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Heretical Fishing #1
Heretical Fishing: A Cozy Guide to Annoying the Cults, Outsmarting the Fish, and Alienating Oneself
A world abandoned by the gods, mystifying cosmic forces, unimaginable power for those willing to ascend, and a hero who would rather . . . go fishing???
When summoned to a fantastical world and granted powers by a broken System, most freshly minted protagonists would strap on their big-boy boots and get ready for their stats to start climbing. But Fischer isn’t like most MCs. In fact, he doesn’t want to be a hero at all.
Fame? Fortune? Power? He had enough of all that in his old life. Discovering forbidden fishing techniques and petting every cute animal that comes within scritching distance? Now that’s a good time.
Unfortunately for Fischer, cosmic forces rarely care for mortal feelings. He’s hounded on all sides by inept cults, conspiring nobles, and more magical misunderstandings than those of a preteen relationship. Even his dutiful pet crab is firing energy blades like an anime antagonist.
So grab your fishing rod and a good snack, and pet your dog for me. The catch of a lifetime awaits!
The first volume of the laugh-out-loud LitRPG adventure series—a #1 Rising Star on Royal Road with over three million views—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!
When summoned to a fantastical world and granted powers by a broken System, most freshly minted protagonists would strap on their big-boy boots and get ready for their stats to start climbing. But Fischer isn’t like most MCs. In fact, he doesn’t want to be a hero at all.
Fame? Fortune? Power? He had enough of all that in his old life. Discovering forbidden fishing techniques and petting every cute animal that comes within scritching distance? Now that’s a good time.
Unfortunately for Fischer, cosmic forces rarely care for mortal feelings. He’s hounded on all sides by inept cults, conspiring nobles, and more magical misunderstandings than those of a preteen relationship. Even his dutiful pet crab is firing energy blades like an anime antagonist.
So grab your fishing rod and a good snack, and pet your dog for me. The catch of a lifetime awaits!
The first volume of the laugh-out-loud LitRPG adventure series—a #1 Rising Star on Royal Road with over three million views—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!
533 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 12, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
March 30, 2024
Fantastic! I recommend to all Beware of Chicken fans
99% of the time you go chasing a substitute for a one of a kind thing that you want more of, you are in for major disappointment.
...but... I've been jonesing for my BoC fix, so I gave this a try. I figured if it was half as good I'd be in a good place. Well let me tell you that I was not disappointed. I'm impressed!
This book is two thirds Beware of Chicken, one third Oh Great, I Reincarnated as a Farmer, and it has most of the charms of both.
Even if you've never read, or heard of those books... This is a great book all on it's own. If you like stories of good people, talking animals, and lots of charm this book is a treat.
(no, this is not a paid review.)
99% of the time you go chasing a substitute for a one of a kind thing that you want more of, you are in for major disappointment.
...but... I've been jonesing for my BoC fix, so I gave this a try. I figured if it was half as good I'd be in a good place. Well let me tell you that I was not disappointed. I'm impressed!
This book is two thirds Beware of Chicken, one third Oh Great, I Reincarnated as a Farmer, and it has most of the charms of both.
Even if you've never read, or heard of those books... This is a great book all on it's own. If you like stories of good people, talking animals, and lots of charm this book is a treat.
(no, this is not a paid review.)
April 2, 2024
A delightful slice of life.. proto-LitRPG. Looks like book 2 will be properly litRPG (the system needs energy first!) but book 1 was more like.. unconscious/accidental cultivation? idk, but any fan of LitRPG who likes Beware of Chicken absolutely must read this one, as it hits the same spot, but I didn't find it derivitive. While the overarching idea is very similar (if you switch farming for fishing), the characters are different enough (but equally lovable!) to not feel like "oh this is a copy" or anything like that. More like both authors wrote their books from the same genre prompt, if that makes sense?
I feel bad because this book deserves it's own review that's not just comparing it to Beware of Chicken, BUT, people comparing it on FB is *why* I picked it up, and I'm 1000% glad I did. My only complaint is that I've read this too early and now I'll have to wait for the next installment!
I feel bad because this book deserves it's own review that's not just comparing it to Beware of Chicken, BUT, people comparing it on FB is *why* I picked it up, and I'm 1000% glad I did. My only complaint is that I've read this too early and now I'll have to wait for the next installment!
April 20, 2024
I have read some of the other criticism about the book and will give a tangential nod of agreement while also disagreeing that it makes the book bad. If you want a serious book about cultivation, this book is not it. The main character's main form of communication is Aussie-isms and I find this hilarious but it is not for everyone. The final boss fight is a joke. The nobles are fat, vain, and terrible and it's insinuated they've gotten worse over time. The mayor constantly thinks the Mc is up to something when he really isn't which I also find funny. Read it all in 2 days, giggled many times, would read again.
June 21, 2024
Book one
This is one that I started reading on Royalroad. I'm going to be honest and say I find the story and the MC and his pets to be way to nice.
In the original things weren't that nice and the crab was a stone cold killer.
I'm just not sure if I want to keep reading the series.
I'm not saying it's badly written because it's very well written. It's just to cute for my taste.
It's on Royalroad and I will test out more of the story to see if it becomes a little less sunshine and rainbows.
7/10
This is one that I started reading on Royalroad. I'm going to be honest and say I find the story and the MC and his pets to be way to nice.
In the original things weren't that nice and the crab was a stone cold killer.
I'm just not sure if I want to keep reading the series.
I'm not saying it's badly written because it's very well written. It's just to cute for my taste.
It's on Royalroad and I will test out more of the story to see if it becomes a little less sunshine and rainbows.
7/10
March 13, 2024
This was a joy to read.
It was cozy and wholesome.
I don't even like fishing and I loved every second of this.
It was cozy and wholesome.
I don't even like fishing and I loved every second of this.
April 11, 2024
A Fun Read
This was great. Pacing and tone were excellent and the worldbuilding was stellar. Just enough mystery to hint at great things to come.
This was great. Pacing and tone were excellent and the worldbuilding was stellar. Just enough mystery to hint at great things to come.
May 8, 2024
Like a warm hug.
March 18, 2024
I don't know what to say to get people to read this story, but I think everyone that is into this genre should absolutely pick up this book.
If you listen to audiobooks, be aware that it has the same narrator as HWFWM's Jason Asano.
If you listen to audiobooks, be aware that it has the same narrator as HWFWM's Jason Asano.
April 1, 2024
A very good start.
With one tiny caveat. Trying to be hard near the end doesn't work so well with such soft characters. The sudden shift causes a bit of dissonance.
With one tiny caveat. Trying to be hard near the end doesn't work so well with such soft characters. The sudden shift causes a bit of dissonance.
March 31, 2024
This hit my radar as being "similar to Beware of Chicken". Which did this a disservice as I was expecting charm, wit, and heart. It has none of these things.
I knew I was in trouble when we started meeting the people in charge. The "nobles" are obese. Not Rubenesque, obese. Morbidly obese and they code that as attractive. Which fine, that can be a thing. Only it makes no sense in the setting. The problem is that nobles, particularly in a feudal society like this one is, are the warrior caste. So having them be not just obese, but desperately venal as well had me looking around for where the power structure lay that would underpin this gross (heh) imbalance (heheh) in privilege.
I wish it hadn't turned out to be slavery of the "cultivators". There's this collar thing that subverts their power, somehow. Because magic or something. And that made everything fifteen times worse because these gross, venal, self-involved, self-indulgent cretins are lounging on the back of super-slaves. And I'm sorry, but that makes every other cue for a light-hearted tone into something desperately tone-deaf. At least for this reader.
And since I had already realized that Fischer's interactions with people were pretty much all surface anyway, and that his version of "charm" is using Aussie colloquialisms non-stop despite nobody understanding them, and that the author's view of how economics works is, in a word, limited, well, it added up to a big fat dnf with a one-star chaser.
Slavery is a big fat hairy deal. And that puts it at odds with the tone/direction of this story at its start. Fischer is defined by his desire to maintain a laid-back lifestyle centered around fishing. Slavery is a hard counter to that tone and in a major way. Even if this story shifts to Fischer becoming a big ole abolitionist and freeing all the slaves, that's tone-whiplash from where we started. And if the story is anything else, it's a stupid travesty and Fischer is a waste of space who doesn't the deserve leisure, rest, or good times that are his chief preoccupation.
I knew I was in trouble when we started meeting the people in charge. The "nobles" are obese. Not Rubenesque, obese. Morbidly obese and they code that as attractive. Which fine, that can be a thing. Only it makes no sense in the setting. The problem is that nobles, particularly in a feudal society like this one is, are the warrior caste. So having them be not just obese, but desperately venal as well had me looking around for where the power structure lay that would underpin this gross (heh) imbalance (heheh) in privilege.
I wish it hadn't turned out to be slavery of the "cultivators". There's this collar thing that subverts their power, somehow. Because magic or something. And that made everything fifteen times worse because these gross, venal, self-involved, self-indulgent cretins are lounging on the back of super-slaves. And I'm sorry, but that makes every other cue for a light-hearted tone into something desperately tone-deaf. At least for this reader.
And since I had already realized that Fischer's interactions with people were pretty much all surface anyway, and that his version of "charm" is using Aussie colloquialisms non-stop despite nobody understanding them, and that the author's view of how economics works is, in a word, limited, well, it added up to a big fat dnf with a one-star chaser.
Slavery is a big fat hairy deal. And that puts it at odds with the tone/direction of this story at its start. Fischer is defined by his desire to maintain a laid-back lifestyle centered around fishing. Slavery is a hard counter to that tone and in a major way. Even if this story shifts to Fischer becoming a big ole abolitionist and freeing all the slaves, that's tone-whiplash from where we started. And if the story is anything else, it's a stupid travesty and Fischer is a waste of space who doesn't the deserve leisure, rest, or good times that are his chief preoccupation.
July 11, 2024
This scratched the Beware of Chicken itch in the best way. Yeah, it's tropey, but it's just really well done and a heck of a lot of fun.
June 23, 2024
Unique, interesting, and wonderful. Read it in KU, then purchased it - love for the book, and support for a local author.
May 16, 2024
Unfortunately for me, I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I hadn't read it immediately after Beware of Chicken. The books were very similar but the former is a new favourite so this book didn't get it's fair shot!
If you really love the BoC vibes though, this book had a lot of similar elements. We did get to learn a lot about the main characters backstory, see him collect some fishy beast friends, navigate weird cults and make friends. My favourite parts were George constantly misunderstanding Fischer's motives, I loved it a lot.
I very much have to agree with another reviewer though - once you introduce slavery you leave cozy fantasy behind. Either the main character has to fight the system, which isn't cozy; or they are going to ignore the problem which makes them someone to despise. I am looking forward to book 2, but I will have less cozy expectations!
If you really love the BoC vibes though, this book had a lot of similar elements. We did get to learn a lot about the main characters backstory, see him collect some fishy beast friends, navigate weird cults and make friends. My favourite parts were George constantly misunderstanding Fischer's motives, I loved it a lot.
I very much have to agree with another reviewer though - once you introduce slavery you leave cozy fantasy behind. Either the main character has to fight the system, which isn't cozy; or they are going to ignore the problem which makes them someone to despise. I am looking forward to book 2, but I will have less cozy expectations!
March 17, 2024
The MC used to be an outstanding entrepreneur, master of negotiation. In his new life he decided to follow his shrink advice to "trust people". Got scammed during the first transaction.
Train of thought and conversations with other characters felt too simplistic. Dropped at 6%
Train of thought and conversations with other characters felt too simplistic. Dropped at 6%
July 12, 2024
This book is a little undercooked because of the lack of a better term. I don't think the book does anything wrong specifically that makes this book terrible. But neither does it do anything exceptionally well. There must be a draw or reason to get me invested in the book. Yes, even in a slice of life. This book has a plot, but I think it fails to capitalise on it. The plot doesn't develop satisfyingly, and as the reader, I sort of sat waiting for the other shoe to drop only to realise it never would.
People are comparing this book with Beware of Chicken, which I have also read, and yes, it's an apt comparison. The early plot points are nearly one-to-one. Yet, I believe that BOC is still able to develop the story in a way that this one fails to do. Sure, fishing is fine. But develop it in a timely manner. I think I got halfway through the book, and the MC had only managed to catch an uncommon fish. NO. You gotta hook your readers. Stuff needs to develop, and it's gotta happen before the first half of the book cause nobody is getting through to the end on simple trust that something will happen. Throw a couple of curve balls. Make Fisher be wrong about something, or go spearfishing or be pressed or unnerved by someone in the village. His ability to take everything at face value and shrug his way through every problem is fun at first, but it does get boring quickly. At least have him lose a few interactions. Because as a reader, I know how the verbal sparing match is going to end by the first sentence. Being a slice of life shouldn't mean being predictable. I won't go so far as to say that it's boring. There are some fun bits in the story. But they have to develop, and I don't feel like they did in a timely manner.
Perhaps I also don't have the luxury of the novelty of the Australian cultural perspective being Australian myself. I'd guess it would be more engaging if I was unfamiliar with the culture. But I grew up in it, so it didn't seem that special to me.
Also, why are the gods just ripped right out of Earth's mythology? I'm guessing there's a plot explanation somewhere in the future, but it comes across as lazy early on.
At least, that's my opinion.
People are comparing this book with Beware of Chicken, which I have also read, and yes, it's an apt comparison. The early plot points are nearly one-to-one. Yet, I believe that BOC is still able to develop the story in a way that this one fails to do. Sure, fishing is fine. But develop it in a timely manner. I think I got halfway through the book, and the MC had only managed to catch an uncommon fish. NO. You gotta hook your readers. Stuff needs to develop, and it's gotta happen before the first half of the book cause nobody is getting through to the end on simple trust that something will happen. Throw a couple of curve balls. Make Fisher be wrong about something, or go spearfishing or be pressed or unnerved by someone in the village. His ability to take everything at face value and shrug his way through every problem is fun at first, but it does get boring quickly. At least have him lose a few interactions. Because as a reader, I know how the verbal sparing match is going to end by the first sentence. Being a slice of life shouldn't mean being predictable. I won't go so far as to say that it's boring. There are some fun bits in the story. But they have to develop, and I don't feel like they did in a timely manner.
Perhaps I also don't have the luxury of the novelty of the Australian cultural perspective being Australian myself. I'd guess it would be more engaging if I was unfamiliar with the culture. But I grew up in it, so it didn't seem that special to me.
Also, why are the gods just ripped right out of Earth's mythology? I'm guessing there's a plot explanation somewhere in the future, but it comes across as lazy early on.
At least, that's my opinion.
July 18, 2024
It started at a five star then went to a four star after it started to feel like it was dragging on. Then by the near end it was a three because our MC is only going to fish which means his companions will be doing all of the leg work for the heroics of this series.
It was good but he started to feel incompetent and pointless to the storyline. He is more of a side character than the side characters are.
It was good but he started to feel incompetent and pointless to the storyline. He is more of a side character than the side characters are.
May 8, 2024
I slept on this
Late to the party. And it’s a fun party.
Not a lot of over-the-top humor; not really laugh out loud. But fun all the same.
From the odd names for animal friends to the paranoia of the ruling class, the comparison to the novel Beware of Chicken is unmistakable. But don’t think this is a straight copy/clone. This takes its own unique path.
Going to buy book 2 now. That’s the recommendation.
Late to the party. And it’s a fun party.
Not a lot of over-the-top humor; not really laugh out loud. But fun all the same.
From the odd names for animal friends to the paranoia of the ruling class, the comparison to the novel Beware of Chicken is unmistakable. But don’t think this is a straight copy/clone. This takes its own unique path.
Going to buy book 2 now. That’s the recommendation.
March 27, 2024
There are a few things I need for me to at least finish a book, the main character needs to not annoy me, the story and plot needs to be entertaining and the world building needs to make some sort of sense. The characters are fine, a bit simple but acceptable, but the world is just bad. In a slice of life book like this, were the drama and pressure on the story is based on outside pressure being put on the character, then it needs to be solid world which this is not. Trying to figure out how this world works takes me out of the story since their are plot points on how the MC would be able to accomplish his goals, for example selling pearls but based on how the city he lives in how do nobles acquire money, the economy seems to be based on a agricultural setting, are the people serfs, but they act like they are basically in a capitalist society similar to modern day... and I can go on. The lack of people utilizing the sea (food, economics, travel, etc..) because it is simply frowned upon was just stupid, why even have a town close to the sea?
Maybe if this was a silly comedy I could get past the bad world building, but with the plot revolving around these things, I struggled to get halfway before I dropped it.
Maybe if this was a silly comedy I could get past the bad world building, but with the plot revolving around these things, I struggled to get halfway before I dropped it.
April 29, 2024
(In progress) Cute and cozy as expected. Not too tropey as to be annoying.
May 27, 2024
Cozy is correct. A fresh feel for what is technically a LitRPG but really just a story about a Fischer wanting to live up to his new namesake, and meet a bunch of villager friends along the way.
June 15, 2024
This was so fun and cozy and refreshing for its genre! I can't wait for the next one, I really enjoyed this.
July 5, 2024
This is fantastic. Read it! Nothing else to say
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
July 19, 2024LitRPG isn’t my thing. I liked the cover and read the prologue, but am not interested in it. No harm done, on to the next book.
June 3, 2024
It's okay I guess.
The world building is good I think? A lot of aspects are sort of solid, but the problem is that the author spends such a small amount of time on anything actually interesting or important. I get that the book is slice of life, but it's extremely frustrating when we get these tiny hints of interesting things, and then the main character just shrugs and goes "yay fishing". He's obviously intelligent, and this is shown in the book, but whenever anything happens outside of his extremely narrow band of interests, he willfully ignores it. He can literally perform superhuman feats of strength/skill/whatever and just go "I hope this will let me fish better". Like jeez it was annoying.
The humor mostly lands, although it's a bit.. dumb? Like the kind of humor teens would find funny (not that I don't find it funny, but you definitely notice the style).
The book is enjoyable I guess.. Just very shallow (pun intended).
The world building is good I think? A lot of aspects are sort of solid, but the problem is that the author spends such a small amount of time on anything actually interesting or important. I get that the book is slice of life, but it's extremely frustrating when we get these tiny hints of interesting things, and then the main character just shrugs and goes "yay fishing". He's obviously intelligent, and this is shown in the book, but whenever anything happens outside of his extremely narrow band of interests, he willfully ignores it. He can literally perform superhuman feats of strength/skill/whatever and just go "I hope this will let me fish better". Like jeez it was annoying.
The humor mostly lands, although it's a bit.. dumb? Like the kind of humor teens would find funny (not that I don't find it funny, but you definitely notice the style).
The book is enjoyable I guess.. Just very shallow (pun intended).
July 14, 2024
Good cozy fantasy
It was a decent read, a bit uneven in pacing but not enough to drag the book down. The setting is new and writing is easy to read and follow.
The characters need more personal development. We see more of it in the ascended creatures than the MC which was my major gripe.
Also, not being a fan of seafood may have made me appreciate the book a bit less than others might.
It was a decent read, a bit uneven in pacing but not enough to drag the book down. The setting is new and writing is easy to read and follow.
The characters need more personal development. We see more of it in the ascended creatures than the MC which was my major gripe.
Also, not being a fan of seafood may have made me appreciate the book a bit less than others might.
July 11, 2024
This has just become one of my favorite LitRPGs of all time! The perfect cozy pallet cleanser!
May 22, 2024
Rating 3.5 stars
It is impossible to rate this book without comparing it to Beware of Chicken and to a lesser extent He who fights with monsters. That comparison ends up being bad for this book. Beware of Chickens is on my favorites list. This book tries to be that but falls short of the mark. In Beware of Chicken I walked away with profound advice on life that stayed with me for a long time. In this book there was a couple of points that were made that I found interesting but forgot within a couple of minutes. In Beware of Chicken I had a wide smile on my face most of the time and I laughed out loud a couple of times. For this one I had a slight smirk on my face every now and then but the jokes were things more like Dad jokes. Everything in Beware of Chicken felt organic in its progression. This one felt more forced. When one of the characters in this book told one of those "dad jokes", the other characters would be rolling on the floor laughing with tears in their eyes. Reactions like that are the "forced" thing I am talking about.
Now as far as the comparison to He Who Fights with Monsters it is more because both Jason Asano and the main character in this book are from australia and it is the same narrator for the audiobook. They both use idioms and vernacular from that part of the world but there is a difference. Jason Asano did it with a purpose. He was trying to put people off from their expectations. He wanted to come across as an eccentric and maybe a little stupid to get an advantage. Fisher, the main character in this book, just thought it was funny. I can see forgetting every once and a while and letting weird phrases slip through. He made no effort to downplay his differences and just expected everybody else to conform to him.
The story itself is okay. Guy was the head of a business empire on earth when he got tired of it and quit and then decided to go fishing. He went fishing once and liked how it felt. He then got hit by a car and was sent to a new world. Overall I wouldn't call this one a miss, I still enjoyed it. I might pick up the next one in the series depending on how many books are on my reading list when it comes out.
It is impossible to rate this book without comparing it to Beware of Chicken and to a lesser extent He who fights with monsters. That comparison ends up being bad for this book. Beware of Chickens is on my favorites list. This book tries to be that but falls short of the mark. In Beware of Chicken I walked away with profound advice on life that stayed with me for a long time. In this book there was a couple of points that were made that I found interesting but forgot within a couple of minutes. In Beware of Chicken I had a wide smile on my face most of the time and I laughed out loud a couple of times. For this one I had a slight smirk on my face every now and then but the jokes were things more like Dad jokes. Everything in Beware of Chicken felt organic in its progression. This one felt more forced. When one of the characters in this book told one of those "dad jokes", the other characters would be rolling on the floor laughing with tears in their eyes. Reactions like that are the "forced" thing I am talking about.
Now as far as the comparison to He Who Fights with Monsters it is more because both Jason Asano and the main character in this book are from australia and it is the same narrator for the audiobook. They both use idioms and vernacular from that part of the world but there is a difference. Jason Asano did it with a purpose. He was trying to put people off from their expectations. He wanted to come across as an eccentric and maybe a little stupid to get an advantage. Fisher, the main character in this book, just thought it was funny. I can see forgetting every once and a while and letting weird phrases slip through. He made no effort to downplay his differences and just expected everybody else to conform to him.
The story itself is okay. Guy was the head of a business empire on earth when he got tired of it and quit and then decided to go fishing. He went fishing once and liked how it felt. He then got hit by a car and was sent to a new world. Overall I wouldn't call this one a miss, I still enjoyed it. I might pick up the next one in the series depending on how many books are on my reading list when it comes out.
May 8, 2024
This book is like one of those children of celebrity couples who try to follow in the footsteps of their parents but only have a fraction of their talent. There are hints of promise there, but it's hard to separate talent from the familiarity we have with their parents, who were celebrities for a reason.
In this case, the celebrity couple is Beware of Chicken and He Who Fights with Monsters. The issue is that while the offspring of that couple shows similarity to its parents, it fails to understand what made them great.
For example, the protagonist is an Australian man who wakes up to find himself in another world. He is a fan of using modern Australian colloquialisms and references to our world to confuse the residents of the world he is now living in. The issue is that where Jason Asano (the protagonist from He Who Fights with Monsters) used these traits as a coping mechanism to deal with the overwhelming strangeness of the world around him and to keep people off balance so that he can buy himself some room to adapt, here the protagonist is simply doing it because he finds it fun.
Another example is that this book contains newly awakened spirit animals who have an instant attachment to the protagonist and a desire to do amazing things in his name. When this happens in Beware of Chicken, the animals are slow to come to awareness, using Jin as their role model to find their place in the world and gaining their idiosyncrasies by misunderstanding what they think are his lessons for them. It's a natural and humourous progression that leads them to the quirky characters they will become. It is organic storytelling, which is not at all what happens here. The spirit animals here snap into instant awareness with their personalities fully formed.
The most important example is how the Fishing element is brought in from Beware of Chicken. In that series, Jin wants to escape the dangers of the cultivator lifestyle and seeks a simpler life in farming. However, his simple mantra of giving to the land and the land gives back sets him on a path to great power for him and all those he brings on this path with him. The power comes from learning that you get out of life what you put into it, and that the best rewards in life come from working in harmony with the world, not fighting against it. In this book, there is none of that deeper meaning. The main character does not want to live another life spent just chasing wealth and money, and instead just wants to go fishing all the time. In this world, fishing is heretical because the gods of the sea caused the other gods to leave the world, so it is frowned upon. However, for some reason, those who do fish get powerful in this world.
Now, granted, I didn't read past the halfway mark, but there is no hint of anything more subtle happening here or any other deeper meaning, and there really should have been some clues of that by now if there was going to be something. Any changes would be a retcon, as far as I'm concerned at this point.
There are countless more examples littered throughout this book, and soon I realised that, like with those celebrity children, this simply would not be interesting unless it could find a way to be something more than a lesser copy of its more impressive parents.
I was about 50% into this book when I realised that none of the characters felt all that real to me, I was not at all invested in the main character's journey, and the only thing keeping me reading the book was that I loved the series it models itself on, and I was hoping to find another story of similar quality. Sadly, what we get is a lesser copy of Beware of Chicken that uses fishing instead of farming combined with some lesser copies of a protagonist and some situations from He Who Fights with Monsters. It does well enough that if you haven't read those books, this might hook you more than it did me, but ultimately it was, at best, a 2.5-star read that I'll round up to account for personal taste.
In this case, the celebrity couple is Beware of Chicken and He Who Fights with Monsters. The issue is that while the offspring of that couple shows similarity to its parents, it fails to understand what made them great.
For example, the protagonist is an Australian man who wakes up to find himself in another world. He is a fan of using modern Australian colloquialisms and references to our world to confuse the residents of the world he is now living in. The issue is that where Jason Asano (the protagonist from He Who Fights with Monsters) used these traits as a coping mechanism to deal with the overwhelming strangeness of the world around him and to keep people off balance so that he can buy himself some room to adapt, here the protagonist is simply doing it because he finds it fun.
Another example is that this book contains newly awakened spirit animals who have an instant attachment to the protagonist and a desire to do amazing things in his name. When this happens in Beware of Chicken, the animals are slow to come to awareness, using Jin as their role model to find their place in the world and gaining their idiosyncrasies by misunderstanding what they think are his lessons for them. It's a natural and humourous progression that leads them to the quirky characters they will become. It is organic storytelling, which is not at all what happens here. The spirit animals here snap into instant awareness with their personalities fully formed.
The most important example is how the Fishing element is brought in from Beware of Chicken. In that series, Jin wants to escape the dangers of the cultivator lifestyle and seeks a simpler life in farming. However, his simple mantra of giving to the land and the land gives back sets him on a path to great power for him and all those he brings on this path with him. The power comes from learning that you get out of life what you put into it, and that the best rewards in life come from working in harmony with the world, not fighting against it. In this book, there is none of that deeper meaning. The main character does not want to live another life spent just chasing wealth and money, and instead just wants to go fishing all the time. In this world, fishing is heretical because the gods of the sea caused the other gods to leave the world, so it is frowned upon. However, for some reason, those who do fish get powerful in this world.
Now, granted, I didn't read past the halfway mark, but there is no hint of anything more subtle happening here or any other deeper meaning, and there really should have been some clues of that by now if there was going to be something. Any changes would be a retcon, as far as I'm concerned at this point.
There are countless more examples littered throughout this book, and soon I realised that, like with those celebrity children, this simply would not be interesting unless it could find a way to be something more than a lesser copy of its more impressive parents.
I was about 50% into this book when I realised that none of the characters felt all that real to me, I was not at all invested in the main character's journey, and the only thing keeping me reading the book was that I loved the series it models itself on, and I was hoping to find another story of similar quality. Sadly, what we get is a lesser copy of Beware of Chicken that uses fishing instead of farming combined with some lesser copies of a protagonist and some situations from He Who Fights with Monsters. It does well enough that if you haven't read those books, this might hook you more than it did me, but ultimately it was, at best, a 2.5-star read that I'll round up to account for personal taste.
July 21, 2024
Easily one of my favorites. I loved the relaxing, comforting energy that is woven throughout this book. The characters are all vibrant and interesting, the setting is interesting and the story itself is an excellent study in the long term ramifications of a refusal of the call. Absolutely brilliant.
Nitty gritty, spoiler filled, jucy bits:
Story: in general I'm in love with this story. The idea of a true refusal of the call trope is fascinating to me. In these fantasy Isekai's it's typically just a hero's journey with added steps. And often a hero will refuse the call, only to be dragged in, kicking and screaming more often than not. So to have a true refusal? Fascinating.
My one critical opinion is that, because this book's tone is usually light and low stakes, it really really caught me off guard with the scene involving the cultivators fighting the gang of ascendant beings. I was actually so triggered that it caused a panic attack. But I think I know why now.
Until this point, the stakes in the book were minimal. Probably the only 'real' problem was Sharon being on her death bed, which we could've inferred was going to be cured bc of how it had been foreshadowed. So when that cultivator scene with the Prince almost enslaving Barry's wife? And then a blood thirsty cultivator ordered to kill the main character's pets/family? It truly felt like a punch to the gut. Like a family member was shot at Thanksgiving.
In my opinion, there wasn't enough of foreshadowing of the battle focused aspects that followed that scene. We always knew they were strong but we didn't get many scenes of violence prior to this.
Now I recognize this night have been exactly what the author intended. And if so, 5 stars. But that sudden tonal shift was not my cup of tea. I still love this book, so no disrespect to the author at all; I would've just appreciated a scene or two of more violence prior to this.
Second critique: Fisher. This story is told from Fisher's POV and then hops to others occasionally. But it is Fisher's sorry. And yet there weren't any indicators that showed Fisher was aware of the Church of Fisher or any of its members doings. The scene where he confronts the gang after finding cinnamon felt weird. Out of character. And kinda forced to me.
It makes sense. He was molded to be a CEO. I can understand that he is smart enough. But I would've liked a scene where he notices and blatantly ignores what's in front of him. And if there is one, and I'm missing it, I apologize. But none come to mind.
Other than those two points, I adored this slice of Zen. I typically don't get too nit picky about lighter toned novels bc it feels like writing a homework assignment on your vacation. And who likes that? Haha.
Thank you author for your delightful story. I'm excited to see where things go in book 2.
Nitty gritty, spoiler filled, jucy bits:
Story: in general I'm in love with this story. The idea of a true refusal of the call trope is fascinating to me. In these fantasy Isekai's it's typically just a hero's journey with added steps. And often a hero will refuse the call, only to be dragged in, kicking and screaming more often than not. So to have a true refusal? Fascinating.
My one critical opinion is that, because this book's tone is usually light and low stakes, it really really caught me off guard with the scene involving the cultivators fighting the gang of ascendant beings. I was actually so triggered that it caused a panic attack. But I think I know why now.
Until this point, the stakes in the book were minimal. Probably the only 'real' problem was Sharon being on her death bed, which we could've inferred was going to be cured bc of how it had been foreshadowed. So when that cultivator scene with the Prince almost enslaving Barry's wife? And then a blood thirsty cultivator ordered to kill the main character's pets/family? It truly felt like a punch to the gut. Like a family member was shot at Thanksgiving.
In my opinion, there wasn't enough of foreshadowing of the battle focused aspects that followed that scene. We always knew they were strong but we didn't get many scenes of violence prior to this.
Now I recognize this night have been exactly what the author intended. And if so, 5 stars. But that sudden tonal shift was not my cup of tea. I still love this book, so no disrespect to the author at all; I would've just appreciated a scene or two of more violence prior to this.
Second critique: Fisher. This story is told from Fisher's POV and then hops to others occasionally. But it is Fisher's sorry. And yet there weren't any indicators that showed Fisher was aware of the Church of Fisher or any of its members doings. The scene where he confronts the gang after finding cinnamon felt weird. Out of character. And kinda forced to me.
It makes sense. He was molded to be a CEO. I can understand that he is smart enough. But I would've liked a scene where he notices and blatantly ignores what's in front of him. And if there is one, and I'm missing it, I apologize. But none come to mind.
Other than those two points, I adored this slice of Zen. I typically don't get too nit picky about lighter toned novels bc it feels like writing a homework assignment on your vacation. And who likes that? Haha.
Thank you author for your delightful story. I'm excited to see where things go in book 2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2024
I picked this up because it was compared to Beware of Chicken...
Beware of chicken is a clever deconstruction / commentary on the Xianxia genre with the attitude of the sects and MCs farm animals constantly held up in contrast to MCs much more relaxed and zen form of wisdom. It features a world that makes sense and both MC and the chicken trying to figure out how they fit into it.
This book has none of that. MC somehow charms everyone just by constantly using Australian slang for no reason. Despite being an incredibly powerful cultivator with the power to change the world around him, he just wants to fish and doesn't seem to care that the other cultivators are all enslaved. When his friends and spirit animals set about to protect him and his town from slavery he says "good idea guys but I don't want to hear anything about it or be involved in any way so do whatever is needed without me" even though his best friends brother was a slave for most of the book and only recently freed.
Its basically the antithesis of "with great power comes great responsibility" but both the author and everyone around him totally ignore the idea that having super powers and just ignoring the slavery around you because you'd rather fish doesn't really make you the great guy that everyone seems to think he is. During the climatic battle the MC is drunk off his ass and accidentally kicks the enemy once, thus saving the day.
Finally the humor is actually not particularly funny most of the time (its a mix of dad jokes and confusion over Australian slang) but the characters are supposedly literally falling over laughing, every single time someone eats a bite of anything there is a lengthy description of how delicious it is with a lot of moaning.
People comparing this to BoC makes me sad because it makes me think they didn't actually understand Beware of Chicken at all lol.
Beware of chicken is a clever deconstruction / commentary on the Xianxia genre with the attitude of the sects and MCs farm animals constantly held up in contrast to MCs much more relaxed and zen form of wisdom. It features a world that makes sense and both MC and the chicken trying to figure out how they fit into it.
This book has none of that. MC somehow charms everyone just by constantly using Australian slang for no reason. Despite being an incredibly powerful cultivator with the power to change the world around him, he just wants to fish and doesn't seem to care that the other cultivators are all enslaved. When his friends and spirit animals set about to protect him and his town from slavery he says "good idea guys but I don't want to hear anything about it or be involved in any way so do whatever is needed without me" even though his best friends brother was a slave for most of the book and only recently freed.
Its basically the antithesis of "with great power comes great responsibility" but both the author and everyone around him totally ignore the idea that having super powers and just ignoring the slavery around you because you'd rather fish doesn't really make you the great guy that everyone seems to think he is. During the climatic battle the MC is drunk off his ass and accidentally kicks the enemy once, thus saving the day.
Finally the humor is actually not particularly funny most of the time (its a mix of dad jokes and confusion over Australian slang) but the characters are supposedly literally falling over laughing, every single time someone eats a bite of anything there is a lengthy description of how delicious it is with a lot of moaning.
People comparing this to BoC makes me sad because it makes me think they didn't actually understand Beware of Chicken at all lol.
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