Review – Beware Of Chicken by Casualfarmer

Fiction – Slice of life martial arts fantasy – Cosy Fantasy

Listened as an audio book

Narrated by Travis Baldree

Short Review

I came across this book as I sometimes search by narrator when looking for audio books, and I really enjoy Travis Baldree telling of a story.

This book is a very light, very readable fantasy novel, set in a world with powerful “cultivators” that can have what they want. they are masters of martial arts and the spirits, trying to get so powerful they can defy the heavens. One gets killed and someone else gets to inhabit his body, and he doesn’t want to do all that stuff, he wants to settle down and farm…

I like this genre of “cosy” fantasy. In this book the stakes were low, but it goes exactly where you want it to, the humour in it is brilliant and a few moments had me laugh out loud as I was listening to it. There are also some incredibly sweet moments and the romance and friendships in it feel natural.

I doubt this book would be for everyone, it’s steady, but for me it was just the read I wanted, having read some much darker and heavier books lately, and with the general state of the world at large.

A happy read.

What I learnt as a writer reading this –

That not every book has to follow the same format. Instead of moving from action scene to action scene like some fantasy, this book holds your interest in other ways. It doesn’t follow convention and is a stronger book for it.

The way the relationships were built throughout the book, small things that were mentioned early on that become much bigger later. Dropping very subtle clues and hints makes the reader feel clever when you get something before it’s revealed, even though that’s exactly what the writer wanted.

Spoilers – Being in the “head” of the animals (who are some of the main characters) was done brilliantly.

The speech patterns for the different characters was excellent, no doubt enhanced by a great narrator, but it was easy to see who was thinking or speaking by the way it was written.

Book 2 of 2025