Our story opens melodeously in a bar in a disreputable part of Rome...
Written: Sep 14 '04 (Updated Jul 04 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Hilarious, great drawings, inventive, witty, equally good for chidren and adults
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: One of the best Asterix books, whatever your age.
|
|
|
| captaind's Full Review: R. Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - Asterix & Caesar's... |
The year is 50BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely… One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium…
When Roman Legionaries come to the end of their twenty years’ service, they are given a gift from Caesar before they start life as a civilian. A nice little plot of land, maybe. Two soldiers, a Centurion called Egganlettus and a drunkard called Tremensdelerius, are celebrating the night before they receive their gift. As usual, Tremensdelerius has had a little too much to drink… and is shouting ”JULIUSH CAESAR! HUH! WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK OF JULIUSH CAESAR?” just as a General comes through the door…
What will Caesar do to him? Throw him to the lions?
No, worse… he’s going to GIVE HIM A PRESENT!
But the present doesn’t stay with Tremensdelerius for long – he doesn’t see the point of being the proud owner of a little Gaulish village. (“What’s the good of a Gaulish village? Can’t drink a Gaulish village, can I?”) So it goes to landlord Orthopaedix, who travels there with wife Angina and daughter Influenza to claim what’s his.
Only… it’s that little village of indomitable Gauls mentioned earlier…
This is one of the best Asterix books around. It has everything – excellent, energetic, and inventive drawings by Uderzo, and witty text by Goscinny that has plenty to appeal to both adults and children. The plot is perhaps the best of any Asterix book I’ve read, there is actually a lot of characterisation in here (I can’t believe I’m saying all this while reviewing what is essentially a comic book…), and there are some tremendous punch-lines throughout the books. Uderzo’s drawings really shines when it comes to portraying the character Termensdelerius – he looks absolutely repulsive!
Two other things that make Asterix and Caesar’s Gift particularly stand out are the prominence in the plot given to Chief Vitalstatistix and his wife Impedimentia (both of whom are regular but underused characters in the books), and the rare use of a love interest for and subsequent rivalry between Asterix and Obelix. Occasional references to other literature / films (such as Asterix cutting a Z in someone’s tunic) also help keep it amusing and entertaining.
Overall
Asterix and Caesar’s Gift is a wonderful books for children and adults alike – and the kids might even learn something from it! (Just don’t tell them that…)
My Other Asterix Reviews
Books
Asterix in Britain
Asterix and the Golden Sickle
Asterix in Switzerland
Movies
Asterix in Britain: The Animated Movie
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.