Great adventure volume from Tintin, has a controversial side

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	• Tintin Shooting Star Herge Mammoth, 2002 - 64 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good adventure but poor as science fiction

In this adventure (written 1941) the world comes close to annihilation when earth almost collides with a star (or a meteorite). A piece of the star (or the meteorite) brakes off, and it falls into the Ocean. Professor Phostle discovers a new metal in the meteorite/star using spectroscopy, which is named phostlite. Tintin and Captain Haddock sets out on an expedition together with a team of international (European) scientists to find the piece that broke off as well as the new metal.

From the drawings and the description of the approaching object it is clear that it must be a star (being a large hot fusion object in space, and the use of spectroscopy, etc.) On the other hand solid pieces cannot break off from stars, and it is described as a meteorite at one point. It is clear that Herge did not know the difference between a star and a meteorite. There are also other passages that show poor understanding of science (previous reviewer points out another example). Therefore, this adventure cannot be viewed as good science fiction (just compare with other contemporary science fiction literature).

However, as with most Tintin books, the story is fast paced, spell binding, exciting and full of humor. The story is heavy with mystery and tension but it also has light hearted moments. It is an entertaining story, and once you start reading it you can't put it down.

I should say that there is some controversy surrounding this adventure. The international members of the team picked for the expedition are from Nazi Germany, axis occupied nations, or neutral nations. Also the original villains were Americans (this was later changed to Sao Rico). It might also have contained an anti-Semitic caricature, but this is not noticeable unless you expect it before hand. However, it should be noted that Herge denied that the character in question (Bohlwinkle) was intended to be Jewish. Belgium (where Herge lived) was occupied by Germany at the time, and the newspaper he worked for was the only independent media that was allowed to operate under the Nazi occupation. This might have influenced how he wrote the story.

Despite its flaws, I really enjoyed this story and I have read it and re-read it dozens of times, but it is not among the better Tintin adventures.

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TinTin series, great read for boys! (and girls!)

The TinTin series were favorites of my two sons, now in their 20's. They gobbled down these books as fast as we could find them. TinTin was written in the 1930's-50's and is a fun way to learn basic world geography and light history. TinTin books left my sons eager to read more on certain historical time periods or countries. Don't miss these! Nice cartoonish illustrations as well.

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The Shooting Star

One of my favourite Tintins and one I still enjoy. Admittedly it is a bit silly in places and most certainly is bizarre. But a jolly good romp all the same.

One mistake I noticed: if the meteorite crashed into the ocean it should have triggered tsunamis, not an earthquake.

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Great adventure volume from Tintin, has a controversial side

One of Herge's most controversial books (not considering here "Land of the Soviets" and "Tintin in Congo", whose anticommunism and colonialism are so crude and over the top they are hard to take seriously), this is actually a very entertaing adventure yarn. Herge wrote it during the German occupation of Belgium on World War II, and the plot deals with a European team of scientists rushing to the North Pole to recover a meterorite in competition with an American team. What is controversial is that all members of the European team belong to the axis or countries aligned or associated with it (Spain, Sweden). And the backer of the american expedition is an unmistakably jewish financier (called Blumenstein in the first editions, and Bohlwinkel in later ones) who tries to sabotage the European expedition in a number of ways. The book is very entertaining, but such details left something of a bad taste.

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The Shooting Star

"The Shooting Star" is one of my favorite Tintin adventures. It's got action, humour, and a colorful final sequence.

Walking home one night, Tintin sees a large star in the sky, a star that hadn't been there before. The astronomers have spotted it too, and predict it will colide with and end the Earth! The meteor causes an earthquake on impact, but fortunately that's all. According to some of their readings, the astronomers believe the meteorite is made of a mysterious new metal, and decide to make a trip by boat (led by Captain Haddock) to the Arctic Ocean to investigate. An oil company from Sao Rico has also decided to visit the meteor, to take the new metal for themselves. It becomes a race filled with sabotage and seasickness. Will Tintin and the astronomers be able to beat them to it?

It's a very easy going, straightforward story, and I think that's why I like it so much. It's got a few elements of sci-fi to it (like the effects of the meteor on the Earth) and a dream sequence, which were a nice touch too. It's good to see Captain Haddock, it always is, but from the way the story starts, it is a bit unexpected. A nice surpise though.

Definitely worth reading for fans of Tintin.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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