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

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2024

Author

Haylock

• Book 5 stubbing in 24 hours & short hiatus
  Jan 20, 2026
• Index
  Dec 19, 2023
• 8 - The Cult of the Leviathan
  Apr 14, 2023
• 7 - The Cult of Carcinization
  Apr 14, 2023
• 6 - Home
  Apr 14, 2023
• 5 - Acquisition
  Apr 14, 2023
• 4 - Welcome
  Apr 13, 2023
• 3 - Discovery
  Apr 13, 2023
• 2 - Decision
  Apr 13, 2023
• 1 - Arrival
  Apr 13, 2023
• Prologue
  Apr 13, 2023
• Heretical Fishing book 1 live on Amazon!
  Mar 12, 2024

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

• “I absolutely love this plot. It is what it says: heretic fishing and cosy. Super relaxing to read, very likeable characters, interesting, nice plot. Good people being supportive to each other, marvellous animal companions, a bit of a love story added, a gre…”

  Isa BayfieldRoyal Road5.0 / 5

• “But she is. Really, she really is. If you think otherwise, you are a heretic. Not a good heretic, but a bad, mad, sad one. This novel hits that one itch I had after reading Beware of Chicken and not finding similar stories. Oh, there are similarly themed st…”

  CatVIRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• Isa BayfieldRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I absolutely love this plot. It is what it says: heretic fishing and cosy. Super relaxing to read, very likeable characters, interesting, nice plot. Good people being supportive to each other, marvellous animal companions, a bit of a love story added, a greedy mayor learning better ways and .. you learn a lot about fishing, too.
  The main character is done so well, he arrives at this new world and really, really makes the best of it.
  One of my favorite stories, for sure.
• CatVIRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  But she is. Really, she really is. If you think otherwise, you are a heretic. Not a good heretic, but a bad, mad, sad one.
  This novel hits that one itch I had after reading Beware of Chicken and not finding similar stories. Oh, there are similarly themed stories, but rarely those with similar 'quality.'
  The characterization is fantastic for both the MC and the other cast. The pay for misunderstanding is instant and gratifying. The world-building casts a shadow of mystery, making me, the reader, ask many questions starting with the word 'Why'.
  Yet throughout it all, there is a distinct feeling of 'chill.' Like, it's all gonna be tots okay the next day.
  I like it. It's a fun slice of life with a promise of conflict.
  It does have its flaws, but they do not break my immersion. And when I say flaws, I mean flaws of the writing, not the characters. The character flaws are what make the story interesting. If I had to give one piece of advice to the author,
  Mayhap the personality of the MC in the current world is too contradictory with his previous life identity? Overly naive? If it were me, I would change (rather, tweak) the backstory to more suit the MC's current personality, as it is honestly one of the best parts of this story, and not do it the other way around (as in, keeping the backstory but changing the MC's current character.) But then again, this is your story, and I would not enjoy it if another non-Aussie bloke was writing it.
• Haegan2005Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a good read. Thank you for the significant time and effort you have put into it to share your world with us!
  There is notable knowledge of fishing in the story line and it shows. There are also interesting twists on the typical System as well.
  I do find it interesting that the powerful characters are not necessarily human, at least so far.
• Infinite42Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  A really fun read with interesting twist and turns and great side characters! I love the spin on system and cultivation. It seems so tame but it doesn't read like a slice of life, it's a full world and community in the town and I really enjoyed the first book. On the to next chapter!
• DDD61Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Well written, dynamic chapters, interesting plot and a refreshing style makes it one of the best reads of the year by a fair margin. Just binge read the first 30 chapters and would happily go through 50 more. Quite curious to see how the story will develop further.
  5 stars, highly recommended!
• EveeJubileeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I have completely enjoyed reading this story. Very slice of life with a relaxed, strong main character. The plot is well thought out and not rushed. The battles are executed wonderfully without overwhelming the focus of the story nor being drawn out exhaustively. The animals are as adorable as they are powerful. The love interest is a slow development where the friendship has a chance to blossom first, and the relationship doesn't become the complete focus. Very balanced story, A1 writing! 🤌🏻
• Cjones110Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story has me hooked (ha fishing pun). All of the characters are fun, the setting feels fresh and I am excited to learn more about the lore.
  I have read from the very beginning all the way to here in one sitting and I only wish there was more.
• GhostwoodsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Heretical Fishing is a well-written, light-hearted slice of life about an isekai'd modern guy who finds himself in a quiet backwater village in a world with some limited cultivation and a seemingly borked system.
  The MC friendly and outgoing, and he sets himself up with a chunk of basically unwanted land where he can mind his own business. He's quickly joined by an adoringly faithful newly-sentient spirit animal. Together they start winning over the locals. The local governor falls into line because he projects his own fears onto the MC. Meanwhile the MC doesn't even realise how strong he's growing through his accidental (and unrealised) cultivation, or that he's starting to progress his neighbors and buddies.
  The set-up is obviously very reminiscent of Beware of Chicken, but that's only a bad thing if you dislike that series. I love it, and I'm loving this too. Where BoC is Stardew Valley-flavoured, this is more reminiscent of a chill fishing simulator with cultists -- so Dredge, maybe?
  Either way, it's lots of fun.
• H0stRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  You might look at this story and think it's not for you, like I almost did. Fishing doesn't sound all that exciting to read about. But I can tell you what this story is, and that is fun.
  The story is great as a relaxing break to chill between epic journeys and world ending conflicts. Like sitting by a nice campfire and enjoying a moment of respite before diving deeper into your dungeon of chapters.
  I have never fished in my life, yet never found I needed to know a thing about it to enjoy Fischer's casual journey and aspirations. His story manages to make things going well enjoyable, rather than boring. The happenstances don't feel forced, because they're smoothly woven around endearing or entertaining characters and situations in a way that makes you glad they went the way they did.
  My favorite part is George's way to always comically misinterpret the most banal of things as some deep ploy against him, to his own detriment. It's simple, and it's entertaining. Sometimes that's all it takes.
  If at any point you find yourself questioning your suspension of disbelief about the convenience or likelihood of something, just try to remember none of that matters compared to the most fictional thing you already accepted from the start: a multimillionaire CEO who is kind and generous to those around him.
  However, none of that matters, because all this needs to deserve 5 stars is there already: it has crab. 🦀
• JolligreenRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Just a good old fashioned romp in Xianxia land, with a genre-aware protagonist who had already walked away from a life of cultivating extreme power before his rebirth in fantasy world, and now just wants to fish, craft, hang out with his animal buddies and human neighbors, and stick it to the man in various ways both intentional and clueless.
  I've literally laughed out loud multiple times reading this tale, which is rare for me, and have thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every bit of it; the plot is meandering but moves along well, the characters are nicely fleshed out, the setting is great, and it's just generally a good time. If you're looking for a nice break from the usual fare, this fish story is definitely a winner.