The Man in the Iron Mask (1847)

A classic, with reason. Dumas's characterizations are excellent, his plots packed with political intrigue and daring-do, but this book more than others made it apparent that he was paid by the word. The first 14% could only be described as a fashion emergency! Even so, I pushed on. This book is interesting since two of the old musketeers error in such an incredible way, and then truly pay for their mistake--as do their friends. The end is a tragic one, for sure. ( )

This one's the 5th book in the saga of the Three Musketeers--or, technically, the 3.3rd. Apparently the 3rd book published was a massive novel titled Le Vicomte de Bragelonne. Some English translations of that book, for whatever reason, were split into three novels. Anyway, in ignorance I picked up this volume, thinking it the next installment, and continued to read it after discovering my error. It didn't suffer too much for the loss, as M. Dumas gave enough backstory that I could follow along. It's the final tale of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis and their capers and intrigues with French royalty. The story was typical Dumas, with enjoyable characters and meandering plotlines. It was a bit of a downer since it was the final book of the saga. I also found the ending a bit unsatisfying--there was no "happily ever after", nor any great tragedy to wrap up the saga. It was still enjoyable reading, of course, but I kept thinking that next time I should just pick up The Three Musketeers.
--J. ( )

The last adventure of the musketeers Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan. The secret twin of the king plays a very small role--out of the Bastille and back in within a few days, Aramis' plot foiled by loyalty of the Finance minister at whose home he makes the switch.

While I like this Simon Vance narration, I found that this edition, based on the 3 volume version of "Vicomte de Bragelonne; or Ten Years Later", was not as good as my print edition which is based on the 4 volume edition. This one is just too long, especially if you are reading this as a stand-alone -- it is about 30% longer than the 4 volume edition and mostly with stuff which lacks the adventure and action that one might expect in this book. ( )

Having finally read the entire series, I found that I liked this final section even more. Some sections that I previously thought a bit dull or unrelated I now realize where the continuation or wrapping up of things that had happened previously. Several of the relationships, such as that between Raoul & Louise, are not at all clear if you read this as a stand-alone but make perfect sense having read the previous parts of "Vicomte de Bragelonne; or Ten Years Later". However the book is still a fun read even lacking the nuances of these relations as long as you know "The Three Musketeers" 4 main characters.

One thing I had forgotten was how sad this book ends up being. I was feeling a bit annoyed in the middle that Louis XIV wasn't left in the Bastille and Phillipe on the throne, especially after Louis behaviour towards Fouquet in the second half of the book. But upon reflection, Dumas chose the more realistic path and allowed the characters to show their sense of honor or lack thereof. I remain saddened by the division between the 4 friends which is only partially healed in the end. Poor Aramis tried to become another Richelieu and failed. It is interesting the the musketeer who started off as the most devout ended up being the most corrupted by ambition while the one who started off with the most ambition ended up the most dutiful to his moral obligations. So sad that d'Artagnan dies just as he is about to achieve the one ambition left to him!

For those unaware, Dumas' mammoth third book in the d'Artagnan series ("Vicomte de Bragelonne; or Ten Years Later") is generally divided into several volumes, most commonly 3 or 4. Unfortunately, these volumes usually have the same name even though they cover slightly different material. This book is covers the material in the 4th volume of a 4 volume edition. I also listened to the Blackstone audiobook edition narrated by Simon Vance which is the final volume of a 3 volume edition (and also a slightly different translation although the translation information is not provided). For those wanting to read this classic as a stand-alone, I would recommend the 4 volume edition -- the 3 volume edition contains about 30% more material at the beginning (covered in my 3rd volume "Louise de la Valliere") which only minimally helps understand the relationships I mentioned above and lacks the adventure and action of the first & last parts. ( )