6/10, it was ok. ( )

My review, as published at Tintin Books:

For a man who has been criticised (fairly or not) for sexism, padding of stories and racism to (among others) Africans, Jews, Native Americans, Japanese, Russians and Indians, it's amusing to think that his most controversial work amongst fans is probably "Flight 714", the penultimate completed adventure in the series. But, on re-reading, you can count me amongst those who think it was probably one big mistake.

"Flight 714" starts off strongly enough, with the first 12 pages devoted to something Herge had perfected in [b:The Castafiore Emerald|146106|The Castafiore Emerald (The Adventures of Tintin)|Hergé|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172178126s/146106.jpg|159890] - comedies of manners featuring the main characters and others bound to annoy them - but combining it with that genuine sense of unease and discord which underlies all of his best works. Laszlo Carreidas is a truly fascinating character, and he brings out various dimensions of Captain Haddock; Snowy gets some business; and Calculus is at his rip-roaring malapropistic best. But from the moment Carreidas' plane is hijacked, we're into prime James Bond territory. The evil villain and his henchmen have co-opted an entire volcanic island for their ridiculously complex plan (any villain with a past like Rastopopolous can surely find a better means to cash than this...), and characters are tied up, tortured and pursued through various jungle locations.

None of the business in the first two-thirds of the album is bad; indeed it all has precedents in the series. But perhaps that's the problem? It's clear that we've come a long way: note the monitor and the proboscis monkey, who each receive two frames in a show of ambience. In early "Tintin" books, these guys would've been the subject of a one-or-two page adventure. Herge has learnt now how to balance the atmosphere with the plot. Yet, when we spend an entire third of the book on a chase sequence, one begins to realise that this in no way matches up to the amazing stretch of classic works that immediately preceded it. With the exception of Carreidas himself, the album lacks the emotional resonance of [b:Tintin in Tibet|87425|Tintin in Tibet (The Adventures of Tintin)|Hergé|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518VF5FKP0L._SL75_.jpg|885675]; has none of the elegant plotting of [b:The Red Sea Sharks|165526|The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin)|Hergé|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172341809s/165526.jpg|1462871]; and - in spite of the jungle atmosphere - lacks the bravura artwork that so embodies [b:The Calculus Affair|743454|The Calculus Affair (The Adventures of Tintin)|Hergé|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177938437s/743454.jpg|1992577] and [b:Explorers on the Moon|165556|Explorers on the Moon (The Adventures of Tintin)|Hergé|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172341878s/165556.jpg|159847].

Strangely, the only recent "Tintin" work that the album calls to mind is "The Castafiore Emerald" itself! Herge relished using the claustrophobic, trivial atmosphere of Marlinspike in that album, and it comes across here too. Entire pages focus on the petty trials of Rastopopolous, to the point where he isn't interesting or scary, but just... bumbling. And sequences in which henchmen stutter without teeth, or the villain literally emerges from a bomb blast with his clothes in tatters, are just beneath this era. Comdey is welcomed, and delightful in the early part of the album, but sections where Herge was just painting-by-numbers are brutally evident.

This isn't to deny the enjoyment of Carreidas as a character, or the hilarity of the sticking-plaster callback, but much is limited here. I've never noticed the severe drop in quality of art that Michael Farr mentions, but the frames certainly don't sparkle here.

And then there's the ending... Where to begin? From page 45, things get weird. Tintin and Haddock have been hearing voices that turn out to be telepathic communications from the queer little man, Mit Kanrokitoff. In and of himself, Kanrokitoff calls to mind other members of Herge's pantheon of humorous bores such as Jolyon Wagg: so far acceptable. And the idea that the ancient Sondonesians had met aliens, and their statues and totems are actually monuments to this? Not terribly original, but still captivating. (The image of a statue to a god turning out to be a man with communications equipment is startling).

So far, none of that really contradicts any of the wackier elements of some previous stories. But... the revelation that Kanrokitoff genuinely is an alien, and that he uses his powers - and his flying saucer(!) - to save our characters... is taking things a little too far, don't you think? For a series that has always held some connection to reality, the sudden switch to such fantastic adventures seems unnatural. It doesn't help that the final ten pages expose the formula so much, with literally every major character getting an end-of-page cliffhanger in a seemingly neverending chase. Closing with a four-page news story is also too wordy, and only serves to rehash what happened on the previous eight pages. (The closing revelation that Snowy actually remembers everything is a good one, but can't make up for what has passed.)

I'm far from certain about my feelings on "Flight 714". As an idea, it's quite intriguing. But with the exception of the opening act, the story never comes together as anything more than one giant chase. The villian is unappealing; the stakes feel too consistently high; and the alien nonsense is from another series altogether. (Again, there are many series where this could be done WONDERFULLY. It's just not in "Tintin"'s wheelhouse.) A shame, and a true letdown. ( )

3.6

This one was a little more offbeat (less believable...?) of a story than the other Tin Tin's I have read. I was reading it aloud to my son and we turned to look quizzically at each other at a certain point towards the conclusion. I have to say that it's more creative genius than oddball despite the venture into sci-fi in a otherwise very rooted style of storytelling. Tin Tin is just great but it's Professor Calculus and Snowy who are my favorites:)
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