DadQuest: That Time I Pushed My Nerdy Son Out of the Way of a Truck and Got Trapped in a Magical Fantasy World Where Everyone is Short and Has Weird Colored Hair, Also They Want Me to Tame a Dragon

by Simon Miller

Dave is not a hero. He's a middle-aged mechanic with a bad back. But when he pushes his son out of the way of a truck, he ends up in a crater in a magical forest, and is quickly found by a diminutive wizard who thinks he's there to tame a dragon.Everyone seems to expect great things from Dave, but he's more realistic. He can't go around riding dragons and slaying monsters—that's a young person's job. But that won't stop the townsfolk from asking him to solve all their problems. And when people are in danger, will he really be able to just sit by?Monsters roam in the forest, and great blasts of flame are coming more frequently from the castle on the hill. Will Dave be able to rise to the challenge? Whatever happens, he'll be using all of his dad skills and telling some terrible jokes along the way.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[abnomrality]

Dave uses his Dad Powers to help a tiny fantasy village as he tries to reunite with his son on Earth. He teaches a grumpy dwarf how to ride a bike, makes dad jokes (but not so many that it gets old), gets into trouble when his back gives out at the worst moment, etc. I love the magic system (basically you've got to charge mana crystals with different energy and to cast spells you have to word things really precisely or the magic might not do what you want it to). Really nice touch and, like many aspects of the book, it hits a great balance of humor and narrative relevance.

It's a touching cozy fantasy/Isekai adventure with a really sweet message about grief and what it really means to protect someone. I give it 4 stars only because I wish it'd hit us harder with the "Dad" angle + general characterization right from the start, but once you get into it, the town really comes to life. I also think the emotional arc could've been strengthened a bit more, but overall it's really nicely done and I found it really moving, especially as I work through my own grief. Without going into too much detail, it's really cool how it managed to show grief from the lens of the person being grieved.

I really want more people to read this book so I have people to talk about this with!!! I have no idea how I found this book but I'm glad I did.