Dead Queen Walking

Castle Charming #4

by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Once upon a time, a fairy tale queen was lost in an enchanted sleep, fighting monsters in an endless nightmare realm. Now she's home: her sons are all grown up, her husband is a tree, and none of her Royal gowns have enough pockets for all her weapons.

Once upon a time, a boy reporter fell in love... only to find out he's actually a prince, and it's bad form to have a royal bodyguard as your boyfriend.

Once upon a time, a princess ran away. But you can't escape your family forever, especially when they travel by magic beanstalk.

The fairies are closing in around Castle Charming and this time, they're taking no prisoners. All they want you to do is make one wish, to make everything better.

Close your eyes. Make a wish.

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Fiction

164 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2019

About the author

Tansy Rayner Roberts is a fantasy and science fiction author who lives in southern Tasmania, somewhere between the tall mountain with snow on it, and the beach that points towards Antarctica.

Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.

You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.

Reviews

[Mel (booksandsundry) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful as always from Tansy. Though I’m very sad the stories in this world have ended, it was a very worthwhile and fun journey.

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly delightful. I'm rather sad the series is done.

[Clarissa Gosling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so much fun! Glad everything all works out at the end.

[Stas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fitting conclusion to the series.
Beginning was somewhat confusing and a little jumbled, but the later parts of the story are engaging and coherent.
Very nice to see loose ends tied up.

The book needs some editing - some words were missing in text and fair amount of guesswork was involved.

Series overall is a fun, engaging read built on fairytale trope subversion.

VERDICT (FOR THE WHOLE SERIES) : GIVE IT A TRY!

[Serena]

Loved listening to Tansy Rayner Roberts' podcast Sheep Might Fly where you too can listen to lots of her short stories for FREE including "Dead Queen Walking" episodes 1-25!

[Rivqa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet reworking of fairy tale tropes, as the whole series has been. This is an easy, fun read that tackles big family issues without being overwrought. Delightful.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really happy with how this one ended up, all ends tied up in a neat bow.

[Ju Transcendancing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read via the 'Sheep Might Fly' podcast. What a fitting end to this novella serial! Loved how happy endings are not always what they seem, and loved the comic twists on fairytales - Tansy clearly loves playing with tropes and bringing the reader on the journy and letting them in on the joke. This is fantastic fluff, that is rewarding and feeds your unicorn-chasing loving soul.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

YOU HAD ME GOING FOR A MINUTE, TANSY. Three-quarters of the way through this I did NOT know where it was going, or like where I thought it might be going, but it all came out okay at the end and yes, it’s Tansy so I should have trusted her, but OMG. (Seriously, a mostly highly enjoyable roller coaster. Leaving aside the fact that I don’t actually like roller coasters…) A fabulous conclusion to the Castle Charming series. All four novellas are available now, although as a Patreon supporter I got mine a little earlier. I just hadn’t got around to reading it yet because ... I have no idea why. I should have read this earlier.