The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

By: Christopher Healy, Todd Harris

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You've never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change.

Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it's up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be.

Debut author Christopher Healy takes us on a journey with four imperfect princes and their four improbable princesses, all of whom are trying to become perfect heroes - a fast-paced, funny, and fresh introduction to a world where everything, even our classic fairy tales, is not at all what it seems.

©2012 Christopher Healy (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Phenomenal

I read a review elsewhere saying that Bronson was the best narrator and went in search of one of his audio books for our road trip. The story is great and would be funny in anyone's hands but he is just amazing. It took us a little while to get the sound equalized so that the different voices were balanced (Duncan was really loud and the princesses almost inaudible) but once we sorted that out we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book. It's such a treat to find a book that mom & dad enjoy as much as the kids. We've had some great audio books on trips before but this was the first that we came home and all sat in the living room listening to the ending because we couldn't wait until the next time we were in the car to find out how it ended!

Great Story

Amazing story line. Adventure at every turn. Fascinating plot twists through out the story. Great for adventures of all ages. Great Narration. Bronson Pinchot brings the story to life with his character voices.

Fun Twist on Old Tales

First the performance, I absolutely loved all the different voices and accents, his range is amazing. Every character, including the narrator, had their own voice and accent, especially when considering that people from the same Kingdom will have similiar accents it becomes fun to try to guess what kingdom they are from.

The story is one of the most interesting takes on fairytales I've seen. instead of just being a retelling with a modern twist this focuses on making the stories real people. I fully believed each character and what they did and never found myself wondering why a character did something. Especially viewing the princes from the last chapter to how they were introduced they had so much character development and all got a chance to shine.

I also like how they didn't focus just on relationships, it showed a whole range which is rare to see if romance is even thought of.

Anyone who likes fairytales or adventurous mideval tales-think kid friendly Lord of the Rings-will like this book.

Funny story told by a master

After listening to this story I couldn't imagine any other narrator. The voice he chose for each character was perfectly appropriate, entertaining and made the listening extremely easy. The story would have been good but mister Pinchot kills it.

The PRINCE Bride!

This is a belly full of laughs and no mistake. I swear one of the princes is a Texan! The reader is also a prince of a guy, and elevates a delightful story into a howl.

Love!

I adore this book as much for the reader as for the story itself. He is absolutely amazing. Think Jim Dale quality, if you are a fan of the Harry Potter audios. The story is a fun take on the retelling of fairytales that is so common right now. Laugh out loud funny in places, again because of the reader every bit as much as the actual writing. I just about spewed my drink all over the first time I heard him reading the troll voice. Overall this book is worth reading in any form, but the audio book just makes it that much better. Prepare to have some light hearted fun with a story that engages adults as well as those in its intended audience.

Fairy tales with a compound fracture.

What did you love best about The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom?

Bronson Pinchot brings the characters to life, but Healy's sardonic commentary makes it easy to enjoy already.

What other book might you compare The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom to and why?

Not sure.

Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?

Gustav. Love the quasi-Viking effect.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Like the title of the review, Fairy tales with a compound fracture.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the next one!

Entertainment +++

Imaginative, funny and enthralling. I absolutely loved the story and talented performance of this quirky tale. Definitely a five star listening experience.

What a great book!

This was such a fun read for the whole family! We listened to it on a very long road trip. My kids who usually opt for a movie choose this instead! It is witty and well written. I loved the interweaving stories. Bronson Pinchot was wonderful. All the characters had a voice and he kept those characters up the whole book! Well written, well performed. Bravo!

Amazing Narrator!!

I listened to this book on Audible, and while it was very funny and entertaining, one of the best things about this book by FAR was the narrator, Bronson Pinchot! All the different voices he does for all the different characters were just brilliant!

I'm not going to summarize this book as it's already been done here a thousand times before, but Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav are such an awesome band of heroes! I loved every one of their personalities!

This book is absolutely perfect for children. I would even suggest using this book as an introduction to audiobooks for kids as the different voices were so much fun! I'm glad I've accumulated so many credits with Audible because I'll be starting book 2 later this evening!