Rumo

Starred review from July 24, 2006
Set in the land of Zamonia, this exuberant, highly original fantasy from German writer and cartoonist Moers (The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
) features an unlikely hero, Rumo, a little horned puppy (or Wolperting) who lives on a farm with a family of seven dwarfs. Rumo's rise to greatness begins when he's kidnapped by a Demonocle, "a vicious type of one-eyed giant," who takes him to Roaming Rock, a floating island. There Rumo befriends Volzotan Smyke, a Shark Grub, who can live on land or in water but "thought it wiser to convey the impression he was a sea creature pure and simple." Innumerable picaresque adventures follow, one of the funniest involving gambling and the hazards of winning. Illustrated with the author's appealing line drawings and full of sly humor, this rambunctious novel will appeal to fans tired of the usual epic fantasy, though they should be prepared for some violence in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm.

July 1, 2006
Just as charming and relentlessly whimsical as Moers -s previous novel of Zamonia, "The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear", his new book follows the miraculous adventures of Rumo, a Wolperting (a sort of half-dog, half-deer), as he discovers himself and finds true love. Readers may wonder what else there could possibly be to say about Zamonia, since it was so exhaustively cataloged in the first book, but they will discover many more strange lands and creatures, each with its own lengthy story to tell. Though the novel is nearly as digressive as "Captain Bluebear", it -s actually more engaging, with a main plot arc that hooks readers in spite of the many (pleasant) distractions along the way. Moers -s amusing illustrations -111 black-and-white images in total -and an excellent translation by Brownjohn add up to a rousing fairy tale for adults that will please fans of "Captain Bluebear" as well as newcomers to Zamonia. Recommended for larger fantasy collections or where Moers is popular." -Jenne Bergstrom, San Diego Cty. Lib."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
Another grand tale of Zamonia, first visited in " The 13\xba Lives of Captain Bluebear "(2002), relays the adventures of half-deer, half-wolf Rumo the Wolperting, who's very good at fighting. In the beginning, all he knows is that he's teething, and his Hackonian keepers are being stuffed into bags and taken somewhere. Taken, too, he becomes a prisoner of the Demonocles on Roaming Rock. Thanks to gambling-shark grub Volztan Smyke, he gets a name, hears fantastic stories, and eventually fights free of the Demonocles. Thereafter, he goes to many fantastic places, ending up in the city of Wolperting, where he wins the double-bladed sword Dandelion and the beautiful Rala. In the forest to get wood for a gift for Rala, he encounters a talkative tree, and when he returns to Wolperting, everyone is missing. So it's off to the near-mythical Netherworld, where he takes on Gornab the Ninety-Ninth, mad king of Hel, and General Tick-Tock and his Copper Killers, a clockwork army. A brilliantly imagined, well-executed jaunt through strange lands full of wild characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)