"A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers’s epic adventure. "What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot…Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair’s breadth, last-minute escapes." Welcome to the fantastic world of Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters. It’s a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated by the author. The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is playful enough for young adult readers, yet as intricate and engaging as any work of literary fiction; it has the plot of a novel and the spontaneity and humor of a vintage comic book. The fast-growing cult of Zamonia will given a boost by the simultaneous release of Overlook’s hardcover of Walter Moers’s new book set in Zamonia, Rumo.

瓦尔特·莫尔斯,1957年生于德国西部,自学成材,德国著名连环画画家和电影剧本作家。1985年开始在儿童文学杂志“彩色狗”上发表连环画,1988年出版故事书《蓝熊船长海外奇谈》,从1990年起为WDR电视台制作104集蓝熊系列儿童节目,从此蓝熊船长的形象在德国家喻户晓。

莫尔斯会12种语言和各种方言,会弹吉他,会作曲。

1999年莫尔斯出版了第一部长篇小说《蓝熊船长的13条半命》,出版后即在欧美引起轰动,一直高居排行榜前列。该书故事情节曲折、幽默,涉及的知识极其广泛,被评论界认为是一部“除了性和暴力之外,几乎无所不包”的“百科全书“。蓝熊船长是莫尔斯创造的一个具有“永恒性格”的形象。这部小说使他成为当代德国继米夏埃尔·恩德之后最重要的儿童文学作家。还有评论家把他与道格拉斯・亚当、托尔金、斯威夫特、霍夫曼等著名小说家相提并论。莫尔斯1999年获得德国格林文学奖。

2001年,作者又推出与《蓝熊船长的13条半命》密切相关的另一部长篇小说《恩塞尔和克莱特——一个查莫宁的童话》,同样引起轰动。