The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear

Indescribable, mad book, but fun.

A blue bear tells of his bizarre adventures (half of his 27 lives) in a fantasy world of extraordinary creatures. Rescued and raised by mini pirates, taught to talk by Babbling Willows, navigator for a pterodactyl superhero etc etc. Interspersed with snippets from an encyclopaedia about the relevant creatures (shades of Hitchiker's), and plenty of pen and ink illustrations.

The overall effect is like a more adult version of Stewart and Ridell's Edge Chronicles, with touches of Python, fairy tales, Munchausen, Gulliver's Travels, Edward Lear and goodness knows what else.

Lovely use of language, quite apart from the extraordinary imagination behind it.
* "A dimension could, for instance, consist of show more congealed boredom or musical frigidity... there are said to be dimensions in which sorrow is the staple food of creatures that vegetate in little pools of grief."
* "Qwerty oozed majestically"
* A clever description of "equitemporal tunnelling of dimensions" whereby time "can vanish while remaining omnipresent"
* And riding a horse is like moving in time to classical music but riding a camedary is more like a drunk drummer's rhythm.

Also a big book (over 700 large pages) but such fun it's only heavy in the sense of pound and ounces (or Kilos, if you prefer).

Compare this with his wonderful bibliophile's delight, which I reviewed here: The City of Dreaming Books. show less

This a fantasy adventure story about the adventures of a big blue bear as he travels through an extraordinary land that is filled with giants, trolls, hobgoblins, tiny pirates and giant evil spiders...I could have done without the spiders. Bluebear recounts his adventures of getting trapped inside a tornado, crossing a desert made of sugar, and even traveling to other strange dimensions. If that sounds ludicrous, but that's because it is. The entire story is the height of ludicrousness...but it's so much fun...even for we "big kids". It's an adventure story that manages to be both exciting and a satire on other adventure stories. When Bluebear is about to die, and he is rescued at the last moment by a flying reptilian creature; "Deus X. show more Machina" or "Mac", for short. My old brain learned something new..."Deus ex machina" is a literary term that is sometimes used when the problem with a plot is suddenly solved by an unlikely occurrence. Now you have learned something today also...and my young neighbor is now using the term as much as possible in everyday discussions. If you are older than 12, you will probably find that the humor in this book is lot like Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s zany and satirical, usually making fun at literary things like "deus ex machina"...but it’s also so incredibly light-hearted and silly that it easily manages to work as just a fun tall tale that appeals to the hidden "child" in all of us. I loved meeting all the wacky, crazy characters that Bluebear encountered. I would recommend this if you enjoyed witty adventure stories, like the afore mentioned "Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy", or even "The Hobbit". If you're looking for a fun and unusual children’s book, although I’d say that this is more for older children since it does have some scarier bits...but if you’re looking for a fun, smart, and zany adventure story then "Bluebear" is your man...I mean, "bear". show less

is a long an entertainingly illustrated book of silliness. It all starts with the Mini-Pirates and goes on from there. The silliness is charming but also so unrelenting that I had to take breaks. What do you expect from a German cartoonist who is responsible for a character called Little Asshole? (March 31, 2007)

Don't read this if you want logically sound stories, or halfway believable ones, or characters with depth. It won't give it to you.
Do read this to wonder at what the writer has thought of now, and examined though every little detail of silliness. This book takes weird situations, and then doubles them, and then joins them to even weirder situations and then adds something completely improbable.
A book that starts with the main character in mortal peril and then rescued by pirates that are so tiny they have never even managed to board a rowing boat - just try it.
Everything here is unbelievable. Just enjoy the ride.

It's been awhile since I enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear. From start to finish, it was an imaginative romp through a fantastic land full of creatures with names that would make Roald Dahl weep with pride. The main character, Bluebear, describes the first half of his 26 lives as he travels through Zamonia (a continent that used to exist on earth along with several others which you might not have heard of) meeting creatures such as Troglotrolls, Minipirates, and Shark Grubs. Bluebear is a remarkably resilient sea bear who acquires new skills and knowledge through every stage of his journey. However, the best part of this book (of which there are many) are the illustrations which were done by the show more author himself, Walter Moers. I absolutely love how they are blended and incorporated into the story. This book is the first in a series which Moers created about Zamonia and I'm not ashamed to say that I've already ordered the second in the series which is all about a Wolpertinger named Rumo. O_O This is the kind of book which would be perfect for reading aloud with your kids. It would probably work best for kids in 4th grade and above as the vocabulary is quite advanced and there are some slightly adult themes. Of course, if you're like me then it doesn't matter what age the book was intended for if you enjoy it. Some of my favorite books are considered 'children's literature' and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. :-) show less

eh, lo so… ma a volte sento il bisogno di nutrire l’undicenne che è in me.
:)
e questo si è rivelato un libro davvero ghiotto e appetitoso…
da divorare proprio! *
da considerare oltretutto che moers, oltre a dimostrare di avere già di per sé una fantasia veramente sfrenata, trova anche il modo di farcire qui e là la storia con dei richiami neanche tanto vaghi - dei veri e propri omaggi, direi - a numerosi classici della letteratura per ragazzi (i viaggi di gulliver, la fabbrica di cioccolato, la storia infinita, il mondo di oz, ecc…), il che la rende una lettura piacevole e un po’ nostalgica anche per chi undici anni li ha vissuti tre volte o anche più!
non c’è da stupirsi se è già un classico nel suo genere.

*che si show more capisce che il capitolo che mi è piaciuto di più è quello dell’isola dei ghiottoni?! show less

Oh boy.. so, critique first: by the time Bluebear got to Atlantis, the book slowed waaaay down. I was skimming pages big time, which was a slight bummer because up to that point Moers had really been keeping things moving in an interesting way. The ending though was really solid, so if you're inclined to skim it's still worth it to read the last 20 or so pages because the ending *is* really sweet and lovely.

Also, fwiw, I'm going to go ahead and call this a kid's/young adult book. It's 700 pages long, but for the right kind of weird 5th grader, it would be deemed hilarious.

The good: OH MY GOODNESS THIS BOOK IS NUTS. There is little plot, but if you enjoy worldbuilding for the sake of sheer imagination, this book is it. Moers is show more magnificent, and there are so many stories and worlds only hinted at in here... reading it you really do get the sense of exceptional creativity at work. Like, yes, maybe drug-induced, but still.. WOW. Some truly funny parts, and like I said the plot does keep moving for the first 3/4, but this is a book you read for the joy of an imagination at work. I am impressed..I am so mad impressed. Read it if you tend towards the goofy, but also gift a copy to the budding novelist 10 and 11 year-olds in your life. They will be awestruck by the number of pages, and delighted by the possibilities of what can be put on a page. show less