How to Rescue a Dead Princess Paperback – July 7, 2006

Having just finished a very dark and somewhat unpleasant book by another author, I needed something light and humorous. The author that easily came to mind was Jeff Strand.I've read nearly everything of his that has seen print and have never been let down. Even in his darker and more serious works, you can always count on some of his quirky humor to slip through. In his earliest books, however, he hadn't really tried much for the horror element, instead going with outright comedic tales, this one somewhat in the style of Monty Python's Flying Circus. If at one point early on in the story you don't find yourself thinking about the Dead Parrot sketch, it is only because you never saw the Dead Parrot sketch!)This book has been on my TBR list for far too long, so I decided to read a few chapters to lighten the mood, and I haven't been able to put it down!The characters are amusing stereotypes of themselves, and the dialog is full of witty anachronistic humor. The not-quite-so-intrepid adventurers find themselves getting in deeper and deeper, and you continue to wonder what else could possibly go wrong.If you want to read something for pleasure that has nothing with which to offend and is just simply fun to read, grab a copy of this book. You won't regret it.

I have always liked Jeff's novels (ex:Mandibles) and this one although his first foray into humorous fiction was just as great.Although I should've gone to sleep (because I had work the next day) right after I re(a)d Chapter 1 .But then I kept on saying to myself "I'll go to sleep right after this chapter".Then I'd reached the end of that chapter and begin the next with the same promise until I'd finished reading it and then my alarm clock went off.

This was an amazingly funny book. I usually read mystery/horrorbooks and now I am reading to try more unusual topics.

Having read a few other books (mostly his horror works), I knew that Strand had a strange sense of humor. The synopsis of the book sounded like it was a mixure of Terry Pratchett, Monty Python & Mel Brooks. After reading it I can say that it tries to channel those successful elements & occasionally it succeeds.The story surrounds a somewhat reluctant squire by the name of Randall as he's commanded by his knight & liege to escourt Princess Janice to a neighboring kingdom. After botching an attempt to rescue the Princess from a gang of thieves, the Princess is charbroiled. The only person who can help is a witch (of course) who demands that Randall go about collecting the spell ingredients, none of which are that easily retrieved.Overall I have to say that I did enjoy the book. The humor in it is cute, but the humor is also the thing that tends to grate on the nerves after a while. It's not that the scenes aren't funny, it's just that every. single. paragraph. has a joke in it & there's really not enough non-joke parts of the book to really level it out. There's no "straight man" or it's equivalent in this comedy book & as a result the book's humor tends to get a little old after a while. (If you are unaware of the term "straight man", it's a term used in comedy.) The author does seem to resemble Pratchett a bit, but the thing is that Pratchett's humorous Discworld series works because it doesn't overdo it on the jokes. This book does & at times I yearned desperately for a more serious scene to balance out the rest of the humor.Even so, the book is still fun to read. Fans of the above mentioned people would probably like this, although I do recommend that they flip through it a bit first. I'm not trying to discourage people from reading this book (far from it), but people who are looking for something a bit more serious humor-wise might not like it. (I do have to say that this would probably make for an interesting movie if anyone was to adapt it- much of the humor here would probably work better in a visual context than literary.)

I have written many favorable reviews for Jeff Strand's work. I like his style and wit. This book was just not up to snuff. It tried to hard to be a like Douglas Adam's witty take on King Arthurs time. Trick is it had the wit...but no smarts. It was obvious the book was going nowhere fast so I stopped reading. This has only happened to me three times in my life. The book is King Arthur tale told with a Dungeon Masters Guide of knowledge. The period characters use current day words only literary types would enjoy. Simple characters talk like English Lit majors fueled by an iphone thesaurus. The book is out of stock. My guess is the printing press choked on it.

While Strand is known for his humor in most of his novels, I would have to say that this book is his best from a pure enjoyment factor. The story follows Randall, a clumsy squire escorting a Princess on her journey. Unfortunately she winds up dead. However since it is a fantasy story, there is a witch in it. And witches can often bring back the dead, so that becomes Randall's new task. Strand has fun with the novel by poking fun at the usual elements and bringing his usual sharp and sarcastic wit. Even the sub-headers for each chapter are incredibly amusing. This book should be required reading by everyone with even the slightest bit of a sense of humor.

Using every familiar plot device and cliche imaginable, Jeff Strand creates a world where the unthinkable is not only possible but probable. Want a believable plot? Read another book. Want genuine laughs in the manner of Monty Python? Read on. Pure escapism, chuckles and groans await the reader with sufficient courage to follow Jeff into the zany world of his imagination. Need a change of mood? This is the book for you.

After reading a few reviews on another site, I bought this hoping for an amusing read. I really wish I'd read an excerpt. A few paragraphs is enough to get an idea. The author is trying very hard to be funny, and I feel that he probably could be if he eased off a little. As it is, it's so tiresome, I would really hate to have to read this whole book. If you're interested, read a few pages first and see if it's your style, or you may be very disappointed.