Heads Will Roll

Heads Will Roll #1

by Kate McKinnon, Emily Lynne

Heads Will Roll is an Audible Original from Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon and her co-creator/co-star (and real-life sister) Emily Lynne. Produced by Broadway Video, this is not an audiobook-it's a 10-episode, star-studded, audio comedy that features performances from Meryl Streep, Tim Gunn, Peter Dinklage, Queer Eye's Fab Five, and so many more.

Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm (McKinnon) and her ditsy raven minion JoJo (Lynne) receive a prophecy about a peasant uprising. Together, they must journey to find the "Shard of Acquiescence," which will put down the rebellion and save the throne. Will their friendship survive sensitive generals, chatty sex slaves, whiny behemoths, princes with bird fetishes, and the notion of democracy?

This raunchy satire also includes the wicked talents of Andrea Martin, Carol Kane, Audra McDonald, Aidy Bryant, Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, Chris Redd, Steve Higgins, Bob the Drag Queen, Esther Perel, and more. So, hold on to your head, and let the bad times roll.

Genres: Audiobook, Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Adult, Magic

4 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 2, 2019

About the author

Kate McKinnon Berthold is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity impressions.

Reviews

[Megan (ReadingRover)]

This book was amaz-balls! It was ridiculously over the top and hysterically funny. I don’t know why people are bitching about how crass it is or how they can’t take the raunchy sex jokes. What were they expecting? A well manicured period piece, eloquently told about a queen’s majestic rule over her kingdom? Off with those peoples’ heads! It was meant to be over the top and it was. It was full of cliched jokes, overly used stereotypes and awkward puns. That’s what made it so funny. It was pretty much exactly what I was expecting and it was fabulous!
The production itself was really well done too. This full cast production is star studded and dotted with original songs and sound effects. Kate McKinnon outdid herself as the queen. This was one of the most entertaining things I’ve listened to in a long time. 5 stars

[Rissa]

“I am a psychopathic tyrant with the kingdom on my shoulders”
Immature story for mature audiences.
Loved this! If you need to laugh and just forget the rest of the world this was great!

[Ray]

Very hilarious comedy audio play, and it seems like part of a new genre that is forming. What can Heads Will Roll be compared it to? Kind of like the classic Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide radio series, but medieval comedy like Monty Python. But, like modernly updated.

A stellar cast with Kate McKinnon as the evil queen, and the bird girl is a treat, not to mention fellow SNLer Alex Moffat as Odin. There are skits with Peter Dinklage, the Fab Five, and more! And, amazingly, Meryl Streep.

The world of this Disney-esque kingdom with a dark edge makes just enough sense to work (that is, not that much sense, as it should be). So many fantasy tropes satirized, as well as some political takes and more among all the many skits. I also liked the weird commercials peppered around.

I'd definitely like to see more of what Audible can do with this new storytelling medium of uncensored "radio" dramas.

Lastly, Warning: extremely dirty jokes herein. You better be into such to enjoy.

[Gidg]

Total Disappointment. I pre-ordered the audibook due to the list of A-List cast members involved and the reputation of that of Kate McKinnon as a comedic superstar. When you pre-order you are not given a sample to listen to before purchase and therefore I had no idea what a mess this book was going to be. I was confident in the many talented people that were involved to deliver a very amusing and entertaining production. That wasn't the case.

I read a few positive reviews that praised the audiobook but I notice most of those reviews were all of two sentences. Where as the negative reviews were more than a few sentence and all touching on what I agree was a bad SNL skit that went on too long. Or better yet it was like some teens High School production for the talent show that just didn't fly. There were no laughs on my part and the story was all over the place and bit hard to follow or even care about any of the characters. Lots of Yelling and just being crude for the sake of being crude. I don't mind crude as long it actually makes the material entertaining. This was not that.

Of course with a star cast of talent the performers were good and the production was well done and the original music was surprisingly enjoyable. It just failed in telling a worthwhile story and lacked laughs. I think I SALTS (smiled a little then stopped) maybe once in Chapter 2. I listened to "Harry Clark" original audible book and laughed out loud from the start and then some but it wasn't even trying that hard and yet delivered. Heads Will Roll tried way too hard and it showed.

My advice is to read ALL the reviews at Audible.com and not just the good ones to help you make up your mind if this is something you find worth purchasing. Everyone has a different humor level and thus making it subjective.

[Mark Colaci]

This was an absolute blast.

I went into this expecting a funny audiobook, but I wasn’t expecting to laugh out loud as much as I did. Kate McKinnon absolutely shines as a narrator, and you can tell this story was written to be heard. The full cast makes every character feel larger than life.

It’s weird, witty, ridiculous, and completely embraces the chaos. If you enjoy quirky humor, murder mysteries, and a cast of eccentric characters, this is a fantastic listen.

One of the rare audiobooks that truly feels like a performance rather than someone simply reading a book.

An easy 5 stars. Highly recommended, especially in audio format.

[MissBecka Gee]

This was ridiculously funny!!!
I looked like a crazy person walking to work because I kept bursting into fits of laughter while listening to this.
Highly recommend!

[Nisha Menon]

Ok, if this is already on your TBR, you need to get to it ASAP if you're craving some laughs.

I'm still new to the audiobook world and I find that I have to wrestle with my head to make it stop talking over the book at certain points. But know this, by the end, my head shut up and gave in to the world and it was wild and fun.

I always knew deep down that I was just waiting for the right evil queen to pledge my allegiance to. Ladies and gentlemen, we found her.

Also, fair warning, this book embraces a very absurd sense of humor and it might not be your cup of tea, so maybe just taste the preview before diving in.

[Ginger]

3.5/4 stars

Funny, raunchy and completely ridiculous!
Don’t go into this one expecting Shakespeare or Tolstoy.

I laughed. I shook my head at the absurdity.
And I loved all the narrators that contributed to Heads Will Roll!

Definitely recommend this to Saturday Night Live fans and anyone that doesn’t take an audiobook too seriously.

[Panda]

Audiobook (4 hours 6 minutes) narrated by a full cast, including:
Meryl Streep,
Tim Gunn,
Peter Dinklage,
Queer Eye’s Fab Five,
Andrea Martin,
Carol Kane,
Audra McDonald,
Aidy Bryant,
Alex Moffat,
Heidi Gardner,
Chris Redd,
Steve Higgins,
Bob the Drag Queen,
Esther Perel,
and more
Publisher: Audible Originals

The narration crew is excellent. Anywhere I see Meryl Streep is an automatic win.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meryl_S...
This is a great mother/daughter interview conducted by Kjersti Flaa:
https://youtu.be/RqIEYXepJVw?si=17i2Z...
The other actors/narrators in the cast are also excellent.
The audio is flawless.

This is the full 10 part series. I picked this up a bit ago and decided to read it as a palette cleanser of sorts.

The writing is adult, darkish, sarcastic humor that takes a jab at some of the current troubling societal norms, as any real good comedy would do.

The parts are short and peppy. The book flew by so quickly that I was shocked when it came to an end. Good stuff!

[Chris]

I gave up after 20 minutes and for the first time ever, I went back to Audible and requested a refund. I wish there was a way to give this -1 stars. It's like a really, really bad SNL sketch that just wouldn't end.
The affected accents are awful, the language is "totally" valley girl, the attempts at political satire are weak, and the humor never rises above the second grade level.
Makes me seriously question ever picking up an Audible Original again.

[Vikas]

This was a great listen, funny, raunchy and balls-out funny. Did I say funny? The performance was so wonderful and funny though the story brings the rating a bit down it was more about the performance. Heads did indeed roll and in 10 chapters wonderful Kate McKinnon brought so many wonderful people together for a wonderful performance which isn't a book but a recorded play. Maybe someday I would get to see it I heard Broadway Video so where's the video of this performance?

People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[andrea]

Queer Eye boys as cannibal sirens and Kate McKinnon? Yes.

[Mridu aka Storypals]

Funny but something you can live without.

[Lauren]

I’m a pretty big Kate McKinnon fan so I really enjoyed seeing the vastness of her creativity. She literally oozes it. When I wasn’t listening, I was thinking about it, so that’s a plus in my book. It gets raaaaaather raunchy so that’s why I’m only giving it 3 stars. I liked all of the satirical humor about our current world/politics and the SNL and GOT spoofs. I loved hearing some of my favorite people voice these characters. The sirens were hilarious, thanks FAB 5. Overall, I enjoyed it and kept me entertained while working today.

[Petra]

I know this audio show is not for everyone. It's ridiculous. The humor can get very dark and crass. The storyline is pretty straightforward.

Having said that, it is most definitely for me. I mean, I've listened to it at least 20 times by now. That says it all. It's my comfort audio.

I love everything about this production - starting with the STELLAR performances by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynn, who also wrote this thing. All of their characters are hilariously distinct. I love the dark humor, how they play with languages, all of the pop culture references. And the ridiculously awesome cast that includes Meryl freaking Streep in what I consider my favorite role of hers 🤷‍♀️😅

[Amy]

I rated this three stars because the performance was excellent—what a talented cast! The story itself? Meh. I guess I’m too old for sex and fart jokes (but I do find “My dad wrote a porno” hilarious!). Maybe in a different mood it would be funnier? Ah well.

[Kacy❁]

Wow. I DNF this one so fast.
This was definitely NOT FOR ME. It was too random, boring, and not really funny. When they started singing I was done. I'm glad this was free. It may be someone's cup of tea, but I def need a few shots of whiskey in mine. Sorry, next.

[TheSleepyLibrarian]

Rating 5 Stars of Acquiescence!!!! *wink wink*

Kate McKinnon's comedy just seems to always trigger the giggles for me. Right off the bat I was already guffawing as Queen Mortuana beheads a dude for no reason really and two people lose their heads after that with dramatic sound effects. With the help of her raven sidekick JoJo they get into all more sorts of shenanigans to keep the kingdom. There is more characters voiced by fabulous actors and actresses that made this as delightful as Kate's evil Queen character did. This is an all over enjoyable listen with lots of silly singing and voices so if your looking for a laugh and nothing really serious in plot this is for you.

[Rachael]

All I knew going into this audiobook was that it involved Kate McKinnon, Meryl Streep, Peter Dinklage, Tim Gunn, and The Fab Five. I’m still not exactly sure what I just listened to, but I was laughing my ass off the whole time! This was absolutely ridiculous, and quite a bit raunchier than I expected. If you enjoy irreverent comedy, then you might like this! I don’t really know how to rate it… because I’ve never listened to an “audiobook” like this?!?! But I was so entertained, I think it deserves 3.5 stars (rounded down.) 😂

[Anna lost in stories *A*]

Originally I gave this one 3 stars but after some consideration I am lowering it to 2,5 stars instead… I had higher hopes for it… I expected it would be funny, but it just wasn’t my type of humor, I guess… and don’t get me wrong, I like dark twists and have no problem with the kind that was in this audiobook, but… it felt like such a wasted potential… based on the synopsis I expected something more coherent, and instead it was this slice of life sort of around ten episodes of life as an evil queen… the cast is full of stars, but it feels like most of their roles were made just for the sake of appearance… I wished the pacing and flow of the actual story was better planned and executed… this just felt disjointed and all over the place… the performances themselves were good, but I couldn’t enjoy them because of the way the story was constructed… if it sounds like something you might enjoy then definitely give it a try and hopefully you will like it more than me ;)

XOXO

A

[Todd]

This is pretty bad. I really wanted to like it as some light fare to simply turn the brain off to. Really. It just didn't work. Besides the weak plot, the anachronisms are just too off-putting. You are allowed to take some liberties in a fictionalized comedy world. However, if you want to build a medieval-like world, you might want to research a bit about how it worked - even for a comedic take on it. But it's also like they have no clue about how our own society works either. Compare this to Monte Python and the Holy Grail; the parking lot scene at the end of the latter was a big wink that they got it. Even the improv podcast Hello from the Magic Tavern did a better job at the comedic medieval-world shtick.

[Courtney ✌]

This was so much fun! It’s just a funny, satirical episodic tale about an evil queen and her cursed raven minion. I had a great time and really I enjoyed every minute of this Audible read. It was a little short, but it was filled with a great cast of voice actors. Can’t say enough about how much I really enjoyed this.

[Stacey]

Listen to three chapters and called it quits. I just found it stupid, not funny.

[Stacy ohmyskulls]

Oh boy this was pretty enjoyable! the cameos were especially fun haha, and i loved all the little interstitials that were like medieval ads throughout. i love kate mckinnon which probably helps too!

[Jess (BookObsessedJess)]

This took me quite a while to get into. But once I put it on while cleaning, it flew by. It had some funny moments. I doubt I will read it again though.

[MegsChaosLibrary]

first audiobook ever and it was great! it was me laughing and the storyline was definitely unique.

[Ettelwen]

I am a psychopatic tyrant with the kingdom on my shoulders.

Tohle je tak strašně přehnaný, nevhodný a nabušený, až je to naprosto skvělý. Rozhodně se to do krámu svým anti konzervativním podtónem nebude hodit každýmu. Heads Will Roll si dělá prdel naprosto ze všeho s využitím celé škály humorných podtónů. O moc nad královstvím nejvíc bojuje ten černý, laciný a vulgární, oba za podpory sexuálních narážek.

Některý věci prostě nejde brát naprosto vážně…

… ale.

Všechny hrany v tomto příběhu jsou reálně ostrý.
Suchá nit nezůstane téměř na ničem.
Vážnost myšlenky je zde těžko udržitelná. Nebo není? Hehe
Znělku si budu zpívat ještě dlouho.
Reklamní sloty jsou strop.
Miluju fantastiku, ale udělat si z ní čas od času terč, taky není k zahození.

Fuck.
K čemu jsem se to nechala zlákat?

Nafouklé přehnanosti a nabubřelosti zdar!

[✿ Raloudi | A Biblio-Traveller]

True, this may not be a book and can't be categorised under a specific reading genre, but this audio is a masterpiece. I was crying laughing the whole freaking time. McKinnon nailed the hell out of it by writing it. The cast is also impeccable.... Meryl Streep, Peter Dinklage, Tim Gunn are just some of them!!

If you need something short, light, that will make you pee yourself from laughing too hard, you should give this a try!

[Mindy Lou's Book Review]

The humor fell a little flat for me.

[Branden]

This was hilarious. It reminds me of “Your Highness” and I love that movie. I might have to listen to this again.