This is a hefty brick of a book in size at around 700 pages! Young Rumo is a plucky young Wolperting thing with a habit of plunging head first into extreme dangers. He isn’t afraid to say what he thinks and is a brilliant fighter. Puzzled by a mysterious scent he follows his nose which leads him to a place called Wolperting. Here he meets Rala and he is prepared to venture into an underground metropolis netherworld for her, armed with his talking sword.
This is a whimsical and often nonsensical novel which, until you get into the oddness of it, does seem remarkably unusual. The vocabulary is very clever. There are gory moments but it is handled in a way that it is only sometimes stomach churning. There are weird and wonderful fantasy creatures and astonishingly original settings. It features many crazy characters such as General Tick Tock, a cunning swordsman who is Commander of the Copper Killers. There are detailed illustrations which enhance the fantasy. Some are quite unsettling to look at but they also add touches of light heartedness too which follows the mood of the writing.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys getting lost in unusual settings and likes stories within stories with plenty of detail in their plot lines. It takes a bit of getting in to and I was slow to read through this book even though I was quite hooked, which is unusual for me, but it really is worth sticking with. I would recommend this to children who enjoy fantasy novels with violent aspects to the action: 11+. I will definitely read more by Walter Moers.
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