The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

By: Walter Moers

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

"A bluebear has 27 lives. I shall recount thirtreen-and-a-half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers’s epic adventure. "Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair’s breadth, last-minute escapes...."

Welcome to the fantastic world of Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters, including Minipirates, Hobgoblins, Babbling Billows, the Spiderwitch, the Troglotroll, and the Mountain Maggot. It’s a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together and turned on its head.

Playful enough for young adult readers, yet as intricate and engaging as any work of literary fiction, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear has the plot of a novel and the spontaneity and humor of a vintage comic book, making it already an instant cult classic.

©1999 Eichborn GmbH & Co (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A wild, fun-filled ride.” ( School Library Journal)

“Even readers with short attention spans will find themselves captivated by the nonstop parade of madcap characters as treacherous predicaments resolve themselves with charming ease. . . .Comparisons to Harry Potter aside, Moers's kaleidoscopic expedition is fanciful and endlessly entertaining.” ( Publishers Weekly)

not really for younger readers

But a most excellent series!! Classic storytelling with a unique POV. So well read. Love all his books and re-read regularly. More please!

Pinchot's a hoot

Attracted by the description, I listened to this book with my pre-teen sons. Both they and I were continually fascinated with Zamonia and anxious for the next adventure of Bluebear to unfold. Pinchot's voices were spot-on and the sonic "special effects" were perfect for this book. A fun romp through an imaginative world with not a lot of deep meanings hidden in the book unless you really want there to be. Occasionally annoying in his fastidiousness (I'll bet Bronson and his producer were tempted to omit some of the 'counting done from 79 million' parts--but no, it's unabridged!), Moers rewards your patience with fun surprises and twists. We can hardly wait to get started listening to Bronson Pinchot reading about Rumo the Wolpertinger.

Best. Book. Ever.

Captivating to children & adults alike, Blue Bear's adventures keep you at the edge of your seat hour after hour. I wished it wouldn't end.
Brilliant writing, expertly narrated by Bronson Pinchot who brings the story not only to life, but allows you to fall into the fantasy to live it yourself.
No matter how many lives you have, this is requisite reading for all.

A Good Fairy Tail

Where does The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Tedious question. Does everything have to be ranked?

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I enjoyed it as it is. I am no writer.

Have you listened to any of Bronson Pinchot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But, I liked this one.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No but I was a good read and reminded me of stories told by my grandmother.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable read. This would be a great book to read to your kinds if you have children.

The 13 1/2 Lives Of Captain Bluebear

I enjoyed this book on so many levels. It was funny, thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, and even a teeny bit romantic. It was bold, and big. Really big. And long. I loved every word, although the troglotroll’s voice was a bit difficult to understand. I have read the book before, but I think that the audiobook was even better! Everything from the mugs, to the voice of Abdullah Nightengale. Everything. I recommend it to slightly older readers, as it does have a few curse words, and the plot is rather hard to understand. If you do read/listen to it, there are chapters, and each chapter is a life. Within those lives are events. This has been my favorite book so far. I hope that you enjoy it.

P.S— You may also want to read “The war that saved my life” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It’s also really good.

Wonderful story, mediocre narration

The special effects make some portions of narration indiscernable. A shame for this fantastic story!

silly and super fun in the style of Doctor Who

a romp, a joy! I love BlueBear! I will listen to this over and over when I need a pick-me-up! my kids are gonna love it! the reader is a genius!

This is it even better than reading it.

I bought another book years ago. This was better than actually reading it, it brought it to life.

Unusual book, not for me

I had high hopes for this book based on reviews. The book is different. It has very little story, plot, character development, etc.. Instead, it is just fantastical situation after fantastical situation. If it were 1 hour rather than 16 hours and had lots of illustrations I could see it being an excellent children's book.

Writing fantastic non-sensical things is hard, especially when everything is non-sensical. Much of the book is just reading an encyclopedia that explains what all of these non-sensical things are.

If you listen to the first chapter and expect it to get better, it won't. Every chapter is exactly the same but with different made-up things.

Best Book

If you do not like this book you either live a meaningless existence or you are autistic the second option is fine by the way at least your existence isn’t meaningless.