One dark and stormy night, a sinister visitor arrives in the little Gaulish village. Prolix, who claims too be a soothsayer, prophesies that when the storm is over the weather will improve. And it does! Now the credulous villagers believe every word he says, but Asterix has his suspicions of the smooth-talking Prolix. Who is really right about the soothsayer?
René Goscinny (1926 - 1977) was a French author, editor and humorist, who is best known for the comic book Asterix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris (considered the series' golden age).
Tijdens een onweer komt er een ziener naar het dorp. Er breekt onenigheid uit, want sommigen geloven wat hij zegt, maar Asterix doorziet de bedrieger direct. Na het onweer vestigt de zogenaamde ziener zich in het bos, waar één van de vrouwen uit het dorp hem ontdekt. In ruil voor voedsel en drank voorspelt hij haar een mooie toekomst. De vrouw vertelt haar vriendinnen dat de ziener in het bos is, en algauw gaat iedereen hem daar raadplegen en hem al hun eten, drinken en goud brengen. Maar net als Asterix ook een kijkje in het woud gaat nemen, is de ziener opgepakt door de Romeinen. Die willen hem gebruiken om de goedgelovige Galliërs uit hun dorp te verjagen. Dit lukt eerst, maar dat is buiten Asterix, Obelix en Panoramix gerekend!
Okay, das war noch besser, als ich es in Erinnerung hatte.
In „Der Seher“ erreicht während eines schlimmen Gewitters ein gallischer Seher das Dorf unserer Helden. Die Bewohner, verängstigt vom Unwetter, sind nur zu bereit, dem Neuankömmling Glauben zu schenken. Allein Asterix (Druide Miraculix ist leider gerade auf einem Druidentreffen im Karnutenwald) durchschaut den Wahrsager sofort. Vor allem die Frauen des Dorfes, nach kurzer Zeit jedoch auch die Männer, sind bereit, dem Seher alle möglichen Geschenke zu machen, damit er ihnen auch nur einen vagen Bruchteil der Zukunft voraussagt. Doch auch die Römer wollen den Seher für ihre Zwecke nutzen…
Das hat so viel Spaß gemacht! Tolle Zeichnungen, guter Humor, gekonntes Auf-die-Schippe-nehmen von Wahrsagerei und ihren leichtgläubigen Opfern. Es sind so viele kleine Details darin versteckt, auch die Römer hatten paar echt lustige Szenen. Rundum gelungenes Werk.
For some reason I never used to like Soothsayer. I have reformed my opinion. A charlatan Soothsayer comes to the village, driving the Gauls into a frenzy of ambition and envy. The Romans see an opportunity, only for Centurion Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus to himself become convinced by the Soothsayer. Chaos and biffing follow...
Reencuentro con la infancia. Un imprescindible del cómic y la literatura infantil. Está claro que debe retraducirse, dado que tiene muchos errores (también aciertos), pero tal y como está el panorama con la publicación de los Astérix, con que los chavales puedan seguir accediendo a estos tesoros me conformo.
A traveller, claming to be a soothsayer, takes refuge in the village. It isn't long, before the entire village is in his thrall, desperate to believe the wonderful things he has foretold. Only Asterix sees him for what he really is. A fraud, who lives off peoples credulity. Even Obelix is taken in by his sweet talk, and falls in love with Geriatrixs' rather gorgeous wife. The false soothsayer falls into the hands of the Romans and is promised his freedom if he can get the Gauls to leave the village. He actually manages to do this, and only Asterix and a reluctant Obelix stay. Luckily the Druid Getafix gets back from his Conference in the Forest of the Carnutes, in the nick of time. Asterix and Getafix put their brains together to deal with the Soothsayer and the Romans. Some really witty jokes in this one, where we get to find out about all the Gaullish gods, as well as the Roman policy at the time to arrest and deport all Gaullish soothsayers.
Die pret van hierdie storie word uitstekend vasgevang in die Afrikaanse vertaling. Die name bly ’n vreugde: die waarsêer heet Jowaarlix, om mee te begin! En het ons geweet dat die Galliërs ’n god van mosterd gehad het?! (Hou ook jou oë oop vir die Rembrandt-parodie ...) Dié boek lewer ’n heerlike voortsetting van die Afrikaanse Asterix-reeks.
A fun-filled continuance of the excellently translated Afrikaans Asterix series. The names are, as always, a joy and the punning is still fantastic.
Der böse Mentalist Dieser Astérix-Band ist ganz klar ein Gegenentwurf zur von mir sehr geliebten Fernsehserie "The Mentalist" - Der Seher in diesem Band nutzt seine Cold-Reading-Fähigkeiten bei zugegebenermaßen etwas leichtgläubigen gallischen Hinterwäldlern aus, um sich materielle Vorteile zu erschleichen. Dass er dabei Unfrieden im Dorf sät, und Astérix der einzige ist, der sich nicht von den "nach Regen kommt Sonnenschein"-Vorhersagen des Trickbetrügers das Hirn verschwurbeln lässt, ist ihm egal - bis ihm seine Fähigkeit auf die eigenen Füße fällt... Eine nette Parodie auf Horoskopgläubige, die sich gern die Karten bei der Wahrsagerin legen lassen, und die Schwierigkeiten, die Skeptiker haben, sich mit Gläubigen auseinanderzusetzen.
This book tells us not to believe to soothsayer. God has his willing. Think first before we believe what people said.
The story began with a terrible storm in the village that scared everyone, especially because the druid was not in the village. Then, the soothsayer came and told everything, people began to belive what he said. Not only the Gaul, even the Roman believed what he said.
That's why we need to think clearly before we believe what people said, especially if that come from a big mouth person.
Ein Unwetter tobt, und die Gallier sind alle im Haus des Majestix versammelt, schliesslich könnte ihnen doch der Himmel auf den Kopf fallen! Und Miraculix ist an einem Jahrestreffen im Karnutenwald und kann das Dorf somit nicht beschützen... Inmitten des unheimlichen Gewitters steht plötzlich ein Fremder an der Tür: Lügfix, der vorgibt, ein Seher zu sein. Da Obelix nicht zulässt, dass der Fremde die Zukunft des gallischen Dorfes aus den Eingeweiden von Idefix liest, begnügt sich dieser eben mit einem alten Fisch. Die Gallier sind trotz allem schnell von seiner Gabe überzeugt, nur Asterix bleibt kritisch. Doch nicht nur die Gallier, sondern auch die Römer sind leichtgläubig und rasch davon überzeugt, dass Lügfix ein echter Seher ist. Dies wollen sie natürlich dafür ausnutzen, um das letzte noch nicht besiegte Dorf in Gallien zu unterwerfen. Mit Leichtigkeit bringt Lügfix auf Geheiss der Römer die Gallier dazu, ihr Dorf zu verlassen. Zum Glück ist Miraculix bereits wieder auf dem Heimweg...
Wie alle Asterix-Bände ist auch dieser sehr lesenswert, wenn auch vielleicht etwas zu vorhersehbar.
(review June 12, 2016)
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(June 3, 2016: 1989 animated movie)
Asterix – Operation Hinkelstein (Originaltitel: Astérix et le Coup du menhir), 1989, unter Regie von Philippe Grimond
Der ursprünglich 1989 erschienene Zeichentrickfilm basiert auf zwei Asterix-Bänden; neben Der Seher stützt sich die Erzählung auch auf Der Kampf der Häuptlinge. So ist zum Beispiel der Zwischenfall, bei welchem Miraculix mit einem Hinkelstein getroffen wird, aus dem zweitgenannten Band, wohingegen die Geschichte mit dem Seher aus diesem Band stammt (wie der Titel ja auch schon sagt). Leider ist es schon eine ganze Weile her, seitdem ich diesen Band gelesen habe, weshalb ein genauerer Vergleich momentan kaum möglich ist. Insgesamt ist der Film gut gezeichnet und witzig. Die spinnen, die Römer. Und die Gallier manchmal auch...
Un adivino llega al poblado galo y consigue la atención de sus habitantes con pronósticos favorables. Se aprovecha de la situación, pero pronto se verá afectado. Los romanos lo usan para intentar derrotar de una vez por todas a los galos. Pero ya sabemos que eso es imposible.
Νομίζω πως ο μάντης είναι το αγαπημένο μου τεύχος. Οριακά τρόμου, οι σκηνές της εισαγωγής (ειδικά εκεί που κλείνει το μάτι στο Μάθημα Ανατομίας) με χαράκωσαν σαν παιδί. Σχεδόν ακούω, από τότε, στο κεφάλι μου τη φωνή του μάντη να λέει "Είμαι...μάντης". Δεν ξέρω να σας πω ποιος τον ντουμπλάρει, αλλά το ακούω, αλήθεια.
Frightened by a thunderstorm, the Gauls — with the exception of Getafix, who is at his annual druid meeting — are huddled in the chief's hut, when they are visited by a soothsayer, called Prolix, who predicts that "when the storm is over, the weather will improve" and additionally predicts a fight (caused by the villagers' habitual argument over the over-ripeness of fish sold by fishmonger Unhygenix). Asterix alone correctly identifies the soothsayer as a charlatan. Upon Prolix's departure, the chief's wife Impedimenta preserves him in hiding near the village, where she and the other villagers question him at will; forbidding only Asterix and Obelix. Later, Obelix eludes Impedimenta and, upon encountering Prolix, chases him up a tree. Prolix diverts him by claiming to see a vision of a beautiful woman who loves warriors matching Obelix's description. Obelix returns to the village and almost instantly falls for Mrs. Geriatrix. Prolix meanwhile is arrested by a Roman Optio (a senior officer). The Optio brings Prolix before the Centurion, who decides to use the imposter's persuasive skills against the Gauls. Upon Impedimenta's discovery of Asterix near Prolix's camp, consternation spreads among the villagers on grounds of a threatened sacrilege. At the Romans' behest, Prolix returns, claiming dramatically that soon the air in the village will become polluted by a divine curse. Terrified, most of the villagers wait on a nearby island for the curse to exhaust itself, while Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix stay behind.
The Romans soon arrive to claim the village, while Asterix and Obelix hide in the undergrowth. Getafix the druid returns from his conference; and hearing of the situation, turns Prolix's ruse against him by creating and spreading a foul-smelling mixture of gasses; thus expelling the Romans, Prolix, and Cacofonix the Bard, who returns to the other Gauls on the island to confirm Prolix's prophecy. Prolix himself is perplexed by this confirmation; while the Centurion sends word to Caesar that "all of Gaul is now conquered"; and hoping to become dictator himself, has the soothsayer tell him exaggerated stories of the luxuries emperors enjoy. Getafix, Asterix and Obelix join the other villagers on the island, where Getafix reveals he created the "foul air" that expelled the Romans; but Impedimenta and the other women remain convinced Prolix was genuine, on grounds of his having flattered them in earlier predictions. Asterix therefore determines to take the soothsayer by surprise and thus prove him fallible. To this end the Gaulish men and women attack the Roman camp together; and when the Centurion demands to know why Prolix did not warn him of this, the latter admits his ignorance. Convinced of the soothsayer's fraudulence, Impedimenta beats him and the Centurion with a rolling pin. Returning to the village, the Gauls meet Bulbus Crocus, an envoy of Julius Caesar's, come to confirm the Centurion's claim that the village is conquered, and expel him. In the Roman camp, Crocus demotes the Centurion to a common soldier, who is then commanded by the Optio to clean the camp alone. Prolix is expelled from the camp, swears to give up soothsaying, and is driven away by a thunderstorm. The Gaulish village is soon at peace, with the exception of Cacofonix, who still daydreams of himself as a famous singer. Text extracted from Wikipedia
I received this as a prize in a Bookcrossing graphic novel sweepstake recently, and with the passing of Albert Uderzo yesterday, I decided to read it today in his memory and honour.
Asterix's village, the last Gaul settlement holding out against Roman invasion, is visited by the mysterious Prolix, an alleged soothsayer. He manipulates the Gauls into bringing him food by promising them wonderful futures, and they believe him utterly - with the exception of our sceptical hero. When Prolix is later forced to work for the Romans, and warns the Gauls of a terrible fate unless they leave the village immediately, it's up to Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix and the druid Getafix to expose Prolix, defeat the Romans, and bring everyone home.
The gag names in this series are renowned, and still get a giggle out of me - I marvel in particular at how the village druid's name got under the radar. I also enjoy the authors' illustrated "side note" about the nature of soothsayers and their ilk. Still, even the sly Prolix gets a sympathetic depiction during his treatment by the ambitious Roman centurion Voluptious Arteriosclerosus. The artwork is brilliantly colourful and cartoonish with plenty of slapstick fights, and the plot is a fun romp exploring the nature of belief over logic in an amusing, entertaining way.
It's a dark and stormy night in the village. Everyone is in the chief's house when someone knocks at the door. It's a guy claiming to be a soothsayer (a fortune-teller). Although he's a total fake, he manages to convince the villagers that he's real and they bring him lots of food and money.
He ends up in the Roman camp and agrees to get the Gauls out of the village which he manages to do by pretending the village is cursed. The Romans briefly occupy the village, but Getafix, Asterix and Obelix are able to get them to leave.
The three then work on convincing the villagers that the soothsayer is a fake and they (sort of) finally understand. Pretty funny.
A sweet-talking soothsayer arrives at the village and soon fools everyone into believing his garbage, except the skeptical Asterix (the druid is out of town). The soothsayer soon manipulates the entire village into doing his bidding, until the Romans receive orders to arrest all soothsayers in the area (requiring a duplicitous game on the soothsayer’s part to survive).
Humorous, with the obvious themes being gullibility and superstition.
I remember reading this as an eight year old and not really understanding what was going on with Prolix the Soothsayer. I think I still believed he was magical even by the end which, of course, is the point. We should see him as a fraud from the word go. So, while this wasn't a favourite first time round, in the same way something like Asterix at the Olympic Games was, it's a great read some years after.
This book tells us not to believe a soothsayer.According to gods wills we have to use our brains before we believe or do/say something.if we do thing without thinking we lose not others.At the end we find out he is not a soothsayer he is a liar, that's why we need to think clearly before we believe what people say, especially if that come's from a big mouthed person.
The future is told by the fortuneteller, however he is in for a surprise when Asterix is determined to prove him fake. The soothsayer falls into the hands of the Romans, whereas the whole Gaulish village is deceived as well. The confusion in the village and the utter confusion in the Roman camp as well!