# Kill the Farm Boy

By Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne · The Tales of Pell, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/kill-the-farm-boy-a218e946/

A quest to wake a princess draws a curious company across Pell: a talking goat, a bard with a rabbit's body, and adventurers poorly suited to the roles a fairy tale usually assigns them. A cheese-loving Dark Lord is among their problems.

## What makes it funny?

The castle's sleeping curse leaves a guard endlessly eating the same mouthful of pie. The narration treats his predicament as an eating record, finding something ridiculous in a spell that other fairy tales hurry past.

### The comedy at work

Dawson and Hearne pick at the details of chosen heroes and grand quests. Puns, foolish names and practical failures interrupt the expected march toward glory.

### Try this if…

A taste for puns helps here. Readers who enjoy fantasy conventions being pulled apart may welcome a quest that makes room for extended jokes and deliberate silliness.

### Good to know

Expect bodily-function jokes. The story frequently pauses for humor; Kirkus found that the number of gags sometimes slowed its momentum.

## What to expect

- Genre: Fantasy
- Kind of humor: Absurdism · Parody · Wordplay
- The atmosphere: Irreverent · Whimsical
- Format: Novel
- Length: 400 pages
- Audiobook: Available
- Published: 2018

## A few distinguishing details

- A talking goat joins the quest
- A sleeping curse sets an eating record

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson | Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562900/kill-the-farm-boy-by-kevin-hearne-and-delilah-s-dawson)
- Book information: [Kill the Farm Boy: The Tales of Pell (Unabridged) by Kevin Hearne & Delilah S Dawson on Apple Books](https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/kill-the-farm-boy-the-tales-of-pell-unabridged/id1418835489)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://kevinhearne.com/books/kill-the-farm-boy)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/delilah-s-dawson/kill-the-farm-boy)
- Author commentary: [Author commentary](https://kevinhearne.com/that-dang-farm-boy)
- Book information: [Google Books bibliography](https://books.google.com/books?id=BQYAtAEACAAJ)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562900/kill-the-farm-boy-by-kevin-hearne-and-delilah-s-dawson)
- Reading sample: [Publisher opening excerpt](https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book?isbn=9780525593669)