Customer Reviews

Asterix and the Soothsayer (Asterix (Darguard))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was the first one I ever bought in the Asterix series, and it's still one of my favorites. Everyone in the village wants to believe the rosy future predicted for them by the soothsayer, with only Asterix expressing any skepticism. I really love the artwork in this series, as well as the attempt at giving the reader a feel for the historical era --- even though it's as historically accurate of ancient times as the Flintstones is of the caveman era! Still, a fun-to-read set of books!

In this Asterix adventure, a mysterious, skin-clad man arrives at the village claiming to be a soothsayer. Playing to the villagers' desires and jealousies, the soothsayer soon causes chaos and the machinations of Asterix, Getafix the Druid and Obelix.

Maintaining the usual high standards of art and dialogue in this story, you will be very well entertained and find yourself giggling quite happily.

A great adventure, a great story and a great lesson on gullible people and the insecurities that they may have. I loved this one!

A traveller, claming to be a soothsayer, takes refuge in the village. It isn't long, before the entire village is in his thrall, desperate to believe the wonderful things he has foretold.
Only Asterix sees him for what he really is. A fraud, who lives off peoples credulity.
Even Obelix is taken in by his sweet talk, and falls in love with Geriatrixs' rather gorgeous wife.
The false soothsayer falls into the hands of the Romans and is promised his freedom if he can get the Gauls to leave the village.

He actually manages to do this, and only Asterix and a reluctant Obelix stay. Luckily the Druid Getafix gets back from his Conference in the Forest of the Carnutes, in the nick of time.
Asterix and Getafix put their brains together to deal with the Soothsayer and the Romans.

Some really witty jokes in this one, where we get to find out about all the Gaullish gods, as well as the Roman policy at the time to arrest and deport all Gaullish soothsayers.

This episode is a true classic from the golden age of Asterix. The masterful artwork shows Uderzo's wizardry at the height of his powers and the story itself is one of the funniest in the whole oeuvre. The opening sequence is an unrivaled panache of superb pacing, drama, and humor; the rest of the story is a hilarious piercing comment on human foibles. Of course the whole thing is rendered especially clever by Goscinny's tried-and-true use of the ancient world as a mirror for our own--one of the most consistently entertaining aspects of Asterix and one that at its best gives the series surprising depth and substance. Absolutely one of the best of the series.

One of the best albums of Asterix has a soothsayer arriving into the rebel Gaul village during a storm (which I guess has the Gauls in a vulnerable mood, since one of the few things they fear is the sky falling over them). All its inhabitants (save Asterix) fall for the con man, who is showered with presents in exchange for favorable predictions. Even Obelix becomes fascinated by the stranger. Eventually, the Romans decide to use the soothsayer to convince the Gauls to flee the village, which they do. When things are becoming real dark for the future of the Gauls, Panoramix (who was in a convention of druids) arrives, and with Asterix plans how to convince the villagers to come back, and get even with the soothsayer (who, imprisoned by a Roman general, who wants him to augur a future as an emperor, isn't going through a good time either). A very good book, overall, that is strongly against gullibility and superstition.

When a conman comes to the village claiming to be a soothsayer and foretelling wonderful things for the villagers futures, it is hard for them not to be all taken in. That is, all but our hero Asterix, who realises the Soothsayer for the charlatan he is and sets out to convince the village of the deception. When the local Romans become involved in the deception and try to get the villagers to leave the area based on false fortune telling, then uncovering the fraud becomes all the more urgent. This is another wonderful Asterix adventure and a great addition to your collection. As is now customary you get many humorous names (like Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus) and delightful animation that ensures you will come back to this book again and again. Also this time the woman of the village get involved in the Roman bashing and the end of adventure feast is all the more deserved because of it. If you are a fan of the Asterix series then this will not disappoint and makes for quite a good starting point if you are new to the books as well.

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It's one of my favorite comics in French. There's a laugh in each page. But the English version, which I bought for an American friend, is really boring.

In the middle of a storm, which has the superstitious Gauls nervous, a conman pretending to be a soothsayer arrives.

Almost everyone but Asterix falls for his bumpf, even the Romans he ends up with after Asterix smokes him out.

An invasion of the village by Romans leads the Gauls to return the favour, allowing the women to partake of the magic potion.

"Asterix and the Soothsayer" is the nineteenth Asterix comic (1972), and is set in the Gaulish village, mostly, where a soothsayer captures the interest of the townsfolk, then is forced by Romans to drive the people out of town. There's some pretty funny ideas and set ups in this one, but it's not one I feel like reading an awful lot though. Three and a half stars.

One of my favorite of the series, a soothsayer appears in the special Gaulish village to lead the people towards the light, maybe. I loved this edition because of the constant historical humor which makes the series great. A full-page aside on different kinds of future-predictions of the time is one of the highlights- showing how we can trust soothsayers because after all they predicted Julius Ceaser would be safe with Brutus. But sometimes, they predict things like 80 story buildings, and so are obviously "a bit soft". Here also are allusions to ancient smog. It continually amazes me how a series written in French, relying on puns, can still translate humorously into English and some 20 other languages- puns are usually the thing that translates least well. A brilliant bit of imagination.