The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Have you heard the story about Prince Charming?  Think so? Think again. In this amusing book, several fairy tales in which Prince Charming has a role are turned on their ears. It seems the bards are not all that accurate in their renditions of the stories. That can be a problem when the stories sung by bards are the only way news gets around.

There are actually four different Princes Charming. And each one is a bit different from the tales told about them. Prince Liam, who woke up "Sleeping Beauty" (Briar Rose), is a slandered hero. Prince Frederic, who danced with Cinderella, is a bit delicate. Prince Duncan, of Snow White fame, is, well, I mean isn't all there--really nice guy, though. And Prince Gustav, who was rescued by Rapunzel, needs to prove himself in the worst way possible--and is unfortunately often successful in finding that way.

When these Princes team up to save their Princesses and their kingdoms from the evil, publicity-hungry witch Zaubera there are some very funny results. Healy and Harris do a good job with the characters. They are flawed, but decent. They mean well. They try hard. They are, however, constantly tripping over their own personalities. A lot of the jokes are fairly obvious for me as an older reader, but they may be a bit less predictable to the younger readers at whom this book is aimed.

I had a hard time getting into the print version of this for some reason, but I got a chance to listen to the audio and wound up having a lot of fun. Bronson Pinchot does a wonderful job narrating the story. I had to check to see if he is the same Pichot who was Cousin Balki so long ago (yes, that dates me, I know). He is, but unlike his famous character, his voice is smooth and mellow. He doesn’t just read the story, he tells it.

I’d say give it a try. If you like it, there are several sequels.

Stormwatch, Vol. 1: The Dark Side by Paul Cornell

This was a new to me. I am no longer a collector of comics, so I am no longer aware of all the titles. Of all places, I found this in a library in Dayton, Ohio. In the DC Universe, there exists a group of “heroes” who take on the jobs that aren’t talked about. They protect the Earth from alien invasions, no matter what the cost.

This is a little darker than most DC titles. All but one of the members of this team are also mainly new to me. They have an interesting array of powers:

Jenny Quantum: powers are based on "21st century physics, whatever those turn out to be"
The Engineer: nine pints of nano-fluids instead of blood gives her various abilities to control technology
Jack Hawksmoor: can talk to and control cities
Midnighter: can predict the outcome of any situation
Apollo: solar-based powers include super strength and flight
J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter: shape shifter and telepath
Adam One: an immortal born during the Big Bang, aging backward
Emma Rice, the Projectionist: control over the mass media
Harry Tanner, the Eminence of Blades: lie to anyone and be believed

I enjoyed the science fiction-y aspects of the book. I also enjoyed that the members of the team don’t think of themselves as superheroes and actively cut the JLA out of the loop when they need to. They are not in this for glory, but to get the job done. In this volume they save the planet from invasion, lose a member of the team, gain two members, and face betrayal from within. There are some intense interpersonal relationships—this is not one big, happy family. It's more fun than deep and thoughtful. I was interested enough to want to read volume two. Maybe I’ll find that in a library one day, too.