Haylock Jobson

That was highly entertaining and enjoyable.

Fischer, recently dead from our world, finds himself transported into a fantasy world. Given a second chance at life Fischer decides it's time to relax and just fish. Little does he know that since the Gods have left, fishing is considered a heretical activity and farming the choice of life in the small town of Tropica. Good thing Fischer is such a likable guy and helpful to his neighbors.

I enjoyed this blend of cultivator/isekai/litrpg cozy show more fantasy. The stakes are pretty low and Fischer is a likable character to follow around as we learn about this new world. The litrpg elements are very minor as the mysterious system seems... broken? It wouldn't be a cultivation fantasy without ascended animals and the ones of which Fischer encounters being absolutely adorable and charming. There is just the right amount of conflict that I enjoy when reading cozy fantasy - enough to make the story interesting while still remaining low stakes enough, mostly revolving around misunderstandings that I found humorous, to be a relaxing read. It was just what I needed to read right now.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Heath Miller. Miller does a great job of bringing the story to life. show less

Maybe it was a mistake listening to the audiobook version of this, but the Aussie larakin who just wants to get along with everyone grated on every nerve you have by the end of the third chapter.

In your experience, any bloke who sounds like Fischer is usually complaining about Aboriginal people, his ex-wife and the do-gooders who want to stop live exports. They are not benevolent ex-billionaires with mysterious survivalist skills that are never really explained.

You enjoyed the world show more building elements of the book - the cults, the disappeared gods, the mysterious currency, etc. But for some reason the author's insistence on making everything as twee as possible undermined your ability to get really into it. So many "and then we all laughed and laughed and laughed until tears were pouring down our faces". And endless descriptions of cuddling and patting various animal companions who are mindlessly loyal to their ocker overlord.

You were really engaged with the mysteries of the world - the kingdom kidnapping the cultivators, the disappeared gods, the villagers who keep assuming Fischer is someone he isn't, etc. But the slog to get to the answers through some kind of Nice Guy Finishes First Fantasy novel is agonising. show less

Very cute and creative, yet very tedious and cheesy story, whose length could have easily been halved - and I wish it had been, as this entire book was setting up the actual plot in the rest of the series, which I don’t think I’ll be reading. The writing was frustrating to me at times and I don’t think I would have finished it if I weren’t listening via audiobook.
I am interested in where the story will lead, but not enough to actually read the next one. So if the story were show more condensed and what is being set up actually happened, I would be a happier customer.
I would like to think it would be far more enjoyable to me if I were passionate and knowledgeable about fishing, but I know that wouldn’t make up for my issues with the pacing and dialogue.
I will give it credit for containing one of my favorite tropes, which is when the imbecile villain gets bested by the hero at every turn, but the oblivious hero isn’t even trying and has no idea what’s going on. show less

Not quite as good as the first one yet still enjoyable. There's not nearly enough fishing and too much orgasmic food eating lol That ending has me wanting to see where things go next for Fischer and friends.