The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Oxford World's Classics)

This edition appears to be the best available on Kindle, with a clean transition to digital and including all of the references and the list of historical characters from the Oxford World's Classics edition. It is the first volume in the 3-part break down of THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE - TEN YEARS LATER, that also includes [[ASIN:019953845X Louise de la Vallière]] and [[ASIN:0199537259 The Man in the Iron Mask]]. The story picks up around 10 years after the close of [[ASIN:0199537267 Twenty Years After]], and focuses on the choppy transitions occurring in France and England in the early 1600's. Cardinal Mazarin is not long for the world, and the balance of power in France is at stake. In England, the monarchy has failed, but the winds have shifted and the exiled Charles II is aiming to take back his father's crown. Of course, we learn here that it is our old friends D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis that are the real movers and shakers behind the scenes. Their exploits and adventures continue to shape the course of history, and they take center stage here (especially D'Artagnan and Athos). The next generation of heroes is also introduced here, mainly Athos' son Raoul (The Vicomte de Bragelonne), who is led by D'Artagnan to make his own mark on history. One of the things that Dumas has received a lot of praise for is his masterful character development. There are subtle changes that take place in each of the main characters here, as the Musketeers grow older and adjust their outlooks on life, but the old personalities that we all loved so much in THE THREE MUSKETEERS continues to shine through. Athos remains the noble-to-a-fault leader he has always been, D'Artagnan still shows his willingness to face danger and pursue hair-brained ideas, Porthos continues to play the role of the under-respected oaf that observes more than he lets on, and Aramis is still the cryptic genius we've come to expect. The story in this first book of three jumps around a lot, lacking the focus of the previous books. The intrigue and adventure are just as satisfying as ever, but the lack of a central antagonist and the general feeling of aimlessness made this one less enjoyable to me. There is also an abrupt ending that in no ways concludes any of the main storylines, but that is due to this being the first part of a much longer book. I look forward to continuing the story, but can't say that I loved this one as much as other Dumas novels I've read.

First, the story text in this version and the free one are identical. The annotations I found to be a huge plus for interesting historical notes. I found it worth it at $0.99.
It is a good translation too. Sometimes the translated words feel slightly out of place and not quite fitting the context, but it's easy to overlook and still find the story excellent.

The story itself is of course good like all other Dumas works. There is somewhat less action and more speech, but Dumas excels at writing dialogue.

I think Monsieur Dumas has greater works than this though this novel really wasn't bad at all!

I found this book captured my attention much quicker than some others by Dumas and I LOVED the cliffhanger at the end 😱

I FEEL like not much happened in this book but looking back, quite a bit actually took place. It took me a while to get through due to having less time to read than usual so I think that may be why I feel not much happened.

If you're working your way through the Three Musketeers saga, this book won't disappoint though it's not a book I would read again in the near future.

Like it but the e-book interface is not so great.