Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower

By: Tamsyn Muir

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

When the witch built the 40-flight tower, she made very sure to do the whole thing properly. Each flight contains a dreadful monster, ranging from a diamond-scaled dragon to a pack of slavering goblins. Should a prince battle his way to the top, he will be rewarded with a golden sword - and the lovely Princess Floralinda.

But no prince has managed to conquer the first flight yet, let alone get to the 40th.

In fact, the supply of fresh princes seems to have quite dried up.

©2020 Tamsyn Muir (P)2020 Recorded Books

The ending

I don’t want to give anything away-
Simple story and characters but great take on “prince rescues princess” only gets better till the end.

This is excellent

I have to say, having never read anything by Tamsyn Muir before, this book was FANTASTIC. The narrator, who I notice has read a bunch of Muir's books, did the hands down perfect job with it. I can only think of one or two other narrators who could possibly have done it as well.

Some of what I liked so much about it is the underlying themes in particular. Yes the author took many of the fairy tale/legend tropes and either turned them on their heads or showed the quiet part out loud, but she also gave it a dark twist that was extremely well done.

The underlying lessons were subtle enough you don't really notice them until you mull the story over a bit. I only listened once but this was a purchase I am very happy with and one I will listen to many more times.

Now I need to try the other books Tamsyn Muir has written.

Fresh

Wonderfully narrated and full of bizarre quotable moments. Fun and short, but not quite too short, unlike this review.

Brilliant

This Novella was amazing. Turned everything about fairy tales upside down and made it so much better. Honestly a triumph of a female protagonist. Every second of this book was beyond a delight. The narrator performed brilliantly. I honestly don't have the correct words for how much I enjoyed this book.

Highly recommend

If you like a good twist on a fairy tale this title is for you. I found the ending to be especially satisfying and will be checking out if the author has more works. Well worth the time and money.

girls just want to have fun

The princess-in-a-tower trope has been stood on it’s head before, but never so darkly funny. Tamsyn Muir lovers genderfuckery and the inversion of accepted social constructs around gender *and* swords. And guts (spilled). If this doesn’t bring a feral grin to your face and an ache to your soul you may wish to check your pulse, then your assumptions. If it makes you howl with fervor by all means grab The Locked Tomb books, also voiced by the magnificent Moira Quirk.

Fractured Fairy Tale

Fans of Rocky and Bullwinkle are all nearly dead. This story will taste like Captain Crunch and Denturcreme on their sad, old tongues. It sure did on mine. Good night, my pet.

Clever Girl!

This has the feel of the Brothers Grimm meets Shrek’s Fiona as Princess Florinda transforms from damsel to dragon slayer in 39 not too easy steps and via confrontations with an impressive variety of magical beasts. It’s clever and funny, but not for animal lovers or vegetarians. 😜 There are not so subtle digs at men, gender stereotypes and fairy class systems. The ending is quirky, if a bit abrupt. On sale, this was a delightfully twisted tale.

I liked this so much better than the hot mess that was the author’s Gideon the Ninth. Moira Quirk’s narration is perfection. This is free of swearing except for a riff on “effing madmen.” I will let my 6th grader listen to this no problem. For similar books, I recommend Once More Upon a Time or the series beginning with Two Necromancers, A Bureaucrat, and an Army of Golems.

A great take on a princess locked in a tower

This short listen was fun and laugh out loud funny from start to end. The couple of reviews that call it woke or feminist had me scratching my head. A princess battling her way out of the tower (feminist??) or because a fairy doesn't have a gender and the princess assigns one is woke (really??). I would agree with the reviews that there is enough violence/gore that it probably isn't for under 12, but otherwise it's pretty tame stuff.

Put simply, this is a fun, quick listen. You won't regret this purchase.

Most amusing

Humorous and well paced. The story is the perfect length. I couldn't recommend it more.