Book 9: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

This one was recommended by a friend of mine at work who just finished it.  She said it was a great, classic adventure story and, having enjoyed Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, it sounded pretty good.  It's also part of a trilogy, which I didn't know, including this novel, Twenty Years Later and The Man in the Iron Mask.  Throw in The Count of Monte Cristo and that's 3 more books to add to my reading list.  Bonus!

673 pages this time, so that makes about 97 pages per day.

REVIEW:  This one kicked my butt.  My sister dared me to read it in French.  Unable to turn down a challenge like that, I tracked down a copy and did it.  It took me a few extra days but I managed it.  I'm not entirely sure if it was just my rusty French or if it was the book itself, but I found it to be rather shallow.  There was little to no character development and very little nuance in the plot or characters.  It wasn't a bad story and it was rather entertaining in parts but it felt a little cliché fairly often.  It may be because this book set the mold and others copied it (too often) but it was hard to ignore.  It got so bad at one point that I laughed out loud.  Chapter 65 begins thus: "C'etait une nuit orageuse et sombre."  Literally, "It was a dark and stormy night."  Wow.

So, that's it, a good bit of fun and decent story but a bit shallow and cliché.  Dare I start a rating system?  6 out of 10.