The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999)

After reading many of the other reviews, I would have to agree with both those who liked and disliked the book.

Does it go on longer than needs be? Yes.
Does the silliness seem a little over the top at times? Yes.

With those two distractions behind us, I would still rate this a clear 4 to 4.5 stars. It reminded me quite a bit of Douglas Adams with the Encyclopedia interruptions, the quirky characters, and outrageous situations. I was wondering if there was any plot until I actually finished two thirds of the book. At this point, I saw where the author was going.

Two suggestions to really enjoy this book. Have the actual book with illustrations and spend time diving into the audio book read by Bronson Pinchot. He breathes quite a bit of humor into the story with his excellent characterization of voices. I think much of the humor may have been too redundant without that voice entertaining me on my long runs.

I can't wait to read Rumo and City of Dreaming Books. ( )

Where to begin? How could one not love a story that involves, minipirates, carnivorous islands, waves that babble to one another, eternal tornadoes, and duels which require the participants to tell the most fantastic lies their imaginations can conjure? I absolutely LOVED this story. Bluebear’s life (or 13.5 lives) is filled with so much action, comedy, and suspense that it’s impossible to be bored. I almost wish Bluebear had divulged the events of his other 13.5 lives, but that would have made for a 1,400 page novel. While the story is excellent and gives the reader more than enough information to picture all the characters and landscapes of Zamonia, Walter Moers fills practically every other page with his hilarious illustrations; I felt like a child reading a picture book all over again. I think the most fantastic thing about this book is that, at times, Moers made me forget that Bluebear’s tale was a fictional account. I plan to continue this series, and I know I will enjoy Moers other works of fiction as much as I enjoyed this one. If you like stories that make you laugh out loud and feel genuinely good this is the book for you. ( )

Moers has put together an entirely original hilarious fantasy novel. The main character, Bluebear, describes his life and its odd, exciting events. Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny, especially when Bluebear has interactions with the encyclopedia in his head. There are a few sections that drag, like the chapter set in Atlantis, which gets far too listy. Nonetheless, this book is a great read with awesome illustrations. I recommend it highly, especially for people who appreciate the humor of Hitchhiker’s Guide. ( )

Z loved this one. It was 700 pages long and I sort of lost read-aloud interest during much o the Atlantis life (read like a field guide). Other than that . . . it was silly, adventurous fun. ( )

see http://www.sfsite.com/01b/cb96.htm ( )