Hergé heeft hier zijn stijl perfect uitgevoerd en een spannend verhaal bedacht. Het weet me nog steeds te boeien.

3.5

One of my favourite Tintin outings. Rascar Capac creeping through a window creeped me out as a kid! This instalment does everything right - the artwork, the story, the humour (Haddock in the music hall!), the suspense. An excellent entry from Tintin's "middle period".

There's the usual Tintin fun to be had, but it feels like the set-up of a story, which of course it is, rather than an adventure in itself.

There are some nicely effective sections, the best being Tintin's dream-vision of the mummy, Rascar Capac. Or, was it a dream-vision? I'm looking forward to the next instalment, Prisoners of the Sun, which I hope will pay off on the set up of this book.

Part one of a two part story that brings Tintin and crew to south America chasing the mystery behind the illness of seven explorers.

From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
When explorers return from Peru and fall ill, the intrepid boy reporter is on the case.

This was my first book of Tintin I've read and it's still hard to decide which one is my favorite.

I was never a huge fan of Tintin growing up. On reflection, I don't think I was bright enough to be able to access the level of narrative or enjoy the quality of the illustrations from Herge's comic strip. This is the 13th story from Herge and it's interesting to consider that he wrote it whilst under the watchful gaze of Nazi-occupied Belgium. It is only recently that I have grown to enjoy Herge's stories mainly because of the political undercurrent that runs throughout them and, perhaps more interestingly to me, the immense quality of Herge's draftsmanship. Before reading Tintin, I was so used to reading comics at a break-neck speed but here was an artist that was asking me to slow down and read between the lines. Yes, there was humour throughout but, especially in this novel, there is an unsettled sense of fear too.

I think I would consider using some of the books as a guided reading in Upper Key Stage 2 or with Year 4 accomplished readers. They would make for an interesting discussion but also as a historical reflection of a book/story set in its time. I can imagine great discussions around Herge's use of pace and colour as well as dramatic tension and characterisation.

The text below is included in ALL of my reviews for the Tintin series. If you've already read it, please proceed to the last part of the review.
I am a lifelong fan of Tintin and Hergé. Tintin is the earliest memory I have of being exposed to books and stories, my dad started to read Tintin to me when I was less than three years old and continued to do so until I learned to read on my own. I have loved these stories my whole life, and I know all of them by heart, in Persian, in English, and in French.

But, as a devout fan, I think it's time to do the hard but right thing: confess that these books are far from perfect. They are full of stereotypes, they are racist, whitewashed, colonialist, orientalist, and many other problematic "ists" for the modern reader. Not to mention a complete lack of female characters in the entire franchise.
The only reoccurring woman, Bianca Castafiore, is not even a good character, she's a mocking parody of the poor dear Maria Callas that Hergé hated. Other women present are her maid Irma (in approximately 20 frames), Alcazar's wife, a seer, some landladies, and some other very minor characters that play no important role. Anyway.

In the past few years, I've struggled to decide how I feel about these books. Will I dismiss them? Consider "the time they were written in" and excuse them? Love them in secret? Start disliking them? I don't know. So far I haven't reached a fixed decision, but I will say this:
I am aware that these books are problematic. I acknowledge that. I don't stand for the message of some of these books. At the same time, I won't dismiss or hide my love for them because they were an integral part of my growing up, and they have shaped some of my fondest memories, fantasies, and games. I still love the adventures of Tintin very much. And I have a soft spot for my dear old Captain Haddock, stupid and ridiculous as he is.


Le 7 boules de crystal is one of my absolute favorites. Colonialist, I admit, but it's so full of mystery and thrill and allure that I can't help but giving it a full rating.