Thursday, October 25, 2007

Book Review: Asterix and the Falling Sky by Albert Uderzo

Asterix and the Falling Sky is the 33rd book in the Asterix series and this time the Gauls must deal with alien invaders as well as the Romans. Whilst, as a lifelong fan of Asterix, it was nice to see a new adventure involving Asterix, Obelix and friends this story is rather poor by the standards set in the past. Whilst the illustrations have developed over the years, the storylines have become rather tired and as this one does not leave the Gaulish village, the opportunity to meet interesting characters is limited if not non-existent.

There are none of the puns in character names, beyond the regulars, that make the Asterix series so amusing and the visitng aliens are totally uncharismatic. In this book the Romans and the Pirates are confined to bit parts - token appearances really - and the story does not go beyond two warring alien tribes bringing their battle to the Armorican village whilst the Gauls are confined to being onlookers most of the time.

Unfortunately it appears that Albert Uderzo has finally run out of ideas, and although the quality of the illustrations is superb, the story is feeble. Kids will like the colours and Asterix fans will be happy to get their hands on a new book, but I am afraid they will be very disappointed.


Asterix fans will want to buy this issue to complete their collections but if you are a newcomer to the series then I suggest trying one of the older books.

Read about all the Asterix books here: The 33 Asterix Adventures by Goscinny & Uderzo.

Score: 4/10

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