Kill the Farm Boy - Review

Author: Delilah S Dawson

Genre: Fantasy / Satire

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

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.

OH MY GOD! Honestly I had no idea what I was getting into with this book. I knew the cover was cute and the plot sounded ridiculous in the best. It promised to give me Terry Pratchett and Princess Bride vibes, and it did not disappoint. In fact it was a literal laugh out loud book. I got some looks reading this on this beach, on the bus, and on my lunch break. 

This was my first book by both authors, Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson. After devouring Kill the Farm Boy, I'll have to give some of their other books a try. Now on to the story.

Firstly, the writing is so smooth. I snagged an early copy of this through Emerald City Comic-Con, so it wasn't a finished project. I never had a moment where you could tell two different people had their pens in this story. It all just flowed so well and the characters were not one note, and honestly there wasn't a dull moment. Never a point where it was easy to put down. This is definitely a one more chapter book.

I fell asleep in this one a lot, just face first into it.

Uhm, what next... Ah, let's talk story. At the base of it, Kill the Farm Boy follows the guide to must any other action adventure. Only, not really. While the band of heroes is off to right a wrong, it's not really the wrong you think.  It's a fun story full of missteps and daring escapes, of magic, and fun. And, just a tiny bit of love.

The cast of characters was also fun. Between our Dark Lord Toby who isn't quite the Dark Lord he wants to be. To our assassin who just wants to grow roses and find some peace, and Agrabella is both Beauty and the Beast thanks to the Sand Witch. Oh, and of course our "Chosen One". That one didn't work out how Staph meant it too... Also I felt like each character showed a bit of growth throughout the story. Some more than others, but let's be honest, that's just life. Grinda remained my least favorite though the whole story, though. I just don't trust the Sand Witch. My favorite character hands down his Gustave. His sense of humor is on the dryer side, which I love. Also, he always seems to be eating. Something I'm always doing. 

Each page is filled to call outs to other famous Fantasy Works: Princess Bride, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Conan the Barbarian, etc. As a kid who grew on all those movies and books it was fun to spot them. And, the cover was right, it's very much in the vein of two of my favorite, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. 

All-in-all it was a fun romp through Pell. I'm super excited that there's a second book to the series. I honestly wasn't ready to say good-bye to the characters or to Pell. 

Buy, Borrow, or Skip: Guys! Guys! Dudes!! Buy this one. Just for the map inside of it alone, it's amazing. I've already added this to half a dozen of my friends TBR. Two of which who were stuck with texting them passages as I went. DO IT!!

HAPPY READING!!