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Synopsis (From Goodreads):
Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a hero, the Chosen One, was born . . . and so begins every fairy tale ever told.
This is not that fairy tale.
There is a Chosen One, but he is unlike any One who has ever been Chosened.
And there is a faraway kingdom, but you have never been to a magical world quite like the land of Pell.
There, a plucky farm boy will find more than he's bargained for on his quest to awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. First there's the Dark Lord who wishes for the boy's untimely death . . . and also very fine cheese. Then there's a bard without a song in her heart but with a very adorable and fuzzy tail, an assassin who fears not the night but is terrified of chickens, and a mighty fighter more frightened of her sword than of her chain-mail bikini. This journey will lead to sinister umlauts, a trash-talking goat, the Dread Necromancer Steve, and a strange and wondrous journey to the most peculiar "happily ever after" that ever once-upon-a-timed.
Review:
It's hard to categorize Kill The Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne. Is this a fantasy? A tall tale? I don't know the official genre, but I think I would call this novel a fairy-tale parody.
This makes it tough for me to review. I know it is meant to be a tongue in cheek sort of book. There are puns-o-plenty, and lots of spoofs of various fairy tales. But this also made it difficult for me to empathize with the characters. And I wasn't sure about how "worthy" the quest (which was at the center of this novel) was.
What I Liked:
Puns and parodies:There were so many funny puns, and riffs from the names of the characters, such as the Sand Witch, to the chapter titles like, Under The Perilous Polar of Personal Problems. This set the entire tone of the book.
There were many funny bits that lampooned various fairy tales such as Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty, along with generous references to William Goldman's The Princess Bride. All of these were very entertaining.
Characters:
While I had a hard time connecting to most of the characters, I did really enjoy Argabella, and Fia. Argabella is a half rabbit, half woman, who has been stuck as the only awake person in a castle where everyone has fallen asleep. She is shy, and anxious, rather like a rabbit (hmm). Argabella also has daddy issues. Fia is completely opposite. She is a seven-foot tall warrior who is a confident killing machine. But she is starting to develop a conscience, feeling bad about most of her killing ways.
I love how a relationship develops with these two. I found it lovely that their personalities complimented each other. I also appreciated that each character was fully-developed. They weren't defined by just their sexuality.
Food:
I think the authors must have made a habit of writing on an empty stomach, because the descriptions of food are epic! It helps that one of the characters seems to be a gourmand. Every chance there is, the authors go out of their way to describe all the delectable dishes and delicacies.
What I Didn't Like:
Story:While there were some fun characters, they kind of meandered around. They were on a quest of some kind, but there didn't seem to be a compelling goal to strive for. The series of adventures the characters have don't seem to have much of a point, either. They go somewhere, they get attacked by some colorful characters, and then they move on. I wish there was more of a reason for the quest, for each of the characters.
Rating:
Release Date: July 24th, 2018
Author: Delilah S. Dawson, and Kevin Hearne
Publisher: Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy
Page Length: 384 pages
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Book
Recommendation:
This is a fun, but very lighthearted, book. I was hoping for a bit more gravitas.
Hmm...I like parodies, maybe the authors read The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones. :-D
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