Night of the Fisherman
An unlikely trio forms to face down a formidable enemy in the violent fantasy novel Night of the Fisherman.
In David Morabito’s justice-driven fantasy novel Night of the Fisherman, a ragtag team chooses to challenge a powerful foe.
Poppa is a notorious mobster. He and his goons patrol and control suburban Lexicon, punishing those who step out of line. Even minor offenses result in being pummeled by Poppa’s guard, the Entity. When Elmo, a child, is bullied by the gangster, he teams up with Georgos, a peaceful gnome. They are joined by the Fisherman, a rebellious teenager. Together, they plan to stop Poppa’s violent rampage. Their first step toward finding a solution is going to Georgos’s home world, where nonviolence reigns.
The book’s progression follows a clear pattern: Characters are wronged by Poppa and his crew; Poppa gets red in the face, jumps around with an accusatory pointed finger, and orders a beating; characters run away, lament their misfortunes, and plan their next moves. The image of a gangster jumping around and screaming “What!” and “Get him!” at the slightest inconvenience takes on a tinge of dark humor after a while, as do the Entity’s beatings of all in Lexicon. And the pattern continues once Poppa and his crew find Georgos’s world themselves, ravaging the gentle realm.
The story is also limited by its narrow worldbuilding. Lexicon is constructed as a generic suburb, and little of Elmo and Poppa’s universe is seen outside of its confines. Georgos’s world, a forested kingdom populated by people, gnomes, and knights, is otherwise ill-distinguished from the previous realm. Only Caul, an off-limits volcanic zone in Georgos’s realm that became a dumping ground for the residents’ weaponry as the kingdom turned toward peace, makes a unique impression.
The characterizations are also loose. Elmo is so young that he seems unable to understand his circumstances or add much to the efforts against Poppa; his innocence is used to illustrate Poppa’s ruthlessness, but that’s the extent of his characterization. Georgos starts out as Elmo’s rescuer after the boy stumbles into his magical world through a time portal in his neighbor’s fireplace. Though he agrees to help stop Poppa, he ends up running in fear and getting beaten up like everyone else. The Fisherman, having sworn to seek revenge against Poppa after being beaten, is confined by this oath; he shouts obscenities and threats when Poppa’s name comes up, with “Poppa! That dirtbag!” becoming his catchphrase. Though he has a love interest and a desire for justice, his actual contributions are minimal.
Over the course of the novel, the idea that Poppa is bad and his victims innocent is belabored, including in conversations where people discuss this dichotomy at length. Conversations about justice, moral decay, and Poppa’s sins strike a too-serious tone amid the book’s amplified violence. Instances of repetition also weigh the novel down, such that the final showdown between Poppa and the trio is light on actual suspense.
Night of the Fisherman is a moralizing fantasy novel in which a determined trio faces down the dangers of unchecked power.
Reviewed by
Brandon Pawlicki
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
