The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

An action film in book format, complete with wild car chases, helicopters, secret agents, sawn-off shotguns, severed heads, and - excalibur. Alfred Kropp, a mixture of Harry Potter and Alex Rider - both squeezed into one (he's large) - is destined, literally its foretold, to save the world. Poor Alfred keeps losing things; people he loves, his lunch, what little confidence he has. Like Harry and Alex, he's fifteen, reluctant to be a hero, and much more ingenious, honest, pure-hearted, dependable and observant than anyone else. Especially those who are trained to be all those things. Apart from the image of so many butterflies pinned to a tree by needles, this would make a good film too, and it's probably in the making. This doesn't seem show more to be part of a series though, as Alfred goes through the seven-book-series-of-action in one book. Still, a great afternoon's read for the book consumer, even if it's a tough time for Al. show less

From a great opening line "I never thought I would save the world or die saving it." this book is action from page one to the end. Alfred is a huge 15 year old boy who has had a hard life - no father, mother died of cancer, sent to live with poor uncle - who is thrust into a world of magic swords, devoted monks, murder and espionage despite having nothing extraordinary to recommend him. His uncle convinces him to steal a sword for a million dollars and this leads to Alfred following a monk/knight called Bennacio from America to Canada to Europe as they try to recover the sword (Excalibur) from a man who knows that the army that has the sword is invincible and he is trying to sell it to the highest bidder. Along the way, many good and show more bad guys get stabbed, beheaded and disembowelled, blown up, shot and generally the body count is that of a Hollywood Action film! Alfred also learns a lot about himself and falls in love with Bennacio's daughter - you know the drill! There are many double-crosses and battles at Stonehenge and in ocean caves. Could be read as a stand alone but there are more in the series. Some bits are quite violent and the central message has a religious bent. Great read though. show less

Alfred is a giant of a teenager whose world is turned upside down when he helps his uncle steal a giant sword from the office of a wealthy CEO for a shadowy character named Mogart. The story is at times very sad, but generally quite good, full of adventure and Arthurian legend and surprisingly realistic characters. Something I would have enjoyed quite a lot as a kid.

Narrated by Paul Michael. *SPOILERS* In this action-packed novel, the legend of King Arthur and Excalibur carries on in contemporary times. The revered sword has the ability to conquer nations and confer incredible power. A secret band of knights is charged with its protection. Unaware of the sword's history, Alfred is roped into stealing the sword for Mogart, a fallen knight. This act sets off a violent worldwide chase involving the knights and a secret international agency. Alfred gets involved when one of the knights, Bennacio, contacts him and brings him along on the chase. Alfred, a shambling underachiever, turns out to have a blood connection to the knights of the roundtable and the quest for the sword has a transforming effect on show more his self-image. show less

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

Alfred Kropp is big enough to play football, but too clumsy to be any good, and too dense to remember the playbook. In fact, Alfred doesn't really excel at anything. Except for his height and big head, he's pretty much average. Ordinary. If only he were smaller, he could go through each day unnoticed.

He has no father and his mother died of cancer when he was only twelve. For two years he's been juggled between various foster homes until his Uncle Farrell appears and takes him in. And that's when his life becomes anything but ordinary.

A slick, devious stranger offers Uncle Farrell one million dollars to steal a special sword back from Mr. Samson, Farrell's boss. Alfred has many questions. show more How do they know it really belongs to the stranger? What happens to him if his uncle gets caught for stealing? Why is this man asking them to steal it? Uncle Farrell threatens Alfred. He has no choice. He either helps steal the sword, or he goes back to foster care.

As soon as Alfred wields the sword in his hands, he knows it is no ordinary sword. He finds out he's holding Excalibur, King Arthur's sword. The same sword that knights have been guarding for centuries. From the moment Alfred steals the sword he is pitched headlong into a world unlike any he has ever known. A world that clashes with knights, swords, fast cars, helicopters, daggers, guns, and much more.

Alfred, the ordinary foster kid, finds he has a not-so-ordinary connection to a world forgotten, and through that connection, he has been charged with saving the world by saving Excalibur. An extraordinary task for an ordinary kid.

My fourteen year-old son grabbed this book from my shelf before I had a chance to start it and daily badgered me to read it once he'd finished. I will be adding the second and third installments of this series to my library. This action-packed adventure is a must read. I dare you to try to put it down once you've begun. In THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP, Rick Yancey has done the impossible by merging a world of knights in shining armor with today's age of technology, an extraordinary combination! Amazing! show less

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary boys, or at least ordinary boys willing to embark on extraordinary adventures like Alfred Kropp is. At fifteen, Alfred Kropp has struggled his share in life—he gets teased incessantly for his struggles academically and athletically. And it’s not like Alfred can blend into the background—Alfred has unusually large proportions of which his mom tells him just mean he’s “a big boy meant for big things”. Then his mom dies, and Alfred is sent to live with his uncle, and those “big things” come to pass.

Alfred’s uncle convinces Alfred to be an accomplice in sword-stealing. Despite Alfred’s half-hearted protests, he goes along with his uncle’s get-rich-quick sword-stealing scheme. show more This scheme goes horribly awry and deadly events ensue. Before Alfred can say “ordinary” (or anything else for that matter), his uncle is dead and Excalibur (yes, that Excalibur) is in the wrong hands—Mogart’s hands. Mogart, also known as “The Dragon” or the ex-knight with a chip on his shoulder, has diabolical plans for the sword.

Alfred, overcome with guilt for his role in Excalibur’s sword-napping, pledges to risk everything to atone for his mistake and rescue the sword. He finds himself joining Bennacio, the last Knight of the Round table, on a quest to wrestle the sword away from Mogart. As Alfred is something of “this century’s Pandora”, the journey is not without its difficulties. Along the journey, Alfred and Bennacio interact with many helpers and hinderers such as the Office of Interdimensional Paradoxes and Extraordinary Phenomena (OIPEP) who claim to deliver aid and Mogart’s henchmen who deliver only death and destruction.

After an adventure or two along the quest’s path, death finds Bennacio, and it is left to Alfred to stop Mogart. Alfred and Mogart are left to duel out the fate of the world–with Excalibur being the additional crucial player in the duel. As Bennacio told Alfred early on, “The sword has the power to heal as well as to rend.”

Not to give too much away, but the quest does come to an end and the world does get saved. However, the story does not end there, for now Alfred must face his future. As Alfred recuperates in a hospital, he ponders–to join OIPEP or to return to normalcy, that is the question.

Realistic fiction readers will identify with Alfred’s feelings of inadequacy, academic woes, typical high school humdrums, and yearning for family and a place to belong; adventure fiction readers will thrill to sensational swordplay, high-speed car chases, and soaring helicopter battles; mystery fiction readers will grapple with questions surrounding Alfred’s lineage; romance readers will embrace the scenes depicting Bennacio’s lovely daughter Natalya; paranormal fans will latch onto Alfred’s dreams and the soothsayer’s words; epic readers will recognize Alfred’s quest as part of the ongoing ancient battle between good and evil. In other words, there’s a little something for every reader to be found in Alfred Kropp’s extraordinary adventures.

And for fans who cannot get enough of Alfred’s extraordinariness, Alfred’s second adventure has been released, so they can head out and pick up Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon (May 2007). show less

I'm not a big fan of King Arthur and all the various tales and spins that have come out on the original story. Having said that, this was a rather engaging story, mostly because the main character (Alfred Kropp) didn't know much about the "lore" of Arthur, didn't much care and was constantly surprised at what was happening around him. I'm still debating if I'll go further with this series, there were some things that bothered me about the book, including the fact that Alfred seemed to have little intellectual curiosity and if I understand the way the series is going he's supposed to be working with people trying to preserve history. Its only going to work if he gets interested in history and learns some things as he goes along. Like I show more said, still debating on whether to read further in this series. show less