Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures

A Novel in Two Books

By: Walter Moers

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the land of Zamonia, this exuberant, highly original fantasy from Walter Moers features an unlikely hero. Rumo is a little Wolperting—a domesticated creature somewhere between a deer and a dog—who will one day become the greatest hero in the history of Zamonia. Armed with Dandelion, his talking sword, he fights his way through the Overworld and the Netherworld. He meets Rala, a beautiful Wolperting female; Urs of the Snows, who thinks more of cooking than of fighting; Gornab the Ninety-Ninth, the demented king of Netherworld; Professor Ostafan Kolibri, who goes in search of the Non-Existent Teenies; Professor Abdullah Nightingale, inventor of the chest-of-drawers oracle; and, worst luck, the deadly Metal Maiden.

Astonishingly inventive, amusing, and engrossing, Rumo is a captivating story from the unique imagination of Walter Moers. Filled with humor, this novel puts a new spin on the usual epic fantasy. The comparisons are many—Douglas Adams, Lewis Carrol, J. K. Rowling, Dr. Seuss, and R. Crumb—but Moers is clearly an original. Long live Zamonia!

©2003 Piper Verlag GmbH, München; translation 2004 by John Brownjohn (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Equal parts J. K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, and Shel Silverstein…a work of monumental silliness.” ( Washington Post)

“Exuberant…Full of sly humor, this rambunctious novel will appeal to fans tired of the usual epic fantasy.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“A brilliantly imagined, well-executed jaunt through strange lands full of wild characters.” ( Booklist)

I really want to like this.

I really want to like this. The story itself is great. The performance, at times, is lacking. The voices are great, especially with the tech assisted editing that enhances them; there are, however, a number of times where a character's voice/accent changes and the previous lines weren't re-recorded for continuity. There is also a point where the talking blade voice (adjusted with technology) breaks for a good period of time like there was a glitch or problems with his equipment, then it goes back to normal.
The reader also, for a good period of time starts ending almost every sentence in a sort of sing-songy voice. I'm not sure what that's about but it's annoying and seems out of character for those he's speaking for.
I've listened through a few times because I love the story but about 5%-10% of it is difficult to listen to. Had those technical issues abd continuity issues been dealt with it would have been a pleasure to listen to.

A wonderful story, my ears though!

I read this book in a paperback format about a year ago and absolutely loved it! Rumo is a wonderful character, the writing is fun, and it feels very Discworld meets Hitchiker's meets Neil Gaiman storytelling and world building.

After some time passed, I learned that there is a series that takes place in the world of Zamonia and decided to read Bluebear (Book one). There is a scene where you meet Smyke and Rumo in that book, but I couldn't recall it; I decided to reread this book in audio format. I was a little hesitant, as the SHOUTING for Abdullah Nightingale in the Bluebear story was a bit painful. Spoiler! The scene isn't in Rumo!

The performance in this book is great, except for the pitch shifting, high pitched screech for the voice of Dandelion. Seriously, do NOT listen to this with headphones, ever. That audio mixing should have been lowered in volume, or not created as absolutely shrill as it was. It's so painful to hear.

The story is great, and perhaps better read in book format.

Good book not so good voices

The book itself is great but some voices are incredibly annoying and I had to turn down the volume on my car several times because the characters would screech in a very high pitched voice and sometimes it was unbearable

Headphones NOT recommended!

Any additional comments?

First of all, let me say I never write reviews, but have been driven to do so by the sheer awfulness of this book's sound-editing.

This was the usual Moers' listen. The story is full of tangents and is completely zany, but really a blast once you get in the groove. And quite a bit of Pinchot's narration is really quite good - the voices are definitely distinct characters and he paces things well.

HOWEVER. Whoever did the sound editing on this should be shot in both knees...twice. I was using earbuds when the character Dandelion was introduced, and I think my hearing has been permanently damaged. Whatever computer effects have been used on that voice are absolutely terrible: it sounds like a shrill, sing-song chipmunk on helium and is, if you're using any type of headphone, quite literally painful. I've switched to external speakers to finish the book to prevent hearing loss, but am now at risk of boyfriend loss as he's threatening to leave me if I don't make the "chipmunk from hell" stop.

So. Great book, but I think I'll finish it in print.

Great story and we'll produced but...

Really enjoyed another great Walter Moers book. The story was full of great moments and rich universe of zamonia. The production was well done with voice altering and other effects to bring the characters to life. But there were many moments when the high pitch altered narrator stung my ears through my cars audio system. Not as bad when listening with a pair of headphones or just on my phones normal speaker. My wife stopped listening with me in road trips because of the annoying voices.

Best Adventure Story

Rumor is such a loveable character. I don't know how many times I've listened to this story. it simply doesn't get old.

Loving this series

Where does Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 20

What other book might you compare Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures to and why?

It had elements of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where Dandelion confesses to Rumo he is actually a Troll.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could have listened to all 18 hours in one sitting I would have.

Any additional comments?

This is the second in a series, the first being "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear". Though this is totally enjoyable I loved the character of Bluebear more than Rumo. Both books are narrated by Bronson Pinchot and he is absolutely dynamite!

Wonderful story very annoying sound levels

I love Walter Moers. We are working our way through his translated works. This story has us all entertained following Rumo’s adventures.

I am having a tough time with the sound leveling. Some bits I can hardly hear and others pierce my ear drums. Some of the character voices are grating and difficult to take. It is taking away from our enjoyment of the story.

Love love love it

Rumo is one of my all time favs! A most excellent series!! Classic storytelling with a unique POV. So well read. Love all his books and re-read regularly. More please!

Awesome

This story is the extra most bestist. Because it is. It is so exelent, great and overal awesome.