Asterix in Britain (Asterix (Orion Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: A Jolly Good Thing , What?
Review: A particularly amusing Asterix album , it was first published in 1966 ,in French , as Astérix chez les Bretons and in English in 1970.
After the Roman conquest of Britain ( veni vidi vici and all that...) , a small village of Britons holds out against the Roman invaders just like their counterparts in Gaul.
British chief Mykingdomforanos -aided by his right hand man the Hibernian (Irishman) Overoptimistix and the Caledonian (Scotsman) McAnix- asks one of his favourite men , Aticlimax , to visit his cousin Asterix in Gaul , to seek help.

The result is that he returns to Britain with Asterix , Obelix and a barrel of magic potion. The Romans have however got wind of the news , and they do everything in their power to make sure that the barrel of magic potion does not reach it's destination.

Jam packed with all things British , there are guest appearances by the Beatles ( this book was written when Beatlemania was at its height) and Boadicea. The adventure takes place in such places as the governor's palace in Londinium (Buckingham Palace) , London Bridge , the Tower of London and the Thames.
Our friends are introduced to Rugby and British food (which both the authors and Obelix do not hide their contempt very well) as well as tea (which unbeknown to our heroes plays a large part in the resolution of the story).
There is even a reference to the Channel Tunnel (even though this was written in 1966 , 21 years before construction of the Chunnel begun-the idea was only being talked about then!).

Rating:
Summary: The translation isn't the best, but the story is
Review: As others here have noted, and harshly critized, the translation is not upto the golden standard set by Derek Hockridge and Anthea Bell. I don't particularly mind the name changes, they still convey the characters in a clever way, but a good portion of the book feels like a translation (most of the books amazingly don't seem this way). I need not comment any more on this topic as it has been well explained.

But I want to make another point, one that may be overshadowed by the less perfectionate (though adquate—you can still read the story and understand it) translation: The story is still very good as are the drawings. I would like to rate this version of the book 3.5 stars, but I went up to 4 because of the wonderful illustrations and plot. For the British version though, I would rank it 5 stars. If you can, try getting the British version on ....

Rating:
Summary: A family favorite
Review: This is my daughter Andrea's (16) favorite Asterix - her favorite word at the moment is "guano" if that makes any difference. Just goes to show you. Her brother Mark (10) has read 'Asterix in Britain' until it's dog-earred.

Funny, funny stuff!