John Sewell Member
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#14 · Posted: 10 Nov 2004 00:05 · Edited by: John Sewell
Just a note to add that the Tintin Shop are still selling copies of this, for £15. I ordered it from their website, along with some other stuff last week, and though the rest of the books arrived within 48 hours (I'm always impressed by the speed with which they process orders!), there was a little note in with them saying that The Secret Ray was out of stock, but they'd send one along as soon as they got some more in. Thought I was in for a long wait, but it actually arrived this morning!
It's a handsome volume all right, and well worth picking up. It's a rattling good read, if taken in the same spirit as old movie serials, such as Flash Gordon, which were being made at roughly the same time as it was originally printed in PV! In fact, it's rather satisfying to view it as a series of episodes, given the breathless, constant rounds of capture, escape and deadly peril throughout.
The loony scientist is indeed rather OTT, but suits the fantastic nature of the storyline as a whole. I think if I'd read this as a nipper I'd have found him somewhat frightening, with his habits of flying off the handle, being perfectly beastly to the young heroes and zapping his henchmen with that handy raygun-torch thingy!
The natives on the island are definitely portrayed in an even worse light than in Congo, and I can see why this has probably caused similar problems with producing a "standard" edition. Even so, I reckon my nephew, who's trying to get to grips with Tintin (he's only 6, and he's finding some of them heavy going), would find this to be right up his street. I might even get him a copy for his birthday this month, assuming that the Tintin Shop hasn't sold out again!
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