Review: The Drop of a Hat (Hat Trick #1)

Title: The Drop of a Hat (Hat Trick #1)
Author: Luke Chmilenko, G.D. Penman
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Paperback
Release Date: December 5, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A powerful wizard and a lowly kobold experience a magical meeting of the minds in the first book of this comedic fantasy-adventure series. 

Absalom Scryne, the greatest wizard of his generation, has been murdered. There’s no other explanation for why his consciousness now resides in his well-worn but perfectly pointed hat.Well, he isn’t going to take that lying down . . . or hanging from a branch, as the case may be. Instead, he’ll hop on the head of the first foul-smelling kobold that comes along and convince it that it’s in everyone’s best interests for them to undertake the epic journey through the Badlands—past horny necromancers, rustic werewolves, and rampaging ogres—back to the shining city of magic at the heart of civilization, where he will promptly kick the backside of whoever it was that finally managed to stab him in the back.Assuming, that is, he can teach a kobold how to use magic, survive all the roaming adventurers who consider a kobold to be a very minor payday, and prevent anyone else from claiming the wealth of arcane knowledge that is now bound within the rather handsome piece of haberdashery that he has become.

Review:

The Drop of a Hat is about a kobold names Ig. He’s a simple creature whose only daily activities are eating and sleeping. One day he finds a hat in a tree and puts it on. The hat holds the consciousness of the great wizard Absalom Scryne, who has been murdered. Absalom wants to go back to the big city and find out what happened to his body, so he convinces Ig to leave his home and travel through the Badlands. They join a group of fighters on their adventure, and they encounter werewolves, ogres, and a necromancer. 

The Drop of a Hat was a very funny adventure story! I loved the way Ig grew and developed as a character throughout their journey. This story reminded me of World of Warcraft, which is one of my favourite games, so it would be a great read for fans of fantasy role playing games. 

The Drop of a Hat is the first book in the Hat Trick series. The second book Hat’s Entertainment is available now. 

Thank you Luke Chmilenko, G.D. Penman, and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign.

This is a sponsored post.

Content warnings: death, fighting, knives

Other books in the series:

• Hat’s Entertainment

Have you read The Drop of a Hat? What did you think of it?