which is probably largely unexplored. I would recommend the series to anyone interested in this niche in the genre and will look for the next two volumes myself.

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Fish Wielder
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