Asterix and the Normans was published in 1967.
On page one of the story we learn very quickly about Chief Vitalstatisix’s nephew. His nephew is being sent to his village to “toughen” him up since he’s getting soft in the busy city of Lutetia. Asterix and Obelix are in charge of changing this young man.
This young man who’s called Justforkix is a thin, spoiled party animal. He likes rock music and having fun until the wee hours of the morning. He rides a fancy Italian chariot.
On page nine of the book, we are brought way north and are introduced to the Norsemen. They are a tough and confident race. They are so brave that they do not know what fear is.
In order to find out what “fear” is, they travel south.
Coincidently, they land very close to Asterix and Obelix’s village. After that there are the usual fights, they kidnap the nephew and by the end the Norsemen learn what fear is in a very unusual way.
According to the spine of the book, this would be Asterix, book #9. There are a few things to note about how the style of the story and characters start to change.
- Dogmatix is much more communicative. We learn that he loves trees.
- Cacafonix’s features have changed considerably from the earlier episodes.
- More of the villagers have speaking roles
- There are a lot more “pretty” young ladies in the background
- The number of puns being used have increased compared to the earlier stories
This story isn’t my one of my favorites. The nephew of Chief Vitalstatistix, Justforkix, is featured a lot in this story and his character really isn’t that interesting. He just kind of whines and acts like a nervous wreck for most of the story. Also, ten pages are used to create the finale of the story and we can guess the outcome easily. This story really didn’t have enough interesting twists or turns to keep me intrigued.
I’m not sure if there’s much for children to learn from this story. Maybe they can realize that people from other culture lack certain emotions (in this story, the Normans can’t understand fear). Wherever you go in this world, you may find something lacking in other cultures... but who knows what characteristics might be lacking in your own...
