|
|
The Seven Crystal Balls (The Adventures of Tintin) (Paperback) (Paperback)
by Herge
| Category:
Adventure, Fiction, Ages 9-12, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 128.00
MSL price:
¥ 118.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The adventures of Tintin which is full of mystery and comedy is a classic series. Tin-Tin will take you to another time & place. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
Detail |
Author |
Description |
Excerpt |
Reviews |
|
|
|
Author: Herge
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Pub. in: September, 1975
ISBN: 0316358401
Pages: 62
Measurements: 11.6 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00141
Other information:
|
|
Rate this product:
|
|
- MSL Picks -
First, be aware that the exciting Tintin adventure that begins in The Seven Crystal Balls is concluded in Prisoners of the Sun. As our story begins, Tintin is on the train reading how the Sanders-Hardiman Ethnographic Expedition has returned a trip to Peru and Bolivia. The gentleman reading over Tintin's shoulder predicts trouble, drawing a parallel between what happened with the curse of King Tut-Ankh-Amen's tomb and these explorers violating the Inca's burial chambers. "What'd we say if the Egyptians or the Peruvians came over here and started digging up our kings?" asks the gentleman; what’d we say then, eh?" The comment is important, not only because tragedy does strike the seven members of the expedition as they fall prey to the Crystal Balls of the book's title, but because one of the themes that Herge develops in this particular epic is the respect Europeans should have for other cultures and ways of life. This point has been implicit in many of Tintin's adventures, but it is a dominant element this time around. Assisted by his good friend Captain Haddock, Tintin becomes embroiled in the mystery, which takes a more personal turn when Professor Calculus is kidnapped. One interesting twist in this story is that Snowy actually ends up causing more trouble than the Thom(p)sons. There is a seriousness to what happens in The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun that reflects a significant turning point in Herge's work, laying the ground work for his greatest tales, the two-part Moon story and Tintin in Tibet. The ability of Herge to grow as a storyteller over the course of his distinguished career is impressive and these stories deserve the accolades they have received and the affection with which they have been embraced by generations of readers.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 6
|
|
- Better with -
Better with
Red Rackham's Treasure (The Adventures of Tintin) (Paperback)
:
|
|
Customers who bought this product also bought:
|
|
Hergé (pseudonym of Georges Remi), Belgian author and illustrator, created Tintin in 1929 and produced 24 volumes of the internationally famous bande dessinée by the time of his death. Known as the father of the modern European comic book, Hergé's impeccable style and superb use of color won him international acclaim after the Second World War, and the books have been translated from the original French into some 40 languages.
|
|
Herge was masterful at creating any scenario and eliciting any reaction from his readers that he wished. In this book he created a spine-tingling supernatural thriller, concluded in the second part of this adventure, Prisoners of the Sun.
Seven Crystal Balls has its share of laughs as well, provided in particular by Captain Haddock. At the start of the adventure, Haddock desperately tries to relinquish his gruff old sea-dog ways by sporting a monocle and speaking in a very dignified manner. As you can imagine, the results are slightly less than successful.
This adventure seems to focus around darkly lit and heavily furnished rooms, places of scholars and thought that can not combat the evil terrorizing Tintin's world. Prisoners of the Sun takes Tintin to the beautiful countryside of Peru. The contrast is remarkable, the result is beautiful. This two-part adventure is fantastic.
|
Danielle Payne (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
The Seven Crystal Balls begins where its predecessor, Red Rackham's Treasure, left off, with Captain Haddock settling into his family estate, Marlinspike Hall, and enjoying his newfound lord-of-the-manor role perhaps just a tad too much. The mystery begins at a variety show which Tintin and the Captain attend that evening. One of the performers, a clairvoyant, is suddenly seized with a vision that an audience member's husband is in great danger. Shortly afterwards, it is announced that the woman's husband has indeed been taken seriously ill.
The woman's husband, as it happens, was one of seven explorers recently returned from a voyage to South America to study the Incan mummy, Rascar Capac. As the story unfolds, the six other explorers - including Professor Calculus' ebullient friend, Professor Tarragon - are also rendered comatose by what appears to be the curse of the mummy. ("This will lead to trouble," a stranger prophetically warns Tintin at the beginning of the book, as they are traveling on a train and Tintin is reading about the explorers' expedition. "You see if it doesn't!")
The plot thickens even further, however, when Calculus, taking a stroll around Professor Tarragon's house, discovers a striking gold bracelet, puts it on (remarking on how nicely it goes with his coat), and then mysteriously disappears. It is up to Tintin and the Captain to find him - but the mystery is left up in the air until the next Tintin volume, Prisoners of the Sun.
One final note: Also vitally important to this story is the return of Tintin's old friend General Alcazar, now performing as a music-hall knife thrower under the pseudonym Ramon Zarate. His knife-throwing partner, Chiquito, proves to be a prominent character in this mystery. |
Gagewyn (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Tintin and Captain Haddock go to a psychic show. There an Indian fakir puts his assistant into a trance. She foresees a mysterious illness striking a photographer on a recent expedition to recover Incan artifacts. One by one the researchers on the expedition fall into mysterious comas. Near each lies a shattered crystal ball...
For some comic relief here Captain Haddock tries hard to be oh so proper (he has recently acquired his ancestral estate and title). He is fixated on wearing a monocle at all times. This is an involved mystery with many clever bits of detective work and technology used by the characters. This particular book is definitely the first of two parts and doesn't stand alone. At the end of this one Tintin and the Captain are off in pursuit of a potential villain. But we still don't know what was in the crystal balls or how it connects to the Incan curse, and a major character has been kidnapped and not reunited with the heroes. So you will have to read Prisoners of the Sun to not be left hanging after this one.
|
Örn Leifsson (MSL quote), Reykjavik Iceland
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Herges Tintin comics are classics and probably the best of the genre. They really are for all ages, some of my best childhood memories are of reading Tintin or Tintin as he is known in Iceland and I still enjoy reading these books today. What makes the Tintin books so good is they seem to have everything in it that make up a good comic book, originality, interesting characters, adventure, suspense, great humor and well thought out stories. If I had to chose only one Tintin book to take to a desert island I think the seven crystal balls would be it. The book is masterfully drawn like of course all the Tintin books and the story is not just an adventures thriller but it has a mysterious atmosphere to it which I really like. |
William A Murray (MSL quote), Glasgow, Scotland
<2007-01-05 00:00>
As a prequel to Prisoners of the Sun, this adventure has it all. Bianca Castiafore, General Alcazar and the long suffering Nestor play second fiddle to Haddock and Tintin as they attempt to rescue Professor Calculus from kidnappers. Meanwhile an expedition team falls foul of the curse of Rascar Capac, an Inca mummy! This book is excellent; car chases, gun fights, suspense and Captain Haddock to ensure that everything goes far from smoothly! Buy Prisoners of the Sun at the same time, you will not want to wait around to discover where Calculus has gone! |
|
|
|
|
