The Three Musketeers

By: Alexandre Dumas

Narrated by: Simon Vance

This historical romance, perhaps the greatest cloak-and-sword story ever written, relates the adventures of four fictional swashbuckling heroes who loyally served the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV.

When the dashing young D'Artagnon arrives in Paris from Gascony, he becomes embroiled in three duels with the Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. But when he proves himself by fighting not against, but with, the Three Musketeers, they form a quick and lasting friendship. The daring escapades of the four pit them against a master of intrigue, Cardinal Richelieu, and the quintessential wicked woman, Lady de Winter.

(P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"His plots are...rich in characters and adventures." ( Biographical Dictionary of Literary Influences)

One of the best adventure stories ever!

This book is one of my all time favorites. The reader was incredible! I can't wait to hear the sequels!

Classic adventure story

Though some of the passages can get long and tedious at times, overall I enjoyed the book. All the characters in this tale - so well known from movies, are unique and memorable, which the narrator Simon Vance brilliantly brings to life.

Mostly Fun

Was good fun till about two thirds of the way through the second book. At that point the author seemed to force the ending.

Wow!

Fabulous in every way! I cancelled appointments in order to keep listening. A hundred times better than expected.

Excellent reading by Simon Vance

Simon Vance is one of the best narrators of audiobooks. After listening to his amazing rendition of the Tale of Two Cities, I jumped at the possibility of listening to his rendition of the Three Musketeers, and he did not disappoint. His melodious, soothing voice is by itself a pleasure to listen to, even though he is not as good as some narrators in making obvious distinctions between characters, often inserting different English accents when distinguishing between characters. though they were mostly French. Yet his tempo, tone, clarity, dictionary make the reader understand every word and enjoy every part of the book, even when the text itself is not the most interesting.

The amazing Dumas novel, the Count of Monte Cristo, is one of the best novels ever written. Therefore, I expected a similar masterpiece from the Three Musketeers, but I was a little disappointed. The novel is not a bad read, and has an excellent final third, but overall the characters, unlike in Monte Cristo, are rather shallow and the four Musketeers are often annoying and not really sympathetic, nor amusing. If the main villain was not so utterly evil, one would wonder if the four musketeers were the most villainous characters in the book. Their exploits made it seem like they could do whatever they wanted, good or bad, like a bunch of spoiled, arrogant frat boys

All for One

If you are a fan of Dumas (I am) this classic novel and the narration of the audiobook will leave nothing to be desired: great characters fully realized, an exciting storyline and a real education on 18th century France.

An expert reading of an adventure classic

Simon Vance's recording of "The Three Musketeers" is one of the best audiobooks I've experienced. His reading and characterizations brought out nuances I'm sure I would have missed by reading the book myself.

The plot really moves, with just a few slower spots used to flesh out the characters. The tale is chock full of adventure and intrigue. It's quite humorous in the first half but turns dark in the second half, as the story shifts to the vengeful machinations of Milady de Winter, perhaps the most chilling villain I've ever encountered. I was also intrigued by the amoral actions of d'Artagnan and his friends. The musketeers are not always the honorable heroes portrayed in movie adaptations. Dumas pictured a bygone age with different notions of chivalry and heroism than we have today.

As an English history buff, I enjoyed how Dumas turned the real-life fate of the Duke of Buckingham (favorite of Charles I) into a key plot twist in the novel.

Vance's character voices were very good. My favorites were D'artagnan, Porthos and Cardinal Richelieu - who came off quite sympathetically in this narration. I often thought the Musketeers should throw in their lot with him rather than the foppish, foolish King Louis XIII or his scheming queen.

An old favorite

This was the first "adventure" novel I ever read, and it just doesn't get old. Performance here is excellent, giving all the flavor of the interactions between the men. Highly highly recommend. For first time listeners or people unfamiliar with the story, it starts off slowly but once you get past Meung it zips along. Stick with it.

masterful classic expertly preformed

so good even my small children were enthralled and wanted to listen. excellent performance of all the characters voices brings the whole story to life.

Incredible audio book!

Simon Vance is probably my all time favorite narrator. Anything by him is a treat!!! Also you can hardly beat Dumas' character development and plot!!! This is just phenomenal!