Heretical Fishing: A Cozy Guide to Annoying the Cults, Outsmarting the Fish, and Alienating Oneself

Heretical Fishing, Book 1

By: Haylock Jobson

Narrated by: Heath Miller

Length: 23 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

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!

©2024 Paige Haylock Jobson (P)2024 Podium Audio

By Poseidon’s Salty Tackle Box!

It’s a perfect day to delve into a delightful tale! Haylock Jobson has created an engaging world populated by a wide ranging cast of characters, brought to life by Heath Miller’s vibrant and virtuousic performance. Appreciate the laid-back pacing, and the carefully detailed scene setting. Also the delightfully constructed oaths. Looking forward to more heretical angling adventures.

A nice change of pace

Sometimes LitRPG can be very similar so it's nice to have a book that changes the pace enough to be unique. Really fun read especially if you are looking for a more laid back palette cleanser

So much joy to be found here...

Laid back Aussie Fella gets dropped into a small town with only the driving passion to fish; and by religiously practicing Pollyannaism (it means 'to always look on the bright side of life') he manages to incrementally improve the lives of his new friends and neighbors. Using Isekai LitRPG as a framing device, Jobson combines the stranger comes to town trope with an obscene amount of food porn and coffee with detailed serial problem solving, to produce a perfect Christopher Moore-esque beach read

Who knew a crab could be a cute sidekick? (And also kick butt when needed!)

If you like Beware of Chicken, there's a high chance you'll like this story as well. You get an anti-cultivator, multiple enlightened critters around the property, plenty of shenanigans. I thought it was fun, and hope there's another book soon.

A spiritual successor to beware of chicken

If you liked beware of chicken you’ll love this. Does a great job at balancing slice of life with world building about the system.

A cozy, idyllic adventure

Overall: an excellent vacation of a LitRPG! Full of humor, zen, critters, and a wee dab of shmaltz, it's the perfect cozy fantasy novel to bring with you on vacation (or perhaps just on your daily commute)! There's very little conflict; when it does occur, our cast of unlikely heroes resolve it with satisfying competence and good humor.

Performance: Heath Miller, famous for his fantastic narration of the "He Who Fights With Monsters" series, portrays another lovable Aussie in Heretical Fishing. Can't find a single thing to complain about, with his cheerful and much-more-lighthearted voice acting here! I'd pay Heath to read the ingredients of my breakfast cereal, to be honest.

Story: there's fishing, crafting, farming, good neighbors, sentient animals of varying species and disposition, reeeeal mild romance, minor cultivation aspects, people who believe that everything will eventually evolve into crabs, descriptions of food that would make Studio Ghibli jealous, and sunrises. Seriously, what more could you possibly want??

Beware of Crab

This was delightful. The author understood the dynamics and character needed to make this sort of story a success and executed it superbly. Heath knocked it out of the park with his read and the entire thing was extremely enjoyable from start to finish. Excited for the second installment, if I didn't enjoy the narrations so much I'd probably head over to Royal Road and look to keep the story going.

A great way to spend some time

A great listen. This one feels more alive of life which is a good change of pace from others in the same genre. Can’t go wrong with Heath Miller either.

Please tell me there is a second book.

This is up there with my favorite books in the litrpg genres. A second book and a long series about fishing and this new universe would be great.

wow

This is an amazing book and it is narrated by one of my favorite narrators. I can not wait for the next one and I really hope they continue the series. This book has good progression, great characters, funny and fulfilling story. By Neptunes salty balls I need more.