There's witches, curses, a warrior, a Darkling Lord, a woman half bunny rabbit, a goat, a farm boy, fairies, elves, trolls and more in this story. It's most irreverent, very busy and keeps you reading. I liked it!

Del Rey and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It is scheduled to publish on July 17th.

An evil fairy visits the farm boy and tells him he's the chosen one. He has to wake the princess in the tower from her sleep. When he gets there, the thorns are almost more than he can conquer. But he's not the only one there. A woman warrior wants in and since she can't find the door, she's going to scale the wall. Part way up the tower, she falls. Unfortunately, she falls on the farm kid killing him. She feels bad and takes him up with wall with her, laying him on the bed next to the sleeping princess.

He had a goat with him and when she leaves the tower, it follows her. As strange as it seems, the goat seems to have been the chosen one...

The quests are outlandish, the monsters more so, and the ones on the quest have questionable talents. The Dark Lord's big thing is creating something almost bread-like out of thin air. The half bunny woman is really good at finding salad stuff. The warrior has a sword that lusts for blood. There's more death, shape shifting and many battles on the quest. The ending is a hoot.

If you want to read a fantasy that holds your attention and even makes you laugh here and there, this is the book for you. It's done a bit tongue-in-cheek, and it's not a bit boring.

I had such high hope for Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson. Hearne wrote the Iron Druid fantasy series and the recent A Plague of Giants (reviewed here) and this new novel is promoted as a “hilarious sendup of Chosen One narratives” full of “puns, flipped tropes”, cheese and a sassy goat. Sounds like it’s going to be super funny good, or else really really bad. Sadly it’s not good.

The novel starts out with a map full of strange place names – Retchedde, Sullenne, Muffincrumb and Gobbleneck – which got me interested right away. I love fantasy books that need maps. The map was the best part. The pixie with one blue sock shoots her arrow of Chosen-Oneness to our supposed hero, the Farm Boy. Farm Boy decides he needs to rescue the princess in her rose brier infested castle, and Gus, the talking goat, decides to come too. So far it’s a bit stupid, but OK.

The novel follows the traditional quest narrative, where the fearless band of strangers coalesces into a group of friends, all working together to, to, to what? Don’t know. A couple of the band go to the witch to find a cure for the now-dead Farm Boy, the evil wizard visits the witch to steal her magic, the goat just wants to avoid the curry pot and the hunts lady is going because why not.

Evil wizard can make bread; his hunts lady is a prime klutz; the bard looks more like a rabbit than a girl and the warrior maiden doesn’t much like wearing chain mail bikinis. These types of silly points need a light touch to make them funny and keep the book rolling along, but the authors keep beating the same points over and over. How many jokes about cold chain mail bikinis can you listen to? And how many times can you read about the talking goat and his pellets? Or the budding romance between warrior maiden and rabbit-maiden-bard? Or the incredibly clumsy and not real smart hunts lady?

The whole novel is like this. A couple of the merry band die and the rest just keep going; in fact after the first one dies from poison mislabeled there isn’t even a pause. He dies, they go. The problem is that if you are parodying a quest then there must be some actual quest elements.

Kill the Farm Boy was obnoxious with stupid innuendo and jokes that appeal to 13 year old boys. The parody didn’t work well because everything was a parody; the quest was no quest, the wizard is no wizard, the evil witch is not evil, the nastiness in the mines of Moiria (oh sorry, the Catacombs of Yore) is all illusion.



Kill the Farm Boy tries to be funny but it’s too pretentious and too asinine to make it work.

What do you get when you mix a dose of Terry Prachett, Robert Asprin, and Christopher Moore, with a dash of Spaceballs, the Princess Bride, Shrek, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights? Kill the Farmboy!

A motley crew of characters. Irreverent humor. Over the top punniness. This book isn't for everyone but for those that enjoy books that don't take themselves seriously AT ALL, then this book is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC and opportunity to review!

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Ugh. I wish the eARC didn't say I needed to hold off any quotations until I could compare it with the final copy -- or maybe, I wish I had noticed that very tiny print before I got half a draft of this finished. On the other hand, I was having trouble narrowing down which of my lengthy options to use, because, if nothing else, this is one of the more quotable books I've read in the last couple of years.

Kill the Farm Boy is a comedic fantasy, a satirical look at fantasy and even a parody of the genre. But what makes it effective is that for all the comedy, there's a decent story and some solid characters throughout. It's be easy for it to be a collection of jokes, with no story; or a tale full of character types, not characters. But Dawson and Hearne avoid those pitfalls.

The titular farm boy, Worstley, is going about his typical day, full of drudgery when an inebriated pixie shows up to announce that he is a Chosen One -- one who is destined to save, or at least change, the world. To demonstrate her power, the pixie gives one of his goats, Gustave, the power of speech. The goat isn't too happy about being able to speak, but since he was destined to end up in a curry in a few days, decides to travel with the newly appointed Chosen One, his former Pooboy. The pixie, having Chosened Worstley, disappears. Worstley the Pooboy (hey, Taran, worse things to be called than Assistant Pig-Keeper, eh?) and Gustave head off on a quest for glory.

Despite the book's title, we don't spend that much time with Worstley -- instead the focus shifts (for good reason) to a band of hero--well, a group of companions. There's Fia -- a fierce warrior from a distant land, who just wants to live a life of peace with some nice roses -- and some armor that would actually protect her (not that there's anyone who minds seeing here in her chain-mail bikini). Argabella, a struggling bard who is cursed to be covered in fur -- she's basically Fflewddur Fflam and Gurgi combined (last Prydian reference, probably). Every adventuring party needs a rogue/thief, this one has to settle for the klutzy and not necessarily bright, Poltro, and her guardian, the Dark Lord magician, Toby (though some would only consider him crepuscular), of dubious talents. I can't forget Grinda the sand witch (no, really), Worstley's aunt and a magic user of considerable talent.

There are no shortage of villains -- and/or antagonists to this party. There are some pretty annoying elves; a hungry giant; Løcher, the King's chamberlain and mortal enemy of Grinda; Staph, the pixie behind the Chosening; as well as several magical traps, Lastly, there's Steve. We don't meet him (I'm betting it'll be in Book 3 when we do), but throughout these adventures we how much this world, and our heroes lives, have been turned upside down my the worst Steve since one (allegedly) unleashed the preposterous hypothesis that Jemaine was a large water-dwelling mammal. Steve . . .

The writing is just spot-on good. Dawson and Hearne have taken all these various and disparate themes, tropes, characters and surrounded them with a lot of laughs. There's some pretty sophisticated humor, some stuff that's pretty clever -- but they also run the gamut to some pretty low-brow jokes as well. Really, these two are on a tight comedic budget, no joke is too cheap. The variation ensures there's a little something for everyone -- and that you can't predict where the humor will come from. I will admit that early on I got annoyed with a few running jokes, but I eventually got to the point that I enjoyed them -- not just in a "really? they're trying it again?" sense, either.

For all the comedy -- Kill the Farm Boy hits the emotional moments just right. There's a depiction of grief towards the end (spoiler?) that I found incredibly affecting and effective. There are smaller moments -- less extreme moments -- too that are dealt with just right. Maybe even better than some of the bigger comedic moments. This is the reward of populating this book with fully-realized characters, not just joke vehicles.

I have a couple of quibbles, nothing major, but I'm not wholly over the moon with this (but I can probably hit sub-orbital status). There was a bit about a fairly articulate Troll being taken down by a female using (primarily) her wits that could've used a dollop or five of subtly. Clearly they weren't going for subtle, or they'd have gotten a lot closer to it. But it bugged me a bit (while being funny and on point). Secondly, and this is going to be strange after the last 2 posts -- but this seemed to be too long. Now, I can't imagine cutting a single line, much less a scene or chapter from this, but it just felt a little long. I do worry that some of Poltro's backstory is too tragic and upon reflection makes it in poor taste (at best) to laugh about her -- which is a shame, because she was a pretty funny character until you learn about her.

This is probably the best comedic/parody/satire fantasy since Peter David's Sir Apropos of Nothing -- and this doesn't have all the problematic passages. I've appreciated Dawson's work in the past, and you have to spend 30 seconds here to know that I'm a huge Hearne fan, together they've created something unlike what they've done before. Well, except for their characteristic quality -- that's there. I cared about these characters -- and they made me laugh, and giggle, and roll my eyes. This is the whole package, folks, you'll be glad you gave it a chance.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

Kill The Farm Boy (The Tales of Pell, #1)
by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

I love the premise of the book, and the humour just made me giggle throughout the book. I love the idea that you don’t always have to have Tolkin’s formula for the regular adventure book. I found Gustave hilarious and his reactions were classic Terry Pratchett. If i was in contact with the bloke that started me on Pratchett i would be sending this book to him.. Cause he showed me a new world of reading would love to show him that it continues. Thank your Kevin and Delilah for bringing to life that coffee delayed idea.. I am enthralled. I would love to me the Dread Steve, just because he sounded so much like a the creep you have got to know just to hate him more. I hope this book leads to more just like it.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Strap yourself in, make sure your sense of humor is safely nestled in the crook of your arm, this nonstop ride is about to leave the station without nary a rest stop in between, which may or may not be necessary, depending on how well you can hold your puns.

Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Ahearne are running an author tag team with satire fantasy and the quips are flowing like a chocolate fountain at the All-You-Can-Eat buffet. KILL THE FARM BOY leaves no stone unturned when it comes to tongue-in-cheek, off-the-wall storytelling and it all began with a quest…but so does every fantasy. And that where this one veers far off the beaten path…

Loads of laughs, tons of fun and with a cast of the most unlikely heroes and villains ever, the land of Pell makes an hour in the Funhouse mirror maze seem absolutely dull.

That said, perhaps best read in doses to avoid “quirk” overload, this tale sometimes gets to be juuuuusssst a little too much, too often and loses that “riding the edge” of hilarity and entertainment feel!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Del Ray!

Series: The Tales of Pell - Book 1
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: July 17, 2018
Genre: Fantasy | Comedy
Hardcover: 384 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

A some aught entertaining satire of the fantasy genre and more particularly of the "chosen one" trope. Many of the jokes were funny, although not enough by themselves to sustain the narrative. I realized about 70% through (much earlier tbh, but I accepted it at 70%) that I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to bother finishing the novel. There was a lot of telling and not showing when it came to narrative and character development, often because the narrative voice was too busy making sarcastic quips and asides instead of using the characters themselves for comedic value. While this occasionally led to some funny jokes, I felt this made the novel much longer than it needed to be and was a deficit to the development of the story line and the characters themselves.

I started and stopped this book a few times before abandoning it at 10%, when I noticed that I still had 4.5 hours left in the book (according to my Kindle) and realized that I was dreading the next 4.5 hours of puns and cliches.

Doesn't appeal to my sense of humor, oddly enough, considering Mr Hearne's other works are some of my favorite in the genre.

Hi, I'm the one person is the world who finds puns irritating -- nice to meet you.

Eh, what are you gonna do. Not every book that exists has to cater to me. I'm sure plenty of people will love this book, but I thought it was kind of a drag.

This reminds me of the comic fantasy books of the 80s & 90s. It tiptoes right up to the edge of Piers Anthony's Xanth series and then, thankfully, backs off just enough to retain the over the top humor and dispense with the grossness. Also it has a talking goat and do you really want to miss out on that?

I'm sorry - I didn't like this book at all. I'm a fan of Kevin Hearne and was excited to read this book. I was very disappointed. Some of the characters were downright revolting and I found myself almost physically ill. The story was told in a arch, sarcastic way with lots of asides and puns. I normally appreciate that - if its done subtley and well. In this book it was completely overdone and detracted from the narrative. I got what the authors were trying to do, they just didn't do it well. I appreciate the opportunity to read the book and I hope they try again - just dial it back a lot.

This book is a great humorous fantasy! It also skewers classic fantasy tropes which made it unpredictable. I loved the characters. I loved the unconventional chosen ones. If you love Terry Pratchett and Piers Anthony then you might love Hearne and Dawson. Here's to a cloud of angry garlic naan!

This book is worth the time. I was feeling a bit blue but this book perked me up. This is a fun adventure where the fairies are drunk, the goats can talk and fear a good curry recipe, there are wizards, and heroes and it's just hilarity all around. Read this book!

I received a galley of this book via Netgalley.

So a rogue, a bard, a warrior, a wizard, and a goat set off on a quest... and things happen. Weird, wacky things. Note that the titular farm boy isn't mentioned in that list. That's because he does pretty early on in a tragic way. Co-authors Kevin Hearne and Delilah Dawson subvert fantasy tropes in many amusing ways--I was pretty fond of the Dark Lord wizard who is best at creating rains of bread--though like all humor, it can be pretty subjective and hit-or-miss. I wearied of poop jokes pretty early on, but I did enjoy the book's great reverence for the glories of cheese.

DNF - I love Kevin Hearne's other series, but I could not get into this story.. The humor was very over the top, pratfall style. The humor reminded me of Mel Brooks but just like Mr. Brooks' movies, sometimes it works and somtimes it does not.

I had been looking forward to this and was very disappointed.

Kevin Hearne and Delilah Dawson are amazing together! This book was funny and very well written. It was a seriously refreshing take on some overused fantasy tropes. The characters were all hilarious, and I was laughing out loud at some of the situations they faced.

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

This is truly awful, forgettable, and altogether boring book. I had to labor through its pointless plot machinations and unfunny jokes, and I somewhat regret that I did. But, I was excited to start this read: a modern take on The Princess Bride? A hilarious romp in the spirit of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I was sold!

That marketing hyperbole falls short as the book doesn't quite deliver on the sales pitch. What you get is a vague shadow of this comedic classics, but instead of witty humor and clever banter you get grammar jokes about the silent K and eye rolling bodily references straight from an elementary school playground.

Mostly, I'm not sure who this book is for. It's certainly not adults or middle grade readers. Maybe this will appeal to teens? I know that the teens in my library, even with their love of low brow humor, will certainly see right through the drudgery that is Kill the Farm Boy.

Funny and quirky. It felt like The Princess Bride done by Terry Pratchett. Cross appeal for teens and adults.

I finished 'Kill the Farm Boy' by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson. It is a quirky fantasy adventure with lots of modern one liners thrown in to give you a bit of a giggle. We follow along with the adventurers Fia, Argabella, Dark Lord Toby, Poltro and of course Gustave, a talking goat. They are on a quest to cure Argabella's affliction and waken her village. In course of their journey, feelings grow and our adventurers form a bond. Having read some of the Iron Druid Chronicles, you can sense Kevin Hearne's wit. Delilah and he have created a fun little romp through the country side. There is still unfinished business. We can only hope that they will continue the adventures of our little band in future volumes.

The basic formula of farm boy/chosen one fantasy is turned on its head in this book. Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson have crafted a crazy romp through all of the familiar fantasy and fairytale tropes, from talking animals to chainmail bikinis, poking fun at them along the way. The comic tone in the beginning kept the main characters at a bit of a distance, but I warmed up to them as the story went along, and by the end I was rooting for a happy ending. There were a handful of times that the story and the jokes fell a bit flat (some tropes have been done so many times, even parodying them is old), but for the most part it was a fun, cheerful send-up that made me laugh several times.
I would recommend this book for fans of the fantasy genre who are looking for a laugh, in the vein of Terry Pratchett's Discworld or other comic fantasy novels. I'll be mostly curious to see what a second book is like, and how these characters grow and develop as a serious.

I usually give myself to page 100 if I am struggling with a book and want to give up. I made it to the 101st page and just couldn't do it anymore; It was so exhausting to read. In the 100 pages I read there were 21 words that I had to look up. That is an absurd number, and four of them were on the first front-and-back page. It was also just too punny for me - I think this was the most exhausting part for me. It took me about a week to get though what I did because I kept avoiding it. There were too many millennial quirks, such as using "even" (I can't even, etc.) and "literally" (when it is in fact not literal). Arabella was the worst character for me. By page 100 she had turned into a timid, sniffling weakling that I had no interest reading about and the budding interest between her and Fia felt forced and showy.

The story itself was okay. I can see how one might enjoy this book but it is definitely not the book for me.