7 crystal balls

Author Hergé
Artist Hergé
Binding Type Hardcover
Number of Pages 64
Age 7-10 years, 11-14 years
ISBN 978-5-00041-517-7
Series The Adventures of Tintin
Translated by Mikhail Khachaturov

Publisher: Melik-Pashaev

A scientific expedition returning from South America brings with it the ancient mummy of the great Inca ruler Raccoon Cápac. Soon, the expedition members fall into a lethargic sleep one after another. Experts believe that the cause may be a certain substance, traces of which are found on crystal ball fragments discovered repeatedly near the victims. At the clinic where the victims of the strange epidemic are taken, a new intriguing detail emerges: every day at the same time, all seven fall into a deep trance. Could someone have decided to punish those who dared to desecrate the tomb of the Inca ruler? All the newspapers are already reporting it! Tintin takes up the investigation, but then Professor Tournesol disappears. The search leads Tintin and Captain Haddock to the port, where they find the professor's hat. Tintin suspects that Tournesol has been kidnapped and probably taken aboard the freighter "Pachacamac", which has just set sail for the Peruvian port of Callao. Tintin and the captain urgently fly there.

"The Adventures of Tintin" is a world-famous comic book series by the Belgian artist Georges Remi (1907–1983), who worked under the pseudonym Hergé. Risking his life, the brave reporter Tintin investigates mysterious incidents, but emerges victorious from every predicament. And no matter what happens, his faithful friend is always by his side – the snow-white fox terrier Milou.

The two-volume format, tried out with the "pirate" story ("The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure"), proved so successful that Hergé also decided to make Tintin's new "Indian" adventure two volumes. In 1948, the album "The Seven Crystal Balls" was published, set in Belgium and France, and the following year its sequel, "The Temple of the Sun", was released as a separate volume, set in Peru.