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A review by selfmythologies
Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers
5.0
I expected the best of this and it Did Not Disappoint. So, so enjoyable. My favorite Zamonia novel so far after City of Dreaming Books!
To me the most fascinating thing about the Zamonia books (and the reason I love them so much in the first place) in that they're super tongue-in-cheek, self-aware fantasy. Each of the books is kind of parodying or playing with a certain literary genre, and here it's the adventure novel. Rumo is like the traditional hero who has to find his place in the world and learn from his masters (part one), then has to prove himself as a catastrophe happens (part two). (just skimming the wikipedia entry once I learn that this is the general structure of a looot of traditional adventure narratives but the inspiration from this book can be traced back to like....ten different cultural traditions and time periods, honestly astonishing and so so interesting). I loved how part two took place in an underworld/hell-like setting that is reigned by decadence and madess (MY FAV THING).
What's so great about this more than in the previous book (Captain Bluebear), is that everything that happens in the first part and every single side character that is introduced, is later relevant for the climax of the story. There wasn't a single scene that did not have a larger significance later on, and is often brought into a wider context. I LOVE these kinds of stories (i get not liking them too bc obviously everything is hyper constructed, but they're my favorite thing). You really get the feeling of a wide and extensive, but at the same sime well-rounded journey.
Every character was funny but also had a genuinely interesting and likeable characterization (even just little details like Smeik's love for gaming and his shady past, or Rala's relationship with death, that save them from being just two-dimensional charicatures). There are so many of them, yet everyone stays with you in their own unique way.
As usual with Moers, this book is filled to the brim with insanely creative ideas (like tiny machines created by a hyper advanced invisible species that can travel through the human body and get a heart beating again after death, or a giant tree that has its roots so deep in the ground that it can tell stories of the underworld), charming settings and details that are often drawn from mythology (the cyclops thing, etc). My favorite thing about the settings (here especially underworld) is that they're so stuffed with history, specific, unique species, customs and culture that each of them creates a totally specific atmosphere. you FEEL the danger and decay in Hel just like you feel vague anxiety and mystery in Nebelheim (idk how its called in english :D), or the everyday, quiet vibe of Wolperting.
Really, the astonishing thing is how Moers always balances humor and parody (which is like, the basis of these books) with genuinely amazing worldbuilding, characterization and suspense. It's like, he's making fun of himself but at the same time he actually does a great job at the thing he's making fun of. THATS SO GENIUS. i can only admire it tbh. it satisfies my need for a good fantasy story AS WELL as my postmodern 'please drop a layer of irony over everything' scepticism and tbh what more could I even ask for? These books were written for me.
This even motivated me to borrow a book of secondary literature from my library bc the intertextual basis on which this book works is IMMENSE and so fascinating and i need to know more about it. i'm even optioning this for my bachelors thesis tbh?? if i can think of a cool aspect no one has looked at yet. i would love to.
only missing books in the series now are : Ensel & Krete (probably next), Labyrinth and the brand new one. And the graphic novels!! needless to say im EXCITED
To me the most fascinating thing about the Zamonia books (and the reason I love them so much in the first place) in that they're super tongue-in-cheek, self-aware fantasy. Each of the books is kind of parodying or playing with a certain literary genre, and here it's the adventure novel. Rumo is like the traditional hero who has to find his place in the world and learn from his masters (part one), then has to prove himself as a catastrophe happens (part two). (just skimming the wikipedia entry once I learn that this is the general structure of a looot of traditional adventure narratives but the inspiration from this book can be traced back to like....ten different cultural traditions and time periods, honestly astonishing and so so interesting). I loved how part two took place in an underworld/hell-like setting that is reigned by decadence and madess (MY FAV THING).
What's so great about this more than in the previous book (Captain Bluebear), is that everything that happens in the first part and every single side character that is introduced, is later relevant for the climax of the story. There wasn't a single scene that did not have a larger significance later on, and is often brought into a wider context. I LOVE these kinds of stories (i get not liking them too bc obviously everything is hyper constructed, but they're my favorite thing). You really get the feeling of a wide and extensive, but at the same sime well-rounded journey.
Every character was funny but also had a genuinely interesting and likeable characterization (even just little details like Smeik's love for gaming and his shady past, or Rala's relationship with death, that save them from being just two-dimensional charicatures). There are so many of them, yet everyone stays with you in their own unique way.
As usual with Moers, this book is filled to the brim with insanely creative ideas (like tiny machines created by a hyper advanced invisible species that can travel through the human body and get a heart beating again after death, or a giant tree that has its roots so deep in the ground that it can tell stories of the underworld), charming settings and details that are often drawn from mythology (the cyclops thing, etc). My favorite thing about the settings (here especially underworld) is that they're so stuffed with history, specific, unique species, customs and culture that each of them creates a totally specific atmosphere. you FEEL the danger and decay in Hel just like you feel vague anxiety and mystery in Nebelheim (idk how its called in english :D), or the everyday, quiet vibe of Wolperting.
Really, the astonishing thing is how Moers always balances humor and parody (which is like, the basis of these books) with genuinely amazing worldbuilding, characterization and suspense. It's like, he's making fun of himself but at the same time he actually does a great job at the thing he's making fun of. THATS SO GENIUS. i can only admire it tbh. it satisfies my need for a good fantasy story AS WELL as my postmodern 'please drop a layer of irony over everything' scepticism and tbh what more could I even ask for? These books were written for me.
This even motivated me to borrow a book of secondary literature from my library bc the intertextual basis on which this book works is IMMENSE and so fascinating and i need to know more about it. i'm even optioning this for my bachelors thesis tbh?? if i can think of a cool aspect no one has looked at yet. i would love to.
only missing books in the series now are : Ensel & Krete (probably next), Labyrinth and the brand new one. And the graphic novels!! needless to say im EXCITED