The Man who Never was

Asterix and the Roman Agent by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars Everything is well in our village of superpowered Gauls. Too well. This has caused Caesar to face criticism for not being able to take care of his conquered lands. No one insults Caesar and lives to tell about it. So he tasks an agent to travel to the village and sow discord amidst the Gaul, adopting the ye old 'Divide and Conquer', strategy. ------- Careful Caesar, if you piss of Brutus too much, things might turn...drastic. ------- Tortuous Convolvulus, the agent that is sent, does with words what Cacophanix does with his songs. With half truths, misdirection and subterfuge, he manages to discredit Asterix and Getafix, and split the village making them ripe for the taking. How will our heroes deal with this civil unrest? Find out in this week's As-te-rix! ------- You know, I was sort of disappointed in the story. With how things were going I was expecting a

Asterix in Spain by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars The campaigning Caeser has 'Veni, vidi, vici' d Spain, except for one small brave village which is resolved to stand and resist. Sounds familiar. Anyways, in order to make them compliant, he takes the Chieftain's son Pepe hostage. Then sends him off to Gaul for safekeeping. Little did he know, this would put him in path to meet with our lovable group of overpowered Gauls. Once they do, as if customary, chaos ensues. The Spaniards are as stereotypically cliche as you would come to expect from Goscinny's writings. Pepe, the little chieftain boy is bratty and petulant, as brats of that age tend to be. A literal holy Terror. Also a bad influence of the not so gentle giant. I mean what sort of same person would ask an encore from the walking WMD that is Cacophanix! That guy could give Caesar a run for his money. Speaking of the Romans, they are in full form this chapter, sho

Asterix and the Cauldron by René Goscinny My rating: 5 of 5 stars It's Tax season, and the Romans are coming across collecting their dues. Now, everyone's favorite village of Gauls don't have to worry about such trivial worries, as they are a tax free zone; as in any tax collector who come to collect may not find themselves free to leave on their own two legs. But their Gaelic neighbors don't have the luxury of an deterrent in the form of a magic potion. So, chief vitalstatistix is visiting by a fellow chief 'Whosemoralsarelastix', who requests him to hide his cauldron fully of Sestertii from the Romans. Being a good sport, and being a chance to show up the Romans, he agrees. Asterix himself guards the cauldron through the night. But Lo and behold, morning came, and the cauldron is empty! stolen! how? No one knows. Now a shameful Asterix, who has let his allies down, must be banished from the village, until he manages to refil

Asterix at the Olympic Games by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Olympic games are about to set aflame in Greece. And the Romans are hard at practice; them being the only non Grecians allowed to compete. Of course, things do not go as planned as everyone's favorite Gaul village gets wind of the event. They then decide to compete in it themselves, just for kicks, since they are, as per Caeser, 'part of Rome' and technically Romans. A technicality which leaves the Roman contingent of athletes weeping. Who can blame them? A bunch of athletes who've trained their whole lives to participate in the events, or a group of magic potion chugging Invincible Gauls. Who do you think will the golden wreath? Three guesses and the first two don't count. The whole procession of them set out for a jolly good time. God save the Romans and Greeks. Side note, when you're a pirate and your regular vocation is being scuttled by a bunch

Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars At first reading, I didn't find much interest in #11 of the Asterix collection. The Story lacked the usual bite and humor which made the previous entries endearing. In fact, with its plot felt like it was going from one place to another, literally, in search of clues and McGuffins like some badly made adventure movie. The reason why I felt that the story was more on the serious side was because it was. Being an utter novice in regards to ancient Rome and the Gallic war, I had to look up several aspects of the story, such as Vercingetorix (who I actually thought was a made up name, and was hence trying to figure out what the pun was), and the Battle of Alesia. Perhaps because Goscinny himself held some sympathies for the tragic hero, his loss and ultimate fate, or for whatever other reason, the mood got quite somber whenever someone talked about him or Alesia. Characte

Asterix the Legionary by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars Our innocent, child like and at the same time Uber violent menhir carrying Gaul is in love, with a sweet innocent girl by the name of Panacea. Unfortunately, she is a women spoken for, and her beloved Tragicomix, was conscripted to fight for Caesar's army in Africa. So our dashing duo have set out to heal the broken heart of the not so gentle giant and to rescue this tragic suitor. Didn't we already warn you not to make sweet little dogmatix cry? Leave the trees alone, damn it! Also my man Cacophanix cannot catch a break. For said purpose, they decide to enroll into the Roman Legionaries themselves. Will the pair be able to endure the grueling training regimen of the strongest army of the world? Or will the Romans learn the hard way, that these particular batch of rookies are more than they bargained for?.............. The Latter, pretty definitely the latter. What most o

ഒരു സങ്കീര്‍ത്തനം പോലെ [Oru Sangeerthanam Pole] by Perumbadavam Sreedharan My rating: 4 of 5 stars ഒരു സങ്കീര്‍ത്തനം പോലെ (Like a Psalm) by Perumbadavam Sreedharan (പെരുമ്പടവം ശ്രീധരൻ), is the writer's own ode to his admiration to Dostoevsky, one of the most seminal literary personalities of the 19th century and even today. In it, he reimagines the relationship between Dostoevsky and his second wife Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina. Taking place during the time when the writer was engaged in composing The Gambler , we are shown how the pair came to meet, and over a period of a month get close and fall in love. There is some cliques which are evident when one reads the work, primarily that of the old writer who catches the attention of a young attractive muse. But rather than focus on the actual relationship, പെരുമ്പടവം tries to answer the question, "How can a man as self-destructive as Dostoevsky come to be loved by the young and innocent Anna", and

Asterix and the Normans by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Asterix in Britain by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Asterix and the Big Fight by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Asterix and Cleopatra by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Asterix and the Goths by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars So we are back again for yet another adventure of everyone's favorite Gaelic Duo; and all the chaotic humor which they can cook up. This time around, Getafix the druid is all ready to set off for the annual Druidic conference (which honestly looks more like Santa con), and participate in a potion brewing competition, with Asterix & Obelisk as added muscle. I say, what exactly is Cacophanix doing there up in the treehouse. So he does know that his music is trash! Little do they know, a group of Goths are out of kidnap the druid to help in the war against Romans. (Visigoths, not to be mistaken with Ostrogoths, which is important, as it took me a while to figure out that just because they are the Visi-goths, doesn't mean that they are living to the West) So, the duo have to go help their druid friend to escape the clutches of the not so subtle Germanic Goths, Prussian helmets and all. Lon

Asterix and the Golden Sickle by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars Getafix's golden sickle is broken, without which he cannot get the ingredients to brew the potion of Invincibility. So Asterix & Obelisk go to Lutetia to meet the blacksmith Metallurgix (of course he is!) to get a replacement. But what awaits them in the big city is an underground crime ring monopolizing all the golden sickles in the market, and keeping Metallurgix captive. Will our heroes find the blacksmith, will they thwart the nefarious schemes of the criminals, will they get back safe, on this week of As-te-rix. But seriously, what is with the world building in this series. It's all tongue in cheek, 'romanized' (get it) satirized versions of the present day; Be is reckless chariot drivers on the slippery cobblestone roads, or 'Ampoule' necks caused by high traffic, or Asterix sneering at the 'modern' Roman constructions of the new generation. Something q

Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny My rating: 4 of 5 stars Asterix the Gaul has a certain vintage charm to it; one unburdened by all the morality and social politics of comics today. It was a simple times, when writers and the characters had charm and knew how to let loose and have fun. The series is a global darling, translated into over 100 languages. It's characteristic wit and dry humor, mixed with a healthy dose of satire and on the nose gags have endured since the 1960s to the late 2020s. What makes the series so adorable are its simple yet lovable cast of characters and their various whimsical antics. And who can forget the gaggle inducing naming sense of the Gauls and Romans. What would one expect with names like Asterix, Obelisk, Getafix, Dogmatix, Cacophanix, Vitalstatistix, Imperdima, Geriatrix, Glueus Maximus, Ignoramus, Giveusabonus, and the list goes on and on. A veritable pun lover's paradise. The story is set during the period of the Gallic

Asterix and the Banquet  by  René Goscinny My rating:  3 of 5 stars The new Roman Inspector General Overanxius has build a wall to keep the Village of defiant Gauls from spreading their seditious ideas to Roman lands & to starve them into submission. While it might be a simple matter for them to break it all, Asterix makes a bet with the IG just to spite him. That they will travel of all major towns across Gaul, get the local cuisine from each and host a banquet for the General. So starts the traveler's guide to all towns in Gaul, in antiquity with their modern counterparts. There is surprisingly little I have to say about this story. Because even though we go through a number of new locations, and meet all manner of characters, some allies, some enemies and some in between, little goes on other than Asterix & Obelisk entering a town, getting into trouble, steamrolling through said trouble onto the next leg of the challenge. I'm sure the locations and references were r

View all my reviews Asterix the Gladiator by René Goscinny My rating: 5 of 5 stars No one's favorite bard Cacofonix has been captured, and our Gaelic duo Asterix and Obelisk have to follow him to Rome and rescue him, lest Caesar in a foul mood not throw him to the lions. Even though the story focuses on the duo's journey and adventures, the real hero is the out of tune bard. His voice is something that is one of kind; in the sense that if there were more of his kind, the Earth would split apart in sheer agony at having to hear them sing a duet. I'm not kidding. It seems no one else but the impious bard thinks of his singing as anything fit for mortal ears. It could might as well be an incantation to summon some eldritch gods, that is, those that are brave hearted, or deaf enough to endure his singing. Roman Legionnaires, slave traders, pirates, gladiators, no one can stand for more than a moment in the presence of his voice, which can be categorized as 'telum ex

View all my reviews Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy My rating: 5 of 5 stars “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, one of the most famous opening lines, to one of the most well read and studied classics of modern literature. I cannot fathom what I can add to this masterpiece which is well ruminated over by better minds, but here goes. The Characters Anna Arkaydvena Karenina If Tolstoy’s attempt was to make Anna Arkaydvena Karenina a neurotic and thoroughly disliked character, then he has succeeded in spades. If his attempt was to make a relatable character with desires and flaws, then I need to reevaluate the lens through which I judge characters. Despite being the titular character, and despite being the center of most of the drama in the story, ‘Anna Karenina’ doesn’t begin with her, nor does it (view spoiler) [ end with her. (hide spoiler) ] Rather, it seems to be how the presence of this alluring yet piteous, awe inspiring yet humane, vig