Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne takes a popular epic story setup and flips it over, expands it, and pokes it with a stick a few times for good measure. A farm boy sets off to find his destiny after a visit from a pixie named Staph. But in the kingdom of Pell that’s even more dangerous than it may seem. It’s fantasy and fairy tale with smatterings of dark, graphic violence and social commentary. And yet the writing rarely feels too heavy.

That’s in part due to a matter-of-fact narrative style as well as off-the-wall, absurdist, and pun-filled humor. How funny you find it will depend on your sense of humor and your knowledge of storytelling tropes. Personally I found it clever and amusing but never quite laugh out loud. Although I was greatly entertained the first several times the detailed food descriptions jumped into the foodie deep end.

The cast of characters is definitely one of the book’s best features. A diverse band of misfits assembles and journeys on a quest that brings them all on board for a variety of reasons. The complex crew includes a vegetarian Amazonian-esque woman, a crepuscular dark lord with particular food powers, a rogue who somehow defies the odds stacked against her, a talking goat, and a half-rabbit female bard to name a few. Dawson and Hearne have made them all complex and somehow simultaneously endearing and somewhat annoying.

You wouldn’t know this was co-authored with how seamless the voice of it is overall. And the pacing seems fine until the major goal point is reached. Then it all goes over very very quickly only to be followed by a very long denouement. In this kind of storytelling it’s hard to tell if that’s a meta commentary from the authors or a gloss-over in the process.

Overall, Kill the Farm Boy is a nice change of pace for your fantasy reading list. It’s not quite Princess Bride territory but it’s hanging out on a less child-friendly path nearby. Underneath its silliness is clearly two authors deeply familiar with and unafraid to push the envelope. I can’t say I loved it but I’m glad it’s out there.

The publisher provided FANgirl with a copy of the book for review. As usual opinions are my own.

Kill The Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne is out now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook from Del Rey.

I give this book 2.5 stars. It’s not that the story is bad, the basic premise is cute and I liked the switch that was pulled early on. The problem is that it is trying too hard. It’s over, over the top. It’s not just making fun of fairy tales, it’s trying to make fun of things that make fun of fairy tales. The jokes are too planned out, and the few things that do feel organically comical are ruined by added punch lines. Everybody has silly names, everyone has a huge personality, every locale is ridiculous. It’s like they said lets make a book version of a Shrek, Monty Python crossover and be twice as absurd. And what was the deal with all the penis jokes? For me this satire of satire wasn’t droll it was dumb. I won’t be reading the next book in this series.

Kill the Farm Boy is book 1 in The Tales of Pell series. I had to grab this one because I've enjoyed both author's books in the past and couldn't wait to see how they wrote together. This isn't your typical fantasy novel, it's more like one that pokes fun at the common themes we see in the genre and has a ton of humor mixed in.

We start off with a pixie named Staph appearing and using magic to make a boy named Worstly, the Chosen One. His goat, Gustave, also winds up being able to talk after Staph takes off. Worstly decides to leave to fulfill the destiny of the Chosen One, I mean what could go wrong with that plan? We wind up making a ragtag group that follows the chosen one with plenty of trials and deaths along the way. The humor was a bit heavy handed for my taste, at times I was laughing out loud but sometimes it felt like it was trying too hard. I didn't expect several things to happen that did and it wasn't hard to finish the book but it just felt off to me. I'd probably give the next book a chance since I was entertained and I do like both authors' prior books. If you're a fan of nonstop humor mixed in with fantasy you might enjoy this novel.

"Now look, kid. I'm here to tell you something important. The good news and the bad news is that you're the Chosen One. You have a destiny, and I'm here to bless you with it. Or curse you, whatever. Anoint you, let's say."

Prepare yourself to take a second-look at damn near every fantasy trope in the book because, let me tell you, it's definitely in here.

Normally I would not describe myself as a fan of satire. In the past I might have said the original is always better. This one might have changed my mind. I found myself laughing out loud all the time while reading, having not finished reacting to the last jab before they throw another, equally ridiculous one at you.

This story isn't just one big satire though. It definitely holds its own with an interesting plot filled with childlike whimsy due to its serendipitous encounters and easily-navigated obstacles. The writing style makes for a journey that you can float through and be amused by. And this book is nothing if not amusing!

Despite this the characters are far from immune to danger and quick turns of fate and I found myself genuinely rooting for them and their quest. This is probably because the authors created some really lovable characters, all being goofy and sweet. Inexplicably you don't hate them even when they want to kill and/or eat the other sweet and goofy characters. I hope the characters show up in the rest of the series which I am really looking forward to. This may not be the book for everyone but it is definitely the book for me!

Let me start by saying that I did not finish this book, and it truly pains me to say that. I'm a bit obsessive about finishing anything I start, and I tried, but a person can only stand so much drivel. While Ms Dawson is new to me, I absolutely loved Hearne's Iron Druid series - the wit, the action, the characters, etc. So, when I saw this one, I had to read it. I didn't expect this to be anything like the Iron Druid series, but I also didn't expect so much adolescent humor and well, that's pretty much it. I get the idea of taking a trope, or several of them, in a particular genre and creating a fun parody, but despite the claims, Monty Python this is not. From the very first page, it felt like the authors were trying to see how many puns, bad jokes, and satirical moments they could cram into each and every page. I'm sure there was some kind of story in there somewhere, but I don't think plots and storylines were the point here. Sometimes less is more, and that certainly could've been put to good use in this case. Add to that the feeling that a lot of words in the book came from a word-a-day calendar and I was over it. Don't get me wrong, I did find the occasional funny line, but what's funny once can become old when it's done over and over - On the same page! (Again, the less is more adage comes into play here.) If you like corny lines about poo, boogers, vomit, and penises, then this may be the book for you, but the 'humor' was lost on me. Color me disappointed in this one.

"Kill your darlings" they did not.

The authors went with their first thought and just kept going -- the writing is rough and difficult to read. An editor should have cleaned this up, or in the least, told them to rewrite it. All of it. I had to re-read sentences to try and understand what they were saying. And this is coming from a reader who thinks Pynchon and Cormac McCarthy make perfect sense. These aren't complex sentences, these are sentences where the writers chose the wrong words or forgot where a character was last standing (is he inside or outside?). And since that is the only thing a writer is supposed to do correctly, I just can't give this book a positive review.

I'm sensitive to poor writing, so if you don't mind that sort of thing this book may be for you. I DNF'd pretty early. I have only so many hours in my life. Not enough to keep reading this book.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 1 star
Character Development: 2 stars
Prose/Writing: 0 stars

***Disclaimer: I received an arc copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A clever anti-fairytale store filled with adventure and comedy.


The Chosen One, a poor farm boy, is sent on a quest to awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. He faces a Dark Lord, befriends a chain-mail clad fighter, and is stuck with a grumpy goat sidekick.

This was a fun, light read perfect for summertime. All of your favorite tropes are exploited and made fun of. This book is perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

*I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Let me start out by saying, I love-- absolutely love the concept of this book. I think I would have enjoyed my reading of it more had read it a little bit at a time. I'll explain more as I go.

See, this book totally flips the tropes of the genre on its head. We've got a romance between women, drunk Kings, unsneaky rogues, and a Dark Lord that isn't an official 'Dark Lord' yet, but he loves cheese. Oh! And I can't forget to mention how special the 'Chosen One' is and how this quest unfolds. Truly, this at times seemed like a drunken game of D&D. And, it is hilarious. I'm not too sure what I can say without feeling like I'm giving things away. I wasn't dying laughing-- I internally chuckled most of the time, but there were a few actual LOLs. I won't compare it to Monty Python humor like I've read in some places, but I understand why they gave the comparison. Things are called out constantly, like the villain asking their assassin to bring them the still-beating heart from the murdered Chosen One-- what exactly does that mean??
The thing is so of the humorous dialogue, events, or explanations could drag for me after I had read for an hour or so. Every time I came back to the book though, I laughed and loved it, then began to wane. So, definitely more of a me thing, but people who enjoy the ramble or outrageous moments that continue might totally love it.

We've got a good group of characters in this party who made the book enjoyable. It did feel like the party could (and did) change at any time. At no point did I get anyone confused, which is so nice, especially in books with many characters. The POV could be funky at times, but for the most part (like 90% of the time) it is totally easy to tell who is talking or whose thoughts we are reading.

Fia is probably my favorite character, not because she is the warrior in a chain-mail bikini, but because she calls people out on being sexism or being stupid. She is saving up money for armor that gives her more coverage and if anyone thinks her outfit is invitation to kiss her, she won't put up with it. She also battles a troll... a Troll... I didn't get what was going on at first, but when I did it became one of my favorite scenes.

To make a long review short: the concept is awesome, the story made me laugh, and I'm really curious as to where the story is going. Is the farm boy's story REALLY over???
If you like parodies, fairy tales, and fun groups of characters then you should definitely check this book out!

This book has been marketed as The Princess Bride meets Monty Python, and having finished this book I have to say that is probably a pretty accurate pitch. Dawson and Hearne take everything we know about a fairytale and spin it on it's head to create a story peppered with puns and just plain silly humor. I ended up really enjoying it, as it was a light-heartened book I felt like I needed to read right now.

I do want to point out that even though I really enjoyed it, I don't want to recommend this book to all readers. I don't think it is for everyone, and that's perfectly okay! I liked the humor in this, and there were moments where I was literally cackling in my bed, like the scene with the "Well, actually" Troll. I don't think all the jokes hit the mark, some of them even felt like it was trying a little too hard, but I enjoyed the rest that this didn't bother me. I don't think every reader will be as forgiven as me. I think if you like a good pun and crass humor this one will be a winner for you!

So how do these two spin the fairytale trope on its head? That's a little hard to answer without divulging some spoilers. I will say that the book takes the tradition quest narrative so that there is a magic welder, a bard, a warrior, a hero, and a rogue. But the magic welder is a self titled Dark Lord named Toby who really isn't that evil at all, the rogue Poltro is really incompetent, the bard Argabella just really wants to be an accountant, and the warrior Fia just keeps on accidentally killing people. There's also a talking goat named Gustave that is just sick of everyone's BS. I loved him! Even though he just kept on pooping on people who didn't agree with him. (My dudes, I am not kidding) I really like that the authors take what we know and expect about these archetypes and just twists them to make an interesting cast of characters. It was almost like I was reading about a D&D game gone horribly awry, and that was exactly what made it so interesting to me!

I like a good quest story, it's why I like Rick Riordan's novels so much, and this story does have a natural quest plot line. I like reading about a bunch of characters that have to go through insane trials to get to the end of where they need to go. There's a lot of homage to the traditional quest story and fairytale story that it made me just really enjoy this very silly story.

If you are a fan of silly fantasy, or if you love the podcast Hello From The Magic Tavern, I think you will love this book. If you are looking for something fun that doesn't take itself too seriously, I suggest you pick this up.

*I received a free egalley copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Fantasy tropes beware, Kill the Farm Boy is after them all. This book reminded me of the slapstick comedies I always loved. It is outlandish and hilarious satire of the genre. If that is your thing, pick this up.

Full review will be live within 30 days.

Kill the Farm Boy is one of the most hilarious fantasy novels I’ve ever read.  It takes the old trope of a young man chosen for adventure and greatness and turns it on its head.  Yes the farm boy and his now speaking goat Gustave set off for adventure, but Worstly is soon killed, the victim of an accidental squashing.  What follows is a riotous pun filled adventure, with a group of mismatched and more than a little inept adventurers. From Fia, a warrior in an extremely uncomfortable chainmail bikini, Argabella a bunny bard, the crepuscular lord (not quite dark) whose magic centers around bread products, and Poltro the chicken fearing rogue to Gustave, the chosen one, who simply wants to avoid becoming curry and imbibe lots of delicious leather boots - these adventurers will make even the most staid reader laugh until they cry as they stumble from one bizarre encounter to another.  The humor ranges from silly to exceedingly clever, never failing to give stereotypes a solid whack in the process.


Kill the Farm Boy is a humorous fantasy adventure that will appeal to fantasy lovers, fans of classic rpgs, and anyone looking to escape the stresses of daily life with a witty and well meaning novel.


5 / 5


I received a copy of Kill the Farm Boy from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

This book takes common fantasy and fairytale tropes, makes them darker, then forces you to laugh out loud at them. The book is snarky, and absolutely delightful for it. I also appreciated the diversity of relationships and characters.

Being a huge fan of Kevin Hearne already, I thought I knew what I was in for. But what I got was completely unexpected, basically a nonstop dirty euphemism, and absolutely wonderful! In a way, it reminded me of both Monty Python and the Princess Bride, in it's deep and acknowledged satire and levity. I would've liked to spend a little more time debasing some elves, but I loved what there was of it. But I also love that there was a serious bond between the characters, one that you watched and almost felt like you helped move forward, RPG style. Overall, it was excellent and I hope there's so much more where this came from!

Giving this a 4 Star rating was a near thing and VERY subjective. This is a story that steals pieces from every fairy tale you ever heard (and a few you never heard) then throws in a basic plot that is some twisted version of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Princess Bride" which was entertaining a bit but the juvenile humor and at times just plain crude telling of the story wore thin.

While you can comfortably read this as a stand along, there are a few threads left to pursue in the next book since this is being offered as book #1 in "The Tales Of Pell".

It is very original, it gets close to serious at times but mainly it just subtly makes fun of stories we all have heard and loved plus this sentence in the author notes at the end may prevent me from bothering with any more books since "it was time to make fun of white male power fantasies" which would account for pretty much every male in this book being horribly stupid except for the goat.

I tire of racial labels and authors who feel they have to put their labels and small minds to work "educating" the rest of us. So 4 very reluctant Stars and at this writing the price must be a horrible joke at $14 which if I used price in writing a review would drop this to 3 or less stars. Depending on your sense of humor this will be funny or just an exercise in stupidity and silliness.

I have a hard time rating this. It was funny in parts, but also occasionally took a long walk for a to make a single pun, and a lot of those puns were crude. I have never read more ways to describe a goat pooping than in this book. I don't mind that, but after a while they stop becoming funny. The characters were pretty much one dimensional, but when poking fun at fantasy tropes that is kind of expected.

Overall, it wasn't bad. If you read all the fantasy books, enjoy wordplay and using all those funny punctuations marks you don't find on a normal keyboard then you will probably like this book.

Normally, I’d start off my review with a synopsis, but plot wasn’t exactly the point of this book, so I’m going to skip it. What you need to know is this: Kill the Farm boy is a satirical fantasy novel that skewers the “chosen one” white male narrative. Tonally, it’s as if Deadpool were your dungeon master and he had recently swallowed a thesaurus. If that appeals to you, you will love this book. If not, pass on it.

I had fairly mixed feelings – humor is subjective, and while I sometimes found it funny, I also found it grating at times. For example, there was a chapter about trolls that had me in stitches. But there was also an entire chapter about the group entering the Morningwood that had me rolling my eyes. A certain type of audience will absolutely love this one. I was not that audience, but I still, for the most part, appreciated it for what it was as I generally found the writing quality to be very high. There’s little character development, and the plot is just a vehicle for jokes, but again, those things aren’t the point.

This is definitely one of those books that will be very hit-or-miss for people, and while it was mostly a miss for me, it’s one that I think I’ll be recommending to a lot of patrons, particularly teens. If you like Mel Brooks or Monty Python, you’ll probably like this too (it would make a pretty funny movie).

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for the eARC, which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. Kill the Farm Boy will be released on 24 July, but you can put your copy on hold today!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

kill the farm boy (Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne)

Title: kill the farm boy

Author: Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Del Ray

Publication Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018!! (hardcover/e-book)

ISBN: 978-1524797744

Source: NetGalley

I so wanted to like this book and here I be abandoning ship.  Sigh.  This book has a gorgeous cover and wonderful blurb.  The cover says it has puns.  I thought it was going to be a clever topsy-turvy take on fairy tales.  It had a few potentially fun characters like a talking goat and a bikini chain mail clad giantess but was too shallow in writing style to make me care about them.  I liked what happens to the Chosen One in the beginning and was curious how that would work out.  But the humor was certainly not to me taste and the plot was practically non-existent.  The jokes were basically all potty-humor and genitalia based.  A little bit of that would have been fine but I got tired of readin' words like poo and pellet over and over again.  The plot meandered in way that was boring.  A seemingly entertaining world underlies the book but there was no depth to be had.  I gave up at 20%.  I guess ye can't win them all.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Del Ray!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

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.

To visit the authors' websites go to:

Delilah S. Dawson - Author

Kevin Hearne - Author

To buy the novel please visit:

kill the farm boy - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Even though I love The Princess Bride, I can still love this parody of every farm boy as Chosen One. Especially since it also mocks Star Wars.

What is it about?

As Delilah describes in the acknowledgements, it "was time to make fun of white male power fantasies", and it says right there on the cover  "Once A pun A time"  so you know immediately that this book is going to be wacky. 

Worstley is a "poo-boy"...he cleans up the poo from the farm animals. Along comes a grungy pixie and anoints him as the Chosen One and it all goes downhill from there. The book bounces around from one crazy adventure to another and follows a group of really dumb "people" who seem to mostly survive despite their shortcomings.

Was it good?

 The ratio of laughing out loud to eye-rolls was at about 1:1. The story is very amusing, but for the longest time I didn't know what the point of it all was. Still every time I got a wee bit exasperated with the loony characters, they would do something so stupid that even I had to laugh. 

If you go into it with a light heart and a silly attitude, you will definitely enjoy this book. It has everything a fantasy lover could ask for: talking animals, trolls, giants, danger, adventure, sword fights, elves, pixies, zom-bees, and the Dread Necromancer Steve. 

I would return to Pell to see what shenanginans they get into next time.

Kill the Farm Boy is not your average tale of a hero rescuing a princess trapped in a tower. It's the story of a set of rag tag characters, to include a talking goat, Dark Lord with a weakness for artisan cheeses, a bard with very low self-esteem who also happens to be the victim of a curse, an assassin with a fear of poultry, and a fighter running around in a chain mail bikini with self-confidence issues. All these are brought together by the farm boy in the title, whether it's because they are out to kill him or help him. It read to me almost like a Monty Python movie. The story is full of humor and references to pop culture and other infamous fairy tales. I felt like the author tried to cram almost too much of this into the story. At times, I found it to be distracting from the primary story line. Humor level was a bit too raunchy for me during some parts of the story as well. If you're looking for something completely different retelling of classic fairy tale elements with Monty Python-like humor, I recommend picking up this book.