Customer Reviews

Rumo: And His Miraculous Adventures

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an outstanding novel by the author of "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear." RUMO is actually more satisfying as a novel because Moers takes more time to develop one cohesive story rather than a series of short-stories as he did in "13 1/2 Lives." But his incredible inventiveness still shines through. Be sure to read Captain Bluebear first though, because that's where Moers introduces the world of Zamonia and some of the important characters in RUMO.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed Walter Moers' 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear. So when I saw Moers' new book "Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures" at Barnes & Noble, I was very much looking forward to reading it. It doesn't quite rise to the level of "Bluebear," unfortunately.

We follow the title character "Rumo" from his being raised as a puppy by a kindly breed of creatures named Hackonian Dwarves. Rumo can visualize his smells as colored threads- and there's a thread that's constantly hanging above him- a silver thread. He doesn't know why, but he knows he must follow it. Unfortunately, all of the Hackonian Dwarves and Rumo are kidnapped by the Demonocles, a breed of giant Demons that delight in eating living things alive. While in the Demonocles' prison, Rumo meets and is befriended by the Shark Grub Volvotan Smyke, a prominent character in "Bluebear." Smyke teaches him how to speak, and watches as he grows into a Wolperting- a strong canine creature with horns. They eventually devise a plan to escape the Demonocles' clutches, which is successful. Rumo and Smyke have some adventures together, but eventually they decide to go their separate ways, since Smyke wants to find civilization, and Rumo wants to follow the mysterious silver thread. After some stumbling around, Rumo follows the silver thread to a city called Wolperting, full of Wolpertings just like him. Rumo finds the source of the silver thread- a beautiful girl named Rala. One day Rumo arrives in Wolperting, back from a trip to get a present for Rala, only to find the entire city is deserted. The only clue is a huge hole in the ground, which as it turns out, leads to the underground kingdom of Hel. Rumo must rescue Rala and the residents of Wolperting from the clutches of Gornab the 99th, Ruler of Hel, and the evil General Tic-Toc.

I don't think that "Rumo" is as good as "The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear." For one thing, many parts of the book tend to meander, particularly when the history of a particular place such as Hel is explained. Of course that happens to a certain extent in "Bluebear," but it does so through Nightingale's Encyclopedia, which works literarily within the story. But when engaging in tangents in the form of straight prose narrative, it gets dry. Another shortcoming is that "Rumo" is not as copiously illustrated as "Bluebear." That's part of what made "Bluebear" so fun to read- Moers' fanciful illustrations which seemed to pop up every other page. In "Rumo," on the other hand, we only see one illustration of the title character when he's full-grown, and a couple when he's a pup. Illustrations of the other characters are similarly few. That said, fans of "Bluebear" (and fantasy fans in general) will likely enjoy "Rumo." It has a similar sense of captivating fantasy and adventure, and takes place in the same fictional world of Zamonia. And even with the shortcomings I feel the book has, Moers' imagination never fails to shine through. In addition, several characters from "Bluebear" show up here, including of course Rumo, Smyke, and Professor Nightingale; Bluebear does not make an appearance. In addition, the living, insane chemical element Zamonium, which played an important part in "Bluebear," also is part of "Rumo." Read the book to find out how.

i work in a bookstore. have done for quite some time. in that time, i've browsed pretty much the entire store in search of a good next book. and, considering the rate at which i read (a hundred and twenty odd pages an hour), it pretty much means not only that it's hard to find a good next book, but that my library is guaranteed to grow almost as fast as a weed garden.

now, a long time ago (not in a galaxy far, far away, but i wish it was), i saw a copy of moer's 13 1/2 lives of captain bluebear and really meant to pick it up, but never quite got around to it. then rumo: the miraculous adventures popped into the store, and the same thing happened.

finally, it was released in the paperback size, and we got more than usual in, so i picked on up and gave it a bit of a small browse. then took it to lunch with me where i shared a vegemite and cheese roll with it and found it rather tasty. the book, not the roll. although the roll was quite tasty in its own way.

moer is an awesome storyteller. he is darkly comic, and deeply disturbing while at the same way he can make you giggle so hard you'd think you were reading hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy for the first time all over again. i've seen him compared to terry pratchett, but really i think that's just an awful marketing ploy, because i'm not a pratchett fan, and find moer much more to my taste. moer's got more of an edge to his stories, and just a whole lot more gold for your dollar.

basically, rumo: the miraculous adventures is just that. the miraculous adventures of rumo, born of a warrior race and destined to greatness from his very beginning. following his nose, he finds the girl he loves and in a desperate attempt to impress her, goes off to get some wood from a spooky forest no sane creature would dare to enter. returning, he finds she, and his entire race, have been kidnapped by the denizens of hel. determined to rescue her, rumo embarks on his most miraculous adventure yet, culminating in a truly spectacular finale of death and destruction!

during my reading, i was struck by a similarity with the story of rumo and the books by michael de larabeiti - the borribles series. not so much in the plot, or in the style, but more in a very subtle tone of darkness and the futility but necessity of violence, combined with true heroics and self-sacrifice.

i truly enjoyed this novel on so many levels and the comic highlight for me were the small adventures of smyke and the non-existent teenies, who were just hilarious.

i don't think you can go past this book. it's frightfully funny, and deliciously good. eat it with a side of curry and coke on a nice hot summer night and you'll be just fine.

My husband asked me if this book was funny. I don't know--is it funny that Rumo, a dog/deer combo with a natural talent for armed combat finds a talking sword at a fair--a sword that claims to be endowed with the mind of an epic demon warrior of historic proportions and is actually the soul of a troll geologist named Dandelion?

This book has all the random elements of a good installment of Hitchhiker's Guide but actually ties the craziness together into a coherent storyline. Background stories about the characters crop up as you meet them, funny, ridiculous, and yet poignant and tragic, and they all add to the story and the fullness of each character. Once you accept the silliness of a puppy who learns to talk, walk upright, and become a heroic adventurer, as well as his first teacher, a combination of fourteen-armed shark and grub with a taste for good wine and gourmet food, you find a story that is masterfully crafted and extremely well told.

The first half of the book is so filled with distinct adventures and character stories that it's a very enjoyable read, easy to take a chunk at a time and set it down. Then the action becomes dire as Rumo journeys into the NEtherworld in pursuit of his true love and it quickly turns into a page turner that you'll want to stay up all night to finish.

Sweet, exciting, funny, dramatic!

Citing freely from "Harry and Sally"
I'd like to have what Walter Moers had, when he wrote Rumo.
I listened to the book on CD with my daughter. We were enchanted.
It is romantic and colorful and breathtakingly full of unexpected twists and turns.
Not for the faint of heart.
But for those who love a good story.
Enjoy!

Similar to many others, I read all of Walter Moers' books in the order that they came out in English print. The 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Blue Bear, followed by Rumo, then City of Dreaming books, and when Walter Moers didn't come out fast enough with another book, I even devoured A Wild Ride Through the Night.
The 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Blue Bear was so captivating, that of course that was what made me track down the remaining of this author's books. However, after reading all his books in English print, I have to say that Rumo was my favourite. Not going into the story line (as I see many others have already outlined it in detail), it was by far the most zaniest (if there is such a word) and creative book I have ever read. Every detail, character, plot and sub plot meshed together so perfectly, I couldn't put down the book. And I did indeed find it funny, hilarious at parts, actually, although I have to say I agree it isn't for everybody. The humour dances a fine line. People have picked up the book at my urging, but never made it very far. I guess not everybody finds it as fantastical as some of us do. I am actually currently biding my time and hoping my memory of the book fades fast so that I can do a reread.
The City or Dreaming Books was kind of disappointing. Still good, but following on the heels of Blue Bear and Rumo, it was definitely flatter.
But have no fear, all fans out there, we will have another chance to see Zamonia again! Walter Moers has a new book out in April, 2009, titled The Alchemaster's Apprentice, and it's about a cat. This is available for pre order at amazon uk. (Sigh, I google Moers every few months in hopes of finding a new book.) Crossing my fingers that it's good! :)

Rumo and his Miraculous Adventures


In the land of Zamonia, a young wolperting named Rumo lives on a farm until he is captured by a Demonocles, "a race of cyclops," and taken to Roaming Rock. There he meets Smyke, a shark grub, who teaches Rumo to speak. Rumo finds his way to wolperting where he meets several other wolpertings including Urs of the snows, Rala, a young wolperting girl, and many more. His adventures start when all the Wolpertings disappear from the face of the Zamonia. Rumo fights his way through many dangers armed with his talking sword, Dandelion.

Rumo and his Miraculous Adventures is an exciting fantasy tale from the mind of Walter Moers, author of The 13 ½ lives of Captain Bluebear. It is fun for ages 10 and up, and is also good for reading to younger kids. I loved RUMO... because of the way Walter Moers sucks you in with his way of telling stories. This book is great for kids and grown-ups alike who like a good fantasy tale.

By Enzo Peters '

Excellent book. I completely loved it.
For slightly over 5 dollars, i got an excellent read, with a detailed filled world and whatnot. I loved the book, it was beautifully written.

All I can say is that I almost cried when I reached the last page of this wonderfully strange, imaginative, violent and hilarious book. I just didn't want the adventure to end. It is quite difficult to describe, but it is a fantasy that mixes violence, awe, hilarious characters, very frightening creatures and exaggerated characterization to create a novel like none other (except other Moers books!) Moers sprinkles the pages with illustrations that are works of art.



I've since read every book Moers has in English translation.

The second book in the now Zamonia Quadrilogy (loosely connected), is the story of a young Wolperting pup named Rumo, and his adventures growing up. Some of the absurd things here are: Roaming Rock, a moving boulder that is home to a bunch of Demonacles, one-eyed ravenous cyclopses, a double-bladed talking sword named Dandelion, Gornab the Ninety-Ninth insane king of Hel, and General Tick-tock and his Copper Killers. This last one is probably the most richly imagined part of the book. General Tick-tock and his Copper Killers are an amalgam of metal and random creature parts. The General himself is home to the only thinking element, Zamonium (who is coincidently, insane). His goal in life is to fight every creature and refine torture to a high art form. It is much darker than Bluebear, but every bit as good. What's weird is, even though it's quite dark, at its heart, it's a love story. What you'll find from me in reviews of Moers is praise and awe at this man's imagination. I have yet to find a flaw in his prose, narration, style, plot, moral, theme, etc. He is the best absurdist author we have today and we should put him on a pedestal.