Kill the Farm Boy

The Tales of Pell Series, Book 1

By: Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In an irreverent series in the tradition of Monty Python, the best-selling authors of the Iron Druid Chronicles and Star Wars: Phasma reinvent fantasy, fairy tales, and floridly written feast scenes.

"Ranks among the best of Christopher Moore and Terry Pratchett." (Chuck Wendig)

"When you put two authors of this high caliber together, expect fireworks. Or at least laughs. What a hoot!" (Terry Brooks)

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.

Praise for Kill the Farm Boy:

"A rollicking fantasy adventure that upends numerous genre tropes in audacious style...a laugh-out-loud-funny fusion of Monty Python-esque humor and whimsy a la Terry Pratchett's Discworld." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Dawson and Hearne’s reimagining of a traditional fairy tale is reminiscent of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride and William Steig’s Shrek! Irreverent, funny, and full of entertaining wordplay, this will keep readers guessing until the end.” (Library Journal)

"Will have you laughing out loud until strangers begin to look at you oddly." (SyFy)

"A smart comedy...nuanced, complicated, and human." (Tordotcom)

"[Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne] make fun of the typical 'white male power fantasies,' and in that, they succeed, with their heroes all characters of color and/or falling somewhere under the LGBTQ umbrella." (Publishers Weekly)

©2018 Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"When you put two authors of this high caliber together, expect fireworks. Or at least laughs. What a hoot!" (New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks)

"Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne have rigged up an absurdly funny fantasy riff on the Chosen One story, and it had me laughing from literally the name of the first chapter Kill the Farm Boy ranks among the best of Christopher Moore and Terry Pratchett and is not to be missed." (Chuck Wendig)

A great book to hear

Loved the story and the way Like voiced everyone. Will certainly be recommending this book to others.

Kill me now

If you liked "Bored of The Rings" or "Barry Trodder and The Unauthorized Parody" you will likely enjoy this.

The jokes are many and occasionally funny enough I can't help chuckle aloud.

However, this book is bad. The sort of bad that is good. Not exceptionaly good (does that mean it's bad at being bad?) but still good.

Once the book gets over it's puntification, it gets better.

D&D set entirely for humor

Not what I was expecting, but funny and full of puns. Tons of adult humor. Overall it was a good change of pace from more serious storylines, where the authors clearly wanted to have fun and laugh.

Loads of fun. Hard to follow at times.

There are a few times where audiobook producers know what they're doing and they pair a narrator with an author. This is what has happened with Luke Daniels and Kevin Hearne. This book is a laugh out loud riot from the beginning. Luke Daniels should get an award for his performance. This story honestly remind me of Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

My only problem is that it takes one-third of the novel for all the threads to come together. Luke Daniels narration makes the story entertaining until then. You just have to hang in for the beginning of the novel. Hence 4 stars on the story.

Hilarious!

Truly a great story, cool plot swerve and really funny characters. And performed hilariously and fantastically by the narrator I was laughing multiple times and totally recommend to anyone that they listen to or read this book.

Absolutely Delightful!

Such a great pairing of authors! How refreshing it was to have something humorous to listen to. Well written, had me smirking the whole time. Fans of role playing games will devour this story for sure. I was sad when it ended. I want more!

Hilarious

The story is funny and captivating. It has a terry pratchett feel. The goat is the best character. The narrator does an amazing job!

Hilarious!

Very good writing, story-line, and performance. Excellent in all respects except for for nighttime reading as I find it difficult to fall asleep while laughing out loud. Recommended for anyone with a sense of humor.

Sophomoric at best

If you're a 13 year-old boy, you might find it funny, but it's, well as I said, it's sophomoric. The performance is actually quite good, but it can't save the writing. I really can't finish it. I'm on chapter four and I just can't stand another 11+ hours....

Quirky “punny” fairytale

Charming story and characters. Voices perform so well! Can’t wait to listen to the next tale of Pell!