spoopywife's review against another edition
4.0
I had a lot of trouble getting engrossed in the story and the style confused me a bit until I learned it was written as a serial. Knowing that helped me adjust my expectations and I enjoyed it a ton more after that.
momoj8's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mh1220's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
south_of_south_farthing's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
skinnercolin221's review against another edition
2.0
I read a lot of reviews saying they absolutely loved "The Count of Monte Cristo" and then were disappointed by this book—and that was exactly my experience. It starts off with a bang, and my childhood musketeer-nostalgia temporarily took over, but then it was just too two-dimensional and dull for even occasional swordplay to cut through. Milady is the worst character, and we have to spend hours reading about her exploits. D'Artagnan is Mr. Invincible-Awesome, but then falls in love with a married woman and tries to get with her. She gets kidnapped, he vows to find her, but then he doesn't. Instead, he meets Milady, an engaged woman, seduces and lies to her maid and then sleeps with Milady instead, but she's actually using him for reasons I can't even remember because it was so boring. Meanwhile, there is a power struggle between the Cardinal and King that had a lot of promise for an exploration of church and state issues, but then nothing really happens with it at all. Milady kills the married woman in revenge against D'Artagnan, who cries over this woman he kind of loved. I was almost taken in by this until I realized he doesn't freakin' love her! It's clear he's just a high-libido young dude who's good with a sword. At least we might get an epic duel now that he's finally meeting his rival, Rochefort, in the end! Nope. That gets somewhat glossed over in the epilogue, and then they become friends?? What in the actual Français?
brtuck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ipb1's review against another edition
4.0
If you are familiar with any of the many film and TV adaptations the biggest surprise of the novel is that our putative heroes are all, well, a bit crap. They aren't even particularly good at swordplay (sheesh - they had one job). Ah well, it remains a rollocking adventure and the general cack-handedness all adds to the levity and fun.