Customer Reviews

Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
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Prisonersof the sun is the best Tintin adventure yet. One can never get tired of reading a book like that. It starts off a bit boring but once the search in the forest begins, the book is really gripping. It has a lot of humor, mainly from the Captain, but Calculus' hearing problem also brings a few laughs in the ending. This is a great book. Herge's idea of Tintin &his friends escaping with the help of an eclipse is brilliant. The pictures are very well drawn too. The whole idea of the book is great.

I am a huge Tintin fanatic and have read just about every book. This book stands out because it is a great follow-up to the seven crystal balls that has myth, adventuring, danger, and "BLISTERING BARNICALS," Capitan Haddock the hilarious friend of Tintin. A five star book for sure!

One of the top three Tintin books. Exciting, funny, and mysterious. If it wasn't for some racist remarks, this would be perfect. But I'm willing to forgive Herge for not being political correct 50 years ago. I read the Tintin books as a kid adn I loved them. Now my kids read them and they love them. How many comic books are that good?

Prisoners of the Sun (The Temple of the Sun would be the original title) is one of the best Tintin albums. A sequel to The Seven Crystal Balls (a good album in his own right), here Tintin and Haddock travel to Peru to try to rescue Calculus, who has been abducted by some Indians for unwittingly wearing some sacred bracelet. In their travels, they found a companion in Zorrino, an indian child they rescue from the harassment from a bunch of white peruvian racists. As it turns out, the Indians are working for the Inca empire, who is still working in incognito in a part of the peruvian jungle!. The travel of Tintin from the coast to the Andes to the jungles to rescue Calculus is one of the best sections in the Tintin ouevre. And the final denouement with the eclipse is terrific and original (and was recently plagiarized by Mel Gibson in Apocalypto).

"Prisoners of the Sun" was the first Tintin adventure that I read. It was so good, that it got me hooked. I'm now a big fan of the series. I like the adventure/fiction story put into a great comic strip. I hope to be able to read all the Tintin comics.

I am a huge Tintin fanatic and have read just about every book.This book stands out because it is a great follow-up to the sevencrystal balls that has myth, adventuring, danger, and "BLISTERING BARNICALS," Capitan Haddock the hilarious friend of Tintin. A five star book for sure!

We have been reading the TinTin books to my grandson since he was three (he is now five). He loves them. I do believe we have almost all of them. Amazon's prices on new paperbacks are better than Powell's.

Prisoners of the Sun is the second part of a story started in The Seven Crystal Balls, but really, until very late in the adventure, there's little reference made to events in the earlier book and consequently, there's no need to have read the previous book, terrific though it is (one of the best Tintin adventures, in fact), since as far as second part is concerned, it can be summed up as... Calculus has been kidnapped.

Well, ok, to expand slightly on that - since it's a regular occurrence in Tintin adventures - Calculus has been kidnapped and taken to Peru, although the reasons for his abduction are rather flimsy, it seeming to be on account of him inadvertently picking up and wearing a precious artefact belonging to the mummy of the ancient Inca ruler Rascar Capac (which seems to have disappeared, vaporised in a ball of lightning in the last book). All you really need to know is that Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock are in Peru to try to rescue Calculus from persons unknown, since no-one seems to being willing to give them clues as to who might be holding the Professor. Showing kindness to one young Peruvian boy, Zorrino, however Tintin finally gets a lead and a guide to take him to the mysterious and secret Inca site of the Temple of the Sun.

The abandoning of many of the mystic elements of The Seven Crystal Balls is slightly disappointingly, Prisoners of the Sun becoming much more rational in its explanations and more like a typical Tintin adventure, but in a way this just provides a strong balance for the earlier half. Having used the earlier book as a set-up (and what a set-up!), Prisoners of the Sun just goes for all out adventure in a way not seen since Cigars of the Pharaoh. Consequently, it's one of the most memorable of Tintin books, creating a strong impression particularly on younger readers, for the terrific variety and extremes of terrain that the adventurers have to cross. Snow-covered mountain passes, verdant tropical jungles, rocky deserts and vast waterfalls, all of them are beautifully rendered by Hergé and his studio of artists, each of the locations filled with potential hazards and populated by dangerous exotic animals - llamas ("perambulating fire-pumps" as Haddock memorably describes them), boa constrictors, condors, tapirs, bears, ant-eaters and alligators - that fire the imagination and keep the story moving from one magnificent and thrilling sequence to the next.

"Prisoners of the Sun" is the thrilling conclusion to the Tintin adventure begun in "The Seven Crystal Balls." This adventure features Belgian artist Herge at the top of his form, as his cartoon heroes the young journalist Tintin, his faithful dog Snowy, and his old friend Captain Haddock travel to Peru in search of their kidnapped friend, the eccentric Professor Calculus.

As the story opens, Tintin and the Captain are in Callao, Peru, awaiting the arrival of the merchant ship believed to be carrying Professor Calculus and his mysterious Indian kidnapper. They are joined by the bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson. When the ship arrives, Tintin sneaks aboard. He learns that Calculus is being held captive for a sacrilage committed against an ancient Inca code, but is forced to leave the ship without rescuing Calculus.

The trail of Calculus and his kidnapper leads into the Andes. Guided by a young Indian boy named Zorrino, Tintin, Snowy, and the Captain will brave the mountains, the weather, various dangerous beasts, and the wrath of the kidnappers in pursuit. The trail leads finally to an ancient and forgotten stronghold of the Incas, and mortal peril for the whole party.

Herge does an exceptional job capturing Peru as a setting for this adventure. His simple but detailed artwork practically tells the story by itself, as Tintin and his friends face one exotic crisis after another. Captain Haddock's ongoing feud with their cantankerous baggage-carrying llamas provides welcome comic relief. "Prisoners of the Sun" is very highly recommended to Tintin fans of all ages.

First published in the original French in 1949 as Le Temple du Soleil (The Temple of the Sun), Prisoners of the Sun is the sequel to The Seven Crystal Balls.
After Professor Calculus is kidnapped in The Seven Crystal Balls, for putting on the bracelet of the mummified Inca Rascar Capac, Tintin and captain Haddock travel to Peru to find him. After getting no help from the police, and after an attempt on Tintin's life, Tintin and Haddock come across a young Indian guide by the name of Zorrino.
They then travel through mountain and jungle and eventually stumble across the hidden mountain temple where Calculus is imprisoned.
Sentenced to death by the Incas for defiling their Temple, Tintin tricks the Indians by timing their execution (of which date the condemned are allowed to choose) to coincide with the solar eclipse.
The terrified Incas then are convinced that Tintin has powers to control the sun, and release Tintin and his friends, giving them gifts and sending them home with Calculus.
The eclipse incident is a misnomer as the Incas, as s worshippers of the Sun and experienced astronomers, the Incas would have been able to predict a solar eclipse almost as well as any modern scientist.
Zorrino chooses to stay in the Temple.
Full of action. adventure and colour.