The Adventures of Tintin:
King Ottokar’s Sceptre

By Herge

This fun loving Tintin edition, is the eighth of The Adventures of Tintin by Herge which has overpowered many people's hearts. Herge has always taken care that his every Tintin comic has something new and more adventurous.

The story begins when Tintin finds a lost briefcase and returns it to the owner, Professor Hector Alembick, an expert on seals and there he shows Tintin his collection of seals. One of those seals belonged to the Syldavian King Ottokar IV. Tintin suspects that Alembick is under surveillance by some strange men. Following which, Tintin's flat is bombed in an attempt to kill him.

Tintin tries hard to uncover the possible impostor but in vain. He decides to let the matter drop but then, while flying over Syldavia, it is the pilot of the plane who opens a trap door and Tintin drops out, landing in a hay

wagon.

He is now almost sure that a plot to steal the sceptre of King Ottokar IV has been framed. He realises that in Syldavia, the reigning King must possess the sceptre to rule or he will be forced to abdicate, a tradition established after a past king used the sceptre to defeat a would-be assassin. Every year he rides in a parade during St. Vladimir's Day carrying it, while the people sing the national anthem. Despites, all the efforts of the conspirators , Tintin warns him. He and the King then rush to the royal treasure room to find the sceptre missing. Alembick, the royal photographer and some guards were unconscious.

Tintin's friends, detectives Thomson and Thompson are a great fun and supports him throughout. Later on, Tintin notices a spring cannon in a toy shop and this gives him the clue. Professor Alembick had asked for some photographs to be taken of the sceptre, but the camera was a spring cannon in disguise, which allowed him to 'shoot' the sceptre out of the castle through the window bars into a nearby forest.

Searching the forest, Tintin spots the sceptre being found by agents of the neighbouring country, Borduria. After a long chase, Tintin saves the sceptre from crossing the border just in time. He discovers papers that show that the theft of the sceptre was just part of a major plan for a takeover of Syldavia by their long-time political rival, Borduria. After running for the truth, Tintin finally tries to solve the mystery successfully and returns home with Snowy and his friends.

Personally, I'm a Tintin fan so I love the book. But being unbiased and neutral, I still love the book. It has all sorts of features which can make a reader go mad and read the whole book in one go!!