3 Dead Princes: An Anarchist Fairy Tale

by Danbert Nobacon, Alex Cox (Illustrator)

Overview

Princess Stormy lives in a semi-detached castle with her family and a Fool. When an unhappy neighboring kingdom decides to invade, Stormy must go on her quest, meeting giant Cats, Mermangels, Giggle Monkeys, a Gricklegrack, and Flying Lizards on the way. Oh, and she kills three princes. But that's by accident, and anyway it's their own fault . . .

Danbert Nobacon, singer, songwriter, comedian, and "freak music legend," was a founding member of the anarchist punk rock band Chumbawamba. He loves children and animals. This is his first book.

Alex Cox is better known for his filmmaking skills. He loves monsters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935259107
Publisher:	Exterminating Angel Press
Publication date:	10/12/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Lexile:	870L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

DANBERT NOBACON, singer, songwriter, comedian, and “freak music legend” (sepiachord, Nov 2009.), was a founding member of the anarchist punk rock band CHUMBAWAMBA. The band’s worldwide hit TUBTHUMPER (1997) gave its members fascinating insights into the way mainstream media limit a culture’s ideas, from Barbara Walters’ questions about anarchism on prime time, to the way David Letterman's staff got in a complete flap because the band changed one of the choruses of their hit song to "Free Mumia Abu Jamal!"

His career has been long (thirty years), wild, and always imaginative. Not to mention mischievous and political—he famously dumped a bucket of ice water over John Prescott, the British deputy prime minister, at an awards ceremony, in London, in 1998, to protest the Blair government’s treatment of striking dockworkers.

He released The Library Book of the World, with Chicago band the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, on Bloodshot Records, in 2007. He has a new album, Woebegone, with Seattle band The Bad Things, due for release in April 2010.

He loves children and animals. This is his first book.

ALEX COX, illustrator of 3 DEAD PRINCES, is better known for his filmmaking skills. Aside from turning out cult film after cult film (REPO MAN, SID AND NANCY, THREE BUSINESSMEN, REVENGERS TRAGEDY, REPO CHICK), and spending a lot of his time staring at a computer screen, he still can be found hunched over a board, drawing.

He loves monsters, so Danbert had to put some in the book.

Editorial Reviews

Princess Alexandra, aka Stormy, is having a rough life. Her father is going on a business trip, and the aggressive neighboring Oosarians want her to marry odious Prince Mercurio. When Mercurio assaults Stormy and she accidentally kills him, she flees the castle, the threat of war, and a prophecy that she will kill two more princes. At its best, the story inhabits that delicate zone between sincerity and self-conscious mockery of fairy tale tropes, but Nobacon can't sustain the balance for long, and the pretension-puncturing aspects of the narrative, such as a princess who volunteers at the library, are at odds with the dramatic tension of prophecy and attempted rape. Marketed to adults, the slim story and Alex Cox's cheerful but sketchy illustrations might do better with teens. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a beautiful book. The illustrations are wonderful. It definitely rocks! I ought to know” —IGGY POP

“3 Dead Princes follows the fairy tale narrative with personal challenges, serious battle preparation, and more brave moments than the movie Brave. But every time you think you have it all figured out, Nobacon throws a curve ball, forcing the reader to rethink what a fairy tale can be . . . while also posing a lot of subtle questions about society, culture, and evolution. . . . With Alex Cox’s illustrations along to spice things up even more, it’s a very enjoyable, and unorthodox, read.” —Bookslut

“Parents looking for a book for a middle-grader would be hard pressed to find a more sophisticated yet accessible story. Yes, there is a bit of swearing in it, and yes, there are some fairly grown-up themes introduced, but as a springboard for sensible and informed discussion with youngsters about how we live and how we might live, it is hard to think of a better book. . . . Even as an adult reader, the story is interesting and intelligent enough for you to find it worth your while.”— New York Journal of Books

From the Publisher