Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming

by Roger Zelazny

Book Overview

A satire of epic proportions from the masters of comic fantasy Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley People feared, back in the Middle Ages, that the world would end with the millennium. They weren't wrong. It does this every millennium, only nobody notices--except for the Forces of Good and Evil who vie for control of the universe every thousand years. Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming concerns the efforts of one Azzie Elbub, demon, to win the Millennial...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553354485
• ISBN13: 9780553354485
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Random House Worlds
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Millennium is upon us, and so is the battle!

The Millennium brings change, even between the angels and devils! Azzie is the demon who will do anything to win the Millennium contest, where either Good or Evil will rule for the next 1000 years. Babriel is the angel observer sent to make sure Azzie observes the forms. Add in Ylith, Azzie's on-again witch girlfriend, an Igor like lab assistant, and the idea to recreate the Prince Charming saving the Princess story (with a demonic twist) and you have a setting for hilarity! This is the first of a set of books about Azzie and it is a real stitch!! Follow it up with "If at Faust You Don't Succeed".

Battle between good & evil on a very new level...

If you are reader of fantasy, you know that every "pro" something have as well it's dark side which is "anti" that same thing. In this particular case faith of whole humankind is depending on a single thing, and that is a fairytale. But, not ordinary fairytale. This is like many of Zelazny's books alternate fantasy, something totally gripping and definately worth having in personal library. If you like funny and satirical view of the world, if you believe either one of the murphy's laws are true, you are going to LOVE this book.

One of my favorate books

Robert Zelazny and Robert Sheckley join forces in this tag team satirical take on good and evil. Auzzie is an happily irreverent demon, with all the right corruptions and an evil credit card to match, bent on demonstrating the hopeless fate of the Prince Charming fairy tale in the "real world". The prize at stake is none other then the fate of the human race for the next thousand years. With the assistance of some old aquantencies and the infernal powers, coupled with a Angel who helps out since helping people is a good thing to do; the satire flys fast and furious. Of course Auzzie, being a demon, is not under much compulsion to play fair! Let the misadventures begin.This book was the beginning of a fairly large number of books I read taking a sideways view of fairy tales and popular stories. I found "Bring me the head of Prince Charming" the best of a very entertaining bunch. Sharper and just plain more fun then Robert Asprin's excellent "Myth-Adventures" series and with a lighter touch then Gregory Maguire's enjoyable "Wicked: The life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West" I cannot help but give this book high praise. I would be delighted to find a less tattered copy or other books in this niche. If you have the chance to snap this book up, grab it before I do.

Fantastic! Very unique! Incredibly funny! Read it!

This is the sort of book that you either really love or really hate. If you're well acquainted with the fairy-tale form, you have to read this. Zelazny makes fun of every single fairy-tale cliche, from the enchanted sword to the glass mountain. Prince Charming is cowardly, the Princess is waspish, and the demon who creates them is one of the most fun protagonists I've ever tagged along with. One warning: if you take books very seriously, or otherwise have no sense of humor, don't even bother. This book is a parody of the fairy-tale and the fantasy genre. It doesn't want to be taken seriously. It CAN'T be taken seriously. For those of you who aren't humor-impaired though, give it a go. I reread it every once in a while, and it always makes me laugh. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Don't pass it by.

With this demon, you WANT Good to lose!

Azzie the demon came up with a brilliant plan for Evil's entry to the End of Millenia Contest: stage a fairy-tale, except that there is no happy ending. Enlisting the help of his semi-girlfriend witch Ylith, the god Hermes and the human former demonic assistant Frike, Azzie sets out to complete the fairy tale. Unfortunately, he comes up against trouble right from the start. Sheckley and Zelazny make a great team and leave you wishing very much that Azzie's entry had succeeded. And the way EVERYTHING seems to go wrong, it looks like what happens so often when you want to do something: the idea is great, but nothing works. Azzie doesn't seem so much like an evil demon than just some normal guy who finds all his plans ruined. But the story isn't portrayed in a sad way. From a made-to-order enchanted forest to Fairly Lucky Swords (different from Enchanted Swords) to putting together Prince Charming and the Napping Princess from "spare" body parts, Zelazny & Sheckley will have you rolling with laughter.