Review: The Mansions of the Gods

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The Mansions of the Gods The Mansions of the Gods by René Goscinny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having spent all this time in futility, trying to bring the small village of superpowered Gauls to heel, the undeterred Caesar has decided to change his approach. Instead of trying to best the Gauls in the battlefield, he now seeks to use an more economical approach.

To this purpose, he commissions the architect Squareonthehypotenus to build a new city around the village, clearing out the forest, encircling the Gauls and eventually starving them out. But one thing you should know, if you try to uproot the trees, you make Dogmatix cry, and you don't want to make our cute mascot cry.

So, how will our beloved Gauls deal with this problem which cannot be simply punched away? Watch on this episode of As-Te-Rix!

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I enjoy Asterix stories, where the magic potion is not the all-powerful McGuffin which can turn the tides of battle, and solve everyone's problems. This time around, the potion is more of a tool, aiding in the masterplan, as the duo, along with Dogmatix and Getafix, proceed to cultivate chaos among the Roman ranks, who are assigned to building Caesar's 'Mansion of the Gods'.

Using magical walnuts to turn the simple task of clearing a forest in a Sisyphean one.
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Sharing some of the sweet sweet magical potion among the Roman slaves to incite revolt.
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Terrorizing Roman tenets who have come to live in the 'mansion of the Gods'. And finally, breaking all tenets of the Geneva convention, and making Cacophanix (& his singing) your neighbor. It's seems it's not just me who considers the Bard's rating to be S rank for fear, and WMD in terms of explosive capabilities.
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These are just some of the hijinks that the group has been up to. Much like best laid plans, Chaos once sowed, takes on a life of its own, and the Gauls soon find themselves entangled in the same tornado of events. But that exactly is what makes it all so fun!

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A great story, surprisingly lacking in puns, but nevertheless deserving a 5 out of 5



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