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

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Book 1 is available onAmazon, KU, Audible, and print!

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’tlike 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? Nowthat’sa 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, fetch a good snack, and pet your dog for me. The catch of a lifetime awaits!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Haylock

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 5,884
Views: 671,723

Chapters(12 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

summerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story! I read stories for entertainment, as a distraction from the worries and tedium of daily required activities. I am not as intrigued with the fight du jour – although with my D&D background I find those also interesting, I just don’t need them to be center stage.
I am more drawn in by this author's excellent, creative and charming world building and solid character development. I enjoy learning about the new world and our character’s place in it. I enjoy discovering how things work and the successes of those in our story.
In this story, I love that all the various people and animals are richly interactive, with opinions and preferences of their own. I enjoy that magic is a thing that listens and responds.
I have been entertained and charmed from the beginning and look forward to discovering a new chapter each evening.
Thanks for sharing your talents and your world.
ShadoCat2Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I like stories that are fun to read and contain a world I would like to live in.
The MC is a nice guy and he meets mostly nice people.
The writing is good. If there are any errors, they were either fixed before I saw the chapter or they were minor enough that I didn't notice them while enjoying what was written.
I enjoy it a lot and look forward to more.
ehammoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Slice of life are usually slow paced stories about day to day things. This can be good and fulfilling but it can also be boring. A few Slice of life novels reached the best rankings in this site, one of those about cultivation and farm animals.
This story is similar in some aspects. Most of the chapters we follow the actions of the mc day to day, fishing being the primary concern. But it keeps you entertained.
It does that with some good misunderstandings jokes, oblivious powerful mc, cute sidekicks, and overall nice-feeling country life.
The characters are pretty likable, the world has some of the known isekai tropes but it's different enough that feels fresh.
The broken system was a nice touch. We see that in several other novels, as a hurdle the mc needs to overcome. Here is just an (for the mc) annoying window that keeps popping up. The mc is not concerned with the system at all. And I think that's pretty clever. This will keep the ruse in why he does not know he's actually strong for a while longer, while giving us some sense of overarching plot since there are those that search for system users in this world.
As it happens in all novels, there are scenes that challenge you, and forces a suspension of disbelief.
Small spoiler:
Like a whole chapter of the mc trading food for things. 2 donuts for 7 sets of clothes + 2 rolls of fishing line? If you are poor and would never eat an expensive food, you don't just trade lots of stuff for the food you can't afford. This way you are actually throwing money away. There are whisky bottles that costs the value of a car. But if you trade stuff for it and save it to trade it again with a rich guy, it makes sense. If you trade for a donut that can go bad and you have to eat it, is a waste of money... I think it would have been better if the lord gave him some money back since he overpayed. And he used the money instead of the food
In the end I think this novel is worth the read.
placeholdererRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Yeah, RoyalRoad doesn't get much better than this. I'm posting this after reading a little bit farther than the end of book 1, so about chapter 100-ish, for reference.
The writing is top notch, the characters are unique and easy to distinguish, the plot - despite being slice-of-life - genuinely keeps me on my toes, and the animals are goddamn adorable.
I found myself laughing out loud at several points while reading, because some of the developments and resulting misunderstandings are just that ridiculous; in a fun way, though.
It's a bit like Beware of Chicken in its premise, except with fishing and a more western cultivation approach rather than being full-on Xianxia. The protagonist gets yeeted into a fantasy cultivation world, attempting to live a quiet life of fishing, except he's secretly a powerful cultivator with a magical guard-crab blowing bubbles - hilarity ensues.
If I had to add anything as a foot-note (I can't even call it criticism at this point), I would say that I would've liked the protagonist to take a bit more of an active role sometimes, instead of the many awesome side characters stealing the show. But I understand that's purely subjective and is very much intentional. Just something to keep in mind: the story isn't just about the initial protagonist: there is a whole host of interesting characters taking center stage at many points throughout the story.
If you're up for a hilarious story about cults deifying aquatic animals, cozy feelings, and a pinch of cultivation, give this a read; you won't be disappointed.
Hell, I don't even like fishing.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
JustinThymeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Fishing has always been a favorite past time of mine. Combining it with cultivation is wonderful. The writing style is descriptive without being overdone, If that makes sense. I can clearly see it in my mind's eye. I also really like how the Lord is reading the situation from his perspective. And what can I say about the crab?, sorry Sargent Snips 😁 I'm Really enjoying your story.