The Crab with the Golden Claws is the ninth book in the Adventures of Tintin series- and one which would serve as a major turning point for the other books to follow. This episode was first published in serial comic strip form in 1941 before it was turned into a book in 1943. In all the Tintin series, I think that this is the first to touch upon the matter of drug smuggling; I myself first learned about drugs and drug smuggling from this book when I first read it when I was ten! The Crab with the Golden Claws is my second favorite Tintin book, mainly because of the introduction of my favorite character- Captain Haddock.


Thompson and Thomson discover a scrap of paper with the word Karaboudjan scrawled messily upon it. Tintin decides to investigate and soon learns that a man has been kidnapped and held onboard a ship called the Karaboujan. He decides to go onboard and hides on the ship after it leaves port. Tintin is soon caught in the middle of some very dangerous drug smugglers and in trying to escape; he meets an alcoholic, depressed Captain. Will Tintin escape? How will he solve the case of the smugglers and drug trafficking?


I do believe that this was a brilliant introduction to Captain Haddock, and I have no idea how Hergé did it but he somehow managed to depict an instant chemistry between Tintin and the Captain. I think that the first meeting between them was quite artfully done- especially in terms of how these two characters will relate to each other in the books to come. Moreover, this is also the book when readers first get to experience the Captain's choice of explicit swear words. This was according to me, quite a nice way to slice through the bleakness of them theme and add some comic dimension. Actually, it was more of a hilarious than mere comical dimension. I think that Captain Haddock is definitely one of the best-developed characters in the Tintin series- maybe even more than Tintin himself. While the main protagonist is somewhat limited and fixed in his mannerism and facial expressions, Captain Haddock is extremely expressive with a very interesting, very amusing feisty personality.


Adventure-wise, there was lots of intrigue and interesting twists and turns to the story. It even had a slight dose of suspense and unpredictability to it and I think that the concept of drug smuggling was handled in such a way that both children and adults alike will be able to read and enjoy the episode- albeit in different ways of course.


Overall, very, very highly recommended. This is the second Tintin book I ever read and I enjoyed every single page of it. Fans of Tintin will really delight in this first introduction of Captain Haddock.


All Tintin books are available on Amazon and eBay for £ 6.49 (aprox) and are around 62-64 pages.



~Thanks for reading~