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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
The political drama/courtly intrigue started to bore me by the time that I hit the climax. However, the last 20 chapters I couldn't read fast enough as all of the setup that had annoyed me as "not advancing the plot" clicked into place and stampeded to the end. As an added bonus I got to see the celebrated 4 speak and act like themselves all together for the first time since 3 Musketeers and I loved that .
Apart from a few chapters this book is excruciatingly dull. I'm a big fan of The Three Musketeers, and although the musketeers themselves are present here the author has shifted his focus from them to the nobility of 17th century France. Don't get me wrong, the affairs of the king and the queen were crucial to the plot of The Three Musketeers, but they were just the supporting cast. In Louise de la Valliere we have to endure chapter after chapter of "clever" conversation between varyingly boring characters instead of Dumas' typical story-line twists. If it wasn't just a part of a longer novel I would have given up a few chapters in, but unfortunately, it isn't all bad, so an ardent reader wishing to make sense of The Man in the Iron Mask probably should give it a go.
The only saving graces I can think of are Aramis' few chapters, which are important to the main plot of the later book, apart from being very mysterious and exciting, and a midnight duel which is probably the coolest I have ever seen, heard or read about. Great stuff, but it's far from managing to interest the casual reader.
The only saving graces I can think of are Aramis' few chapters, which are important to the main plot of the later book, apart from being very mysterious and exciting, and a midnight duel which is probably the coolest I have ever seen, heard or read about. Great stuff, but it's far from managing to interest the casual reader.
A good continuation of the story but maybe could have used a little more editing along the way
Librivox
Librivox
From an action/adventure/humor point of view, this entry to the D'Artagnan romances is the low point. Romance takes the center point, with all the flirting, gasping, sweating, fainting, plotting, counter-plotting and fluttering-about that a court of puffed-up nobles and ladies performs so perfectly. And perfectly annoying, if you’re not into that sort of thing. I recall being somewhat but not greatly impressed by the shenanigans going on at this stage in the books some 10 years ago when I was the same age as the mademoiselles at the French Court but now, at an age more ripe, it was pretty hard to stomach.
Throughout the books, there have been numerous times when I wanted to reach into the story and bash together the heads of fellows like Buckingham, De Guiche, Raoul (him especially) and even that effing idiot, the king himself. My only consolation sprang from researching the historical counterpart of my favorite character, the Compte de Guiche. That is to say Armand de Gramont, who apparently was a first class philanderer and amateur of both sexes and therefore can’t have been the immense sucker his novel representation was.
That said, Louise de La Valliere, who names the second partition of this huge novel in the same way that the Vicomte de Bragelonne names the first (i.e. by being more or less off-screen), I cannot to this day fathom why she became an object of such fascination. Unless I am supposed to be impressed by the transition from little saint to the mistress of a married man and the eye of the biggest scandal in the kingdom, while somehow maintaining the conduct of the most innocent and noble of hearts. Please… Even in the midst of all the exaggerated affairs of the heart happening around her, this character and her credibility leaves much to be desired. Not unlike the woman herself.
Thankfully, the tale in this book is interspersed with bits of clever and suspicious D’Artagnan, clueless, gentle-giant Porthos and the ever-inspiring, plotting, brilliant Aramis. And some serious business regarding finance, politics, affairs of state, etc.
Throughout the books, there have been numerous times when I wanted to reach into the story and bash together the heads of fellows like Buckingham, De Guiche, Raoul (him especially) and even that effing idiot, the king himself. My only consolation sprang from researching the historical counterpart of my favorite character, the Compte de Guiche. That is to say Armand de Gramont, who apparently was a first class philanderer and amateur of both sexes and therefore can’t have been the immense sucker his novel representation was.
That said, Louise de La Valliere, who names the second partition of this huge novel in the same way that the Vicomte de Bragelonne names the first (i.e. by being more or less off-screen), I cannot to this day fathom why she became an object of such fascination. Unless I am supposed to be impressed by the transition from little saint to the mistress of a married man and the eye of the biggest scandal in the kingdom, while somehow maintaining the conduct of the most innocent and noble of hearts. Please… Even in the midst of all the exaggerated affairs of the heart happening around her, this character and her credibility leaves much to be desired. Not unlike the woman herself.
Thankfully, the tale in this book is interspersed with bits of clever and suspicious D’Artagnan, clueless, gentle-giant Porthos and the ever-inspiring, plotting, brilliant Aramis. And some serious business regarding finance, politics, affairs of state, etc.
This book was a complete and utter disappointment. Dumas's stories are usually characterized for their adventure and intrigues, but this book was just about court gossip and terrible romance stories that bore the reader to the grave. While there are some intrigues going on, they are relatively rare and only happen in the second half, not to mention none of them end up answered. I love the other D'Artagnan, but this one is better off skimmed just so one knows what will happen in [b:The Man in the Iron Mask|54499|The Man in the Iron Mask (The D'Artagnan Romances, #3.4)|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571392348l/54499._SY75_.jpg|2971402].
Oh. My. Dear. Lord. Jesus. Christ. What was that ending???? It was heartbreak. Pure and utter heartbreak.
Oh. My. Dear. Lord. Jesus. Christ. What was that ending???? It was heartbreak. Pure and utter heartbreak.
Dumas has a habit of writing over 600 pages about the grand totaly of maybe two weeks to a month. Not that I don't love the amount of detail, not respect the various scens which he must give the utmost attention to, that take place within this month, but I must say that reading all of that, only to have one more book to go in order to finish the series, is very tiring. On the other hand, this is a great book full of lovey-dovey ness with just the right sprinkingl of adventure (very much the opposeite of The Three Muskateers, which had a lot of adventure with just the right sprinkling of lovey-dovey.) An excellent book, on all accounts.
Good, but I didn't like this one as much as The Vicomte de Bragelonne (which I didn't like as much as Twenty Years After). There was lots and lots of intrigue and court politics and too few appearances by the Four; my favorite part was Aramis and d'Artagnan's verbal fencing in Chapter 56.
I think this is my favorite Dumas book - beautiful, touching, and yet adventurous!