Le Temple Du Soleil / Prisoners of the Sun (Tintin)

Rating:
Summary: The second half of another great Adventure de Tintin
Review: " Le Temple Du Soleil " concludes the epic Tintin adventure that begins in " Les Sept Boules de Cristal." The Sanders-Hardiman Ethnographic Expedition had returned from a trip to Peru and Bolivia exploring Inca burial chambers when all seven members fell into comas induced by mysterious crystal balls. Tintin is already involved in the mystery when Professor Tournesol is kidnapped and put aboard a steamer bound for Peru. With Milou and Captain Haddock in tow, Tintin arrives in South America ready to rescue his friend and solve the mystery of the curse of the Incas. This involves a journey through the Andes Mountains and the jungles of the rain forest. There is seriousness to what happens in " Les Sept Boules de Cristal " and " Le Temple Du Soleil " that reflects a significant turning point in Hergé's work. The point that Europeans need to respect the cultures of other peoples is not only explicitly articulated by Tintin in these volumes, but is reinforced by the attention to details he puts into Tintin's visit to foreign lands. The ability of Hergé to grow as a storyteller over the course of his distinguished career is impressive and these stories deserve the accolades they have received and the affection with which they have been embraced by generations of readers. I have always liked his foray into science fiction with the two-part Moon story, but Hergé never did anything any better than this Incan epic. " Le Temple Du Soleil " also has one of Hergé's best running gags: no, not the perpetual confrontations between Captain Haddock and the llamas, but the attempt by Dupont and Dupond to use dowsing to help solve the case.

Rating:
Summary: The second half of another great Adventure de Tintin
Review: " Le Temple Du Soleil " concludes the epic Tintin adventure that begins in " Les Sept Boules de Cristal." The Sanders-Hardiman Ethnographic Expedition had returned from a trip to Peru and Bolivia exploring Inca burial chambers when all seven members fell into comas induced by mysterious crystal balls. Tintin is already involved in the mystery when Professor Tournesol is kidnapped and put aboard a steamer bound for Peru. With Milou and Captain Haddock in tow, Tintin arrives in South America ready to rescue his friend and solve the mystery of the curse of the Incas. This involves a journey through the Andes Mountains and the jungles of the rain forest. There is seriousness to what happens in " Les Sept Boules de Cristal " and " Le Temple Du Soleil " that reflects a significant turning point in Hergé's work. The point that Europeans need to respect the cultures of other peoples is not only explicitly articulated by Tintin in these volumes, but is reinforced by the attention to details he puts into Tintin's visit to foreign lands. The ability of Hergé to grow as a storyteller over the course of his distinguished career is impressive and these stories deserve the accolades they have received and the affection with which they have been embraced by generations of readers. I have always liked his foray into science fiction with the two-part Moon story, but Hergé never did anything any better than this Incan epic. " Le Temple Du Soleil " also has one of Hergé's best running gags: no, not the perpetual confrontations between Captain Haddock and the llamas, but the attempt by Dupont and Dupond to use dowsing to help solve the case.

Rating:
Summary: Unraveling secrets of the Incas (part 2 of 2)
Review: The previous installment of this story, The Seven Crystal Balls, left Tintin ad Captain Haddock in pursuit of kidnappers on a ship bound for Peru. In Peru Tintin catches a brief glimpse of the professor but is unable to rescue him. He and the captain continue the investigation. Local Indians are uncooperative, until Tintin rescues a local boy and finds sympathetic people who point him toward an Incan curse...

This comic is very much the second half of a mystery. Unless you have read The Seven Crystal Balls first you are likely to miss some major plot points. So read that and this together. In Peru the Captain has ongoing problems with lamas. These pack animals spit when upset and find the captain very unsettling. Jungle shots and scenes set in an Incan temple mean that the drawings here are very exotic and colorful. This is a good action and humor filled adventure story, although the last few pages are perhaps a bit abrupt (4 pages for the Tintin world to return to normal come after 120+pages of increasingly complex mystery).

If you are reading this to help learn French, Tintin comics are good for reading at a French 2 level. There are a lot of words that aren't basic vocabulary but it is still easy to follow the story because the writing and pictures tend to reinforce each other. However this is a two part mystery and you are going to be reading two books, so if this is overload then try another Tintin comic instead. Also be aware that the professor is unaware of his surroundings. The things he says make no sense - thats the joke. He is a minor character so as long as you know this you should be able to follow the plot OK.