Looking back at my old blog, I’ve had this book since 2010, which makes it ten years old (and explains the yellowed pages). I don’t think I’ve reread it since then because while I remember enjoying the story, it’s also very long – 703 pages to be exact! Even with illustrations and the occasional large font, that’s a lot.

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is exactly that – a story about the 13 1/2 lives of a blue bear named Bluebear, from his infancy with the minipirates to his education at Professor Nightingale’s academy to the height of his fame as a congladiators in Atlantis (and one and a half lives after that).

Given that it was ten years since I last read this, the only thing I remembered was that the first few lives were pretty short and then you had one or two giant chapters. The little that I remembered was pretty accurate because the longest chapter was the one in Atlantis as a congladiator (someone who duels in lies, basiclaly). I was actually dreading that chapter because it was so long, but it ended up being really fun and I reached the end of the book before I knew it!

In terms of plot, there isn’t really a quest or overarching plot. Bluebear simply gets in and out of situations (like that time he got sucked into a tornado and lived in it for a while). But what I really enjoyed was how Moers tied elements from earlier lives with the adventures of what happened in the later lives. If you pay attention, you’ll realise that a lot of things run full circle and it makes for a satisfying ending.

Overall, this was a fun reread (that was almost like a new read for me)! I’m glad that I bought this book and I’m looking forward to reading it again someday… perhaps in ten years time? (hopefully sooner)