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The Seven Crystal Balls (The Adventures of Tintin) |  | Author: Herge
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $10.99
Buy New: $6.05
as of 9/8/2010 07:52 MDT details
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New (36) Used (27) from $5.89
Seller: indoobestsellers
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 66592
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Pages: 62
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 11.4 x 8.5 x 0.3
ISBN: 0316358401
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.59493
EAN: 9780316358408
ASIN: 0316358401
Publication Date: September 30, 1975
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
The Seven Crystal Balls begins on a light note, as Captain Haddock tries to adjust to his new life as a gentleman following the events of Red Rackham's Treasure. He wears a monocle and frequents the music hall, where in a not-unusual coincidence he and Tintin happen to find General Alcazar (The Broken Ear) and the dreaded diva Bianca Castafiore. However, it's the act of fakir Ragdalam with Madame Yamilah, the amazing clairvoyante, that reveals the central adventure: the scientists excavating the tomb of Racar Capac have incurred the curse of the Inca. Despite the efforts of bungling detectives Thompson ("With a P, as in Philadelphia") and Thomson ("Without a P, as in Venezuela"), the explorers are stricken, and one of Tintin's closest friends disappears mysteriously, leading to a trip to Peru in the second part, Prisoners of the Sun. --David Horiuchi
Product Description
The Adventures of Tintin (Les Aventures de Tintin) is a series of comic strips created by Belgian artist Herge the pen name of Georges Remi (1907 1983). The series first appeared in French in Le Petit Vingtieme, a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle on 10 January 1929. Set in a painstakingly researched world closely mirroring our own, Herge's Tintin series continues to be a favorite of readers and critics alike 80 years later.
The hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures from the beginning by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in French). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash, cynical and grumpy Captain Haddock, the bright but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (Professeur Tournesol) and other colorful supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (Dupond et Dupont). Herge himself features in several of the comics as a background character; as do his assistants in some instances.
The success of the series saw the serialized strips collected into a series of albums (24 in all), spun into a successful magazine and adapted for film and theatre. The series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, with translations published in over 50 languages and more than 200 million copies of the books sold to date.
The comic strip series has long been admired for its clean, expressive drawings in Herge's signature ligne claire style. Engaging, well-researched plots straddle a variety of genres: swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and science fiction. The stories within the Tintin series always feature slapstick humor, accompanied in later albums by sophisticated satire, and political and cultural commentary.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 The one with the mummy July 6, 2010
Keris Nine
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There's the temptation to regard the first parts of all the Tintin two-part adventures as lesser scene-setting setting works for the main course - Destination Moon surpassed by the exploits of Explorers on the Moon, The Secret of the Unicorn establishing the adventure in Red Rackham's Treasure, and here with The Seven Crystal Balls clearly being "eclipsed" by the Inca adventures of Prisoners of the Sun. In many ways however there is just as much if not more interest in the earlier parts of these stories, which tend to have a rather more serious tone than is usual in Tintin books whereas their second-halves fall back on the usual exotic adventuring.
This is particularly the case with The Seven Crystal Balls. On the surface, it would seem to be little more than a mature version of the Egyptological themes of one of Hergé's earliest (and consequently most underrated) solo adventures, the hugely entertaining Cigars of the Pharaoh. Once again, the curse of Tutankhamun is evoked in the story of seven scientists who fall into mysterious comas soon after their return from Peru, where they have discovered and unearthed tomb of the legendary Inca King Rascar Capac, removing the mummy from its ancient resting place to take across the ocean for investigation and display in Europe.
The Seven Crystal Balls would seem to be better balanced than the earlier Tintin work in its treatment of the subject of mystic ancient curses, but that doesn't mean that it's necessarily more soberly realistic or any less entertaining as an adventure. If anything, the mystical elements are taken to even greater lengths in The Seven Crystal Balls (the title says it all - the mystic number seven, the telling of dark fortunes), with a tone of dread that is even darker. With greater length to elaborate the story, Hergé masterfully sets up dark premonitions right from the start, as Tintin reads an article about the archaeological discovery in a newspaper on his way to visit the newly aristocratic Captain Haddock in Marlinspike, but it's with a fantastically staged theatre act of audience participation in a mystic seer that raises the tensions considerably as the news of the first victim is dramatically announced.
Not so clearly the victims of a poisonous dart seen in Cigars of the Pharaoh, there are however traces of shattered crystal found at the side of each of the seven victims, which suggests that an earthly hand is involved, but Hergé keeps this wonderfully ambiguous with lightning bolts and dream-like states that bring visions of Rascar Capac coming to life and exacting terrible vengeance. It evokes a potent and palpable atmosphere that carries out throughout the book, the usual slapstick much toned-down here, relating only to an incident between Snowy, a cat and Nestor with a tray of drinks. Even there however, if so inclined, you could associate Snowy's pragmatic headlong attack and ignominious defeat at the claws of rather more mystical feline forces of Haddock's pet cat as a further commentary on what is to come.
Regardless, the tone established by Hergé is consistent and masterful throughout The Seven Crystal Balls, and although that tone changes considerably with the journey to South America in Prisoners of the Sun, the two halves are perfectly complementary, creating a whole that is unquestionably one of Hergé's greatest and most accomplished achievements.
Tintin loses Cuthbert Calculus... February 14, 2010
Surferofromantica (Singapore)
From 1942 to 1954, Hergé published three tales that are told in two parts: the treasure hunt, the South America adventure, and the moon mission; The Seven Crystal Balls is the first book of the middle series. The mystery picks up slowly, with scenes of life in Marlinspike, and Captain Haddock working hard at transitioning from salty sea dog to sophisticated landowner. At the theatre, Tintin and Haddock run into old friends like General Alcazar and Bianca Castafiore (both making their second appearances in the world of Tintin; there will be two more appearances for each of them). The detectives re-enter the picture as they are investigating mysterious attacks on a group of explorers who have returned from South America with an Inca mummy and a collection of artifacts. One by one, these explorers pass into a coma, and it appears that the expedition is cursed. Tintin becomes involved with saving the last of them, an old friend of Cuthbert Calculus'. Once again there's an episode of St Elmo's Fire, or ball lightning, coming down the chimney to inject the situation with action (it happened once before in Tintin In America). There's a chase as Cuthbert Calculus is kidnapped, and off our heroes go to find him in South America.
The Mummy's Curse... August 5, 2009
D. S. Thurlow (Alaska)
In the opening sequence of "The Seven Crystal Balls", Tintin travels by train to visit Captain Haddock at his new home of Marlinspike. An item in the paper notes the return from Peru of an archeological expedition, bearing the mummy of a Royal Inca. A fellow passenger remarks the likely existance of a deadly curse on those who disturb the mummy. Thus is the tone set for a chilling adventure.
Since this is a two-part adventure concluded in "Prisoners of the Sun", artist and author Herge takes his time setting up the story. We are treated to some humor as Captain Haddock plays the country squire, and more humor as he and Tintin visit the local music hall. The story properly gets underway when Tintin is consulted by the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson, who are investigating a series of mysterious attacks on the members of the Peru expedition.
Tintin and the detectives are unable to stop the attacks, which place the men in a coma. Tintin, the Captain, Professor Calculus, and the police all assemble at the home of the last healthy archeologist, there to guard him during a suitably dark and stormy night. They fail; an unknown assailant kidnaps Calculus into the bargain. Tintin and the Captain set out in pursuit, on a trail that leads back to Peru.
"The Seven Crystal Balls" is a classic Tintin adventure; the story and artwork hold up extremely well. It is highly recommended to fans of Tintin of all ages.
 Great start of a two parts adventure December 23, 2007
Andres C. Salama (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
This was, I think, the first Tintin book published after World War II (Herge was briefly imprisoned after the liberation of Belgium, since he has contributed as an artist to a pro-axis newspaper). It's the first of a two volume adventure (the second part being Prisoners of the Sun) but the book is good on its own. It starts amusingly, as Tintin arrives in Marlinspike (he still does not live there) and sees Haddock turned into a country lord (with the fortune of the Unicorn treasure, I suppose). The action unfolds slowly: the seven members of a scientific expedition to Peru start to get mysteriously attacked one by one, falling into a coma, with fragments of a shattered crystal ball next to them. As Calculus is a friend of the last remaining scientist, they paid him a visit to his house. During the night, unfortunately, they cannot prevent an attack on him. Worse for them, Calculus unwittingly takes a gold bracelet, and he is kidnapped by the attackers (which as it turns out, turns to be, some Peruvians connected with the Inca empire, who see the scientists as looters of sacred artifacts). Tintin and Haddock has no choice but to go to Peru to rescue Calculus (this is further developed in Sun, an even better album). Overall, a great album, which has stand the test of time after almost 60 years.
The mystery of Rascar Capac and the Sanders-Hardiman expedition November 27, 2007
Gary Selikow (Great Kush)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
On a train to Marlinspike, Tintin is reading an article about the Sanders-Hardiman expedition which has spent two years excavating Inca tombs.
A gentleman on the train warns that a nasty end will await those "busybodies violating the Inca's burial chamber", comparing their predicted fate to that of the archaeologists, involved in the Tut-Ankh-Kamen affair.
On his visit to Marlinspike, Tintin is re-united with Captain Haddock, who is playing the role of the country lord of the manor in his newly inherited mansion of Marlinspike.
Tintin and the Captain go see a show at the Hippodrome, of magic and mystery, where the psychic Madame Yamilah has a vision of the serious illness of the husband of one of the audience, who hapens to be the photographer of the Sanders-Hardiman expedition.
The psychic revelation proves to be correct.
One after the other each of the men involved with the Sanders-Hardiman expedition falls into a coma, with fragmented crystal shards next to them, in each case.
Tintint and the Captain then accompany Professor Calaculus to his friend Professor Tarragon, and in a strange occurance the Rascar Capac mumy on Tarragon's posession mysteriously disappears, and each of the guests is visited by a frightening dream of Rascar Capac entering their guest rooms and smashing down a crystal ball on the ground.
Professor Tarragon soon also falls into the mysterious coma, and then Professor Calculus disappears, leadin Tintin and Haddock's investigations to lead them to plan a trip to Peru, which sets the stage for the sequel to this comic, Prisoners of the Sun (The Adventures of Tintin).
The Tintin adventures are amazingly detailed and intricate for a graphic novel, and this one is filled with much intrigue, suspense and action failing to disappoint, and reminding us why Tintin remains popular after nearly 8 decades.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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