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

Critic reviews

“I can’t think of a single story I’d rather get truck-kun’d (truck-kunned?) into than [that of] the vivid, lush world portrayed in Heretical Fishing, especially if I can hang out with Fischer and his gang. . . . The best book I’ve read this year.” —Matt Dinniman, author of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Nice and relaxing!

I really enjoyed everything about this one! I wish there was more like it out there. I hope it’s not to long of a wait for book 2.

So funny

I bought this audiobook on impulse and had no regrets. It was quirky, interesting, suspenseful, and hilarious.

I have only two critiques: 1. there is a lot of unnecessary swearing (not my cup of tea)—it made me sad because I do not recommend books to friends if they have a lot of cussing in them.
2. I get a little frustrated when an otherworldly culture shares all the values of the author’s culture. Another world would not have the same manners, social structures, and moral standards. Throwing in a few very different morals (I.e. cults and fishing heresy) does not change the fact that the culture seems to be nearly identical to 21st century culture.

I realize the second is nitpicky, but I absolutely loved the book. I can’t wait to read the next.

Adorable and fun slice of life done by my fav narrator.

Practically no action LitRpg with a likable MC and his support characters. This book was masterfully performed by my fav narrator who can "act" and would prbly be annoyingly slow if it wasn't for Heath's excellent character variations. Heath is great with relaxed characters with some sort of underlying trauma or PTSD.

Warning, this book is 80% slice of life, 19% about coffee and 1% action but its worth a listen.

Absolutely Awesome!

This book was almost tailor-made for me, it's like the author combined two of my favorite series just to appeal to me. This book is like if you took Jason Asano from He Who Fights With Monsters and put him into a Beware of Chicken style story, but focused on fishing instead of farming. Tl;dr - this is another series that I'll be buying everything of as soon as it comes out!

Loved it!

Such a funny, feel good story. The narration is also top notch. Highly recommend. Looking forward to the next installment.

It is what I needed.

Much love. A fun book that allowed me to smile. Enjoyed the character creation and storyline. Was fun!

Amazing story

A great slice of life with a light romance and a engaging story loved it can’t wait for a second

I want more.

What a great story! Well written and read. Couldn't find a better person to read this story. ;) If you liked Beware of Chicken, you'll love this series too. Lots of humor and fun times. All the characters are wonderful. Also this will make you hungry if listening to on an empty stomach. haha

Fun and chill

Story of a laid back and chill dude who just wants to fish. and that's what he does. great break from the murder hobo litrogs. definitely give it a read!

great story, great narration, great value

first got to love the length. original plot, they focus on the new world and his new story. the friends are amazing, snips is her own character. the Australian accent makes it refreshing and give a few good laughs. overall new refreshing slow life with fishing, cultivating, and friends