Laurence Croix

This is a sequel to Blake and Mortimer's earlier adventure, The Yellow "M", which I should, perhaps, have reread, as the details of the Mega Wave as re-presented in The Septimus Wave seem very confused. I'm not sure if this is the writer or translator's fault, or my own.

I would have liked to better understand the motivations and origins of the quartet of ne'er-do-wells who precipitate the action. What is their endgame? How did they come together? These aspects aren't fleshed out. Where did "Orpheus" come from? What does its pilot want? What was the figure which appeared to Nasir? Was it Septimus or the pilot? The shadow it cast doesn't seem to fit either. The research seems a little less accurate this time, unless the author actually meant to hide Bethlam Royal Hospital near Croydon (about 10 miles from central London) behind the facade of the otherwise incorrectly named Bedlam Hospice, presented as being an easy walk from Whitehall. I'm possibly betraying a lack of reading comprehension with these nitpicking questions.

The inevitable appearance of the ubiquitous Colonel Olrik is actually a welcome relief, and he, if nobody else, feels a little more three-dimensional than usual.

Apart from feeling somewhat lost with the details of the mcguffin, this London-based adventure was an enjoyable, if workmanlike, addition to the series - not terrible, but not of the best.… (meer)

This is the twentieth book in the also long-running Blake and Mortimer series. Although linked with Hergé’s Tintin – the first Blake and Mortimer story appeared in the Tintin Magazine, and the comic uses a similar ligne claire style – series creator Edgar P Jacobs chose not to prevent its continuation after his death. He died in 1987, and only actually wrote and drew half a dozen of the Blake and Mortimer books. The series was restarted in the 1990s and has been going strong ever since. The Septimus Wave is a sequel to an earlier Jacobs title, The Yellow “M”, in which evil scientist Septimus brainwashes series villain Colonel Olrik into committing a series of crimes. But Septimus is now dead, and Mortimer is experimenting with Septimus’s equipment – except he’s not the only one. And there’s something else riding piggyback on Septimus’s “Mega Wave” generated by Mortimer and the others. Apparently, some of the post-Jacobs entries in the series have upset fans by being a bit too clever or something, and while The Septimus Wave is by no means the best of the new Blake and Mortimers I do like the fact they’re a bit more sophisticated than Jacobs’ own stories.… (meer)