Alfred Kropp is an unlikely, unexpected sort of hero. Oversized for fifteen, a slow thinker with no real ambitions or motivations, he’s content to lie in his room and listen to music, rather than please others by playing football or getting a hobby. All of this changes one day, when his uncle enlists his aid in a get-rich-quick scheme which involves Alfred helping to steal a very special sword from one of the world’s most powerful businessmen. Oh, Alfred steals the sword, don’t worry. That much he does right. But when his uncle is killed in a vicious double-cross, and Alfred is left to fend for himself, he finds himself on a grand and terrible adventure. Teaming with a man called Bennacio, last of an ancient Order descended from Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, Alfred embarks on a quest to retrieve the stolen sword, once known as Excalibur, before it can be sold to the highest bidder. Along the way, as Alfred deals with dark forces, a secret government agency, and people likely to betray him without warning, he must also deal with his own destiny. Why was he drawn into this mess, anyway? He’s no hero, but he’ll have to become one.

There are a lot of familiar elements here: a magical sword, a centuries-old secret order, mysterious parentage and dead family, a teenage protagonist destined for some form of greatness, and so forth. But still, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp works, in part because it manages to maintain a somewhat self-depreciating, self-aware tone, as though the story, like its point-of-view hero, knows it’s going over well-traveled territory and it might as well have fun doing so. It’s a fun tale, a good-hearted adventure that stays true to itself. I can easily see this being turned into a movie. Check it out if you want a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek adventure.