Customer Reviews

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (Alfred Kropp Adventures)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fifteen-year-old, down-on-his-luck Alfred Kropp seems to have drawn the short straw in life. Cursed from birth by his unusually large proportions, including his big head, big hands and big feet, the kids at school call him Frankenstein and everyone thinks he's mentally handicapped, even though he's most definitely not. (His worried mom once even had his IQ tested and confirmed that he was "just a big boy meant for big things.") His shy, awkward personality doesn't help matters, nor does his tendency to hole up in his room listening to music instead of playing sports and pursuing girls like the other boys his age.

Alfred's unfortunate luck in the family department hasn't made things any easier either: he never knew his dad, who left before he was even born, and his mom died of cancer when he was just 12. Shuttled between foster homes until being taken in by his well-meaning but clueless Uncle Farrell, poor Alfred has lost just about everything in the world of value to him, except his hilarious sense of humor.

Besides being funny, the only thing Alfred seems to excel at is failure --- failing at math, failing at taking his drivers test (twice, to be exact), and failing at being even a second-string player on the school football team (he can't seem to memorize the playbook). But little does he know that his underachieving status is about to undergo a supersized overhaul when his uncle latches onto a dodgy get-rich-quick scheme to retrieve a stolen sword from the office building where he works as a security guard.

Against his better judgment, Alfred is roped into being an accessory to the crime, which goes horribly awry and sets a deadly chain of events in motion. Too late, he comes to the shocking realization that the sword he stole is no ordinary sword at all, but the most powerful weapon ever wielded by man --- Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. And Alfred has just placed it into the hands of an enemy with intentions of the evilest kind.

Determined to atone for his mistake, Alfred embarks on a daring mission to restore the sword to its rightful owners, in the process stumbling into a world of modern-day knights bound by a sacred oath to protect Excalibur with their very lives. As he becomes the de facto apprentice to the powerful knight Bennacio and begins to unravel the mysteries of the sword's illustrious history, he discovers an ancient secret that reveals he might not be so "ordinary" after all. In fact, to Alfred's immense chagrin, he learns that the entire future of the world may just rest in his oversized, underachieving hands.

With its dazzling displays of death-defying swordplay, white-knuckle high-speed car chases, and breathtaking helicopter air battles, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP plunges us headlong into a daredevil world of international intrigue where nothing is as it seems. In a high stakes air and land race that crosses continents and spans centuries, modern superheroes must risk everything they have to uphold an ancient Arthurian oath that could save the fate of the world.

With bumbling, lumbering, wisecracking Alfred Kropp by our side, there's never a dull moment on this bumpy ride that proves just how extraordinary "ordinary" can be.

--- Reviewed by Joni Rendon

I'm not normally a fan of the hapless hero. I prefer my heroes to be smart and brave and action-oriented. And Alfred Kropp is definitely of the hapless breed of heroes. He's big-headed and slow on the uptake, and a self-declared screwup. He fails at playing football, doesn't have any friends, and spends most of his time lying around in his room watching TV. And yet ... he falls into an epic sort of adventure, and through sheer tenacity he manages to save the world. And somehow as I listened to the book he got under my skin, and I found myself caring what happened to him.

I think that this would be an excellent book for early teens who are feeling awkward, or uncertain about their place in the world. For anyone who sometimes feels too big or too slow or too different, but who INSIDE knows that he or she has the potential for greatness.

The book is also a fun read for anyone, full of chases and sword-fights, and bravery and betrayal. Arthurian legend is juxtaposed against modern-day espionage, with all of the associated trappings of both. Picture black helicopters, Ferrari Enzos, and Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycles along with Stonehenge, King Arthur's sword, and bows and arrows, and you begin to get the idea. The character of Bennacio is also highly entertaining, with a wonderfully dry sense of humor, and little patience with young Alfred's mis-steps.

All in all The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp is worth checking out.

This review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on February 10, 2006.

Hats off to Richard Yancey. I just finished this book. I read straight through to 1 in the morning, I couldn't put it down.

It is a book that makes you want to cheer for the main character Alfred. He is the ultimate underdog. He is the epitome of all gangley goofy middleschoolers everywhere.

It reminds me of my childhood, when you doubt yourself and feel like you cannot accomplish anything. Alfred feels like everybody is better than he is. He doesn't have any particular thing that he accels in. But he meets some people who change all that and a wild adventurous ride begins. It is loaded with lore, adventure, swordplay and quips from Alfred.

This is one of those stories that is good without being vulgar or obscene. I would let my nephew in middle school read it without hesitation.

The book is inspirational, fast paced, blending all that we know about knights with exotic cars, father-son interaction, thoughts about values and things important to life. You can tell that Yancey has three boys. This would be the kind of story I would like to invent if I had boys their age.

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down and I was completely absorbed by the characters. The good guys were so cool, yet not perfect, and the bad guy was so evil it was scary.
Alfred is most definitely one of my favorite heros now. I loved the way he was a complete nerd( yet a very cool nerd) and yet he, like, saved the world and even died doing it.
Oh, another cool thing about this book is that Mr. Yancey didn't leave the hero dead!!! Hooray!!!!

I wasn't really expecting much when I picked the book up. The plot summary seemed...entertaining at best. But I was in for a pleasant surprise when I read it! I couldn't put it down.
The greatness of the heroes(especially Benaccio; he was my absolute favorite character, by far!) and the wickedness of the villains was a perfect classic story set up. With a few sweet cars in there too. Knights have to travel in style, you know.

I don't know about anyone else who was reading this book, but I for one was reading it and seeing everything about it being made into a movie. It's got everything that an action movie needs to be great: story, humor, action of course, murder, and a really evil guy. I could already see who could play what roles. For anyone looking for a good read that's not to heavy on wording and just wants to have a good time, this book is for you. You've got to give it a try!

This book is a great peice of writing. It is extrodinarily funny (for and action book) and well paced,
not dragging you through hours of character building, it happens during or after the action.
Any fan of fantasy and the Legend of King Arthur should pick up this book and read it immediantly!

I think this book is amazing. It's action packed, sorrow filled and the clues in this book make you not want to put it down. Buy this book! If you don't you'll regret it! And if you do good for you because this is deffinetly the best book I've ever read. Seriously.

Put Alfred right up there with all my favorite heroes! I love hero stories and the hero's adventure and this is one of my new faves. Beautiful writing! Please keep it up, Mr. Yancey!

I found this book by way of "The Monstrumologist" series. I enjoyed "The Curse of the Wendigo" so much that I looked at Yancey's other series to try it out. I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. His writing style is totally different in this series and I enjoyed it immensely.

This book, as mentioned before, is perfect for reluctant readers because the action is constant and the reading is easy. I found Alfred to be lovable, an "aw, shucks" kind of guy who's got major flaws (like all of us) but never gives up. He's uncomfortable in his skin, an aspect that I think many teens can relate to, and unlike some previous reviewers, I feel like he does change throughout the book.

The book is self-contained, there is no cliff-hanger ending that obligates you to read the next book. But I will anyway. Eagerly so.