Blood Royal or, The Son of Milady

The Musketeers Cycle, Book 3.5

By: Alexandre Dumas, Lawrence Ellsworth - translator

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The latest entry in this acclaimed series of new translations of the Musketeer novels, Blood Royal continues the adventures of the valiant d’Artagnan and his three loyal friends.

The latest translation in Lawrence Ellsworth’s acclaimed new series of Alexandre Dumas’ greatest adventures is Blood Royal, the second half of what Dumas originally published as Twenty Years After. In this volume, all the plots and schemes set up in the previous novel come to dramatic fruition in the kind of exciting thrill ride Dumas is famous for - while at the same time introducing the characters and themes that form the foundation of the rest of the series, leading to its great climax in The Man in the Iron Mask.

In Blood Royal, the Four Musketeers all venture to England on parallel missions to save King Charles I, pursued by the murderous and vengeful Mordaunt, the son of Milady de Winter, the great villain of The Three Musketeers. Despite all his experience, d’Artagnan is repeatedly foiled by the much-younger Mordaunt, who erupts out of the past to embody the strengths of audacity and cunning that were once d’Artagnan’s hallmarks. Mordaunt has corrupted those youthful strengths, and the older d’Artagnan is no match for him until he is able to pull his former team together again. To do this, d’Artagnan will have to become a true leader of men, leading not just by example, but also by foresight, persuasion, and compromise. Only then can the team of Athos, Porthos, and Aramis be reformed in all its might to defeat the specter of their past.

Blood Royal is unmatched in Dumas' oeuvre in its depictions of his most famous and beloved characters and is an unforgettable saga of swordplay, suspense, revenge, and ultimate triumph.

©2020 Lawrence Schick (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

An Excellent stopping point!

Perfect in every vector! Great Narration, excellent story and phenomenal characters!
If you have gone through the series up to this point from Three Musketeers and like like happy endings with a good wrap up to your series, stop right here at the end of this charming book!

This is a great story.

I first read this in the 11th grade. Listening to it on Audiobook was a pleasure. It is a great story.

Translation and John Lee's delivery are superb!

A fantastic follow-on to the previous novels in this great Alexander Duma series. Looking forward to Between Two Kings.

Captivating

My wife and I have listened to the Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After (separated into two volumes, with the second being this one, Blood Royal or, The Son of Milady), and The Count of Monte Cristo. We have been riveted and captivated by the stories and the performances of John Lee. I prefer to review the two Twenty Years After volumes as one. As such, I give them 5 stars collectively. These stories do not disappoint and we are looking forward eagerly to reading the five-volume work that is Ten Years Later. We hope all volumes are translated by Lawrence Ellsworth and read my John Lee.

Alexander Dumas is brilliant!

I love this story. I’ve always loved the Three (really FOUR) Musketeers. This takes place 20 years after the first books.

The only problem for me, is the narrator. He obviously went to the school of William Shatner/Captain Kirk. The pauses in his speech do not stop when he change his voices for the different characters. And he is inconsistent with the voices. He uses Porthos’s, his voice for other characters, even when Porthos is speaking with them. It’s a long read/listen, and the narrator is really irritating. A pity because it’s such a great tale.

Worth being split into two books!

Everything about this book is amazing - the story, dialogue, translation and narration. Yes, it is annoying that they split the book into two audiobooks, but it’s good enough that it is worth it (and part I is currently free to all Audible members). Enjoy!

One of the best series ever created

anyone who loves swashbuckling adventure, well developed characters, and an entirely original story. will love this entire series. this book was hard to find but well worth it. everyone should read this entire series at some point in their life

A worthy narrator!

I read this book way back in my college years, and I admit I was somewhat disappointed because I wanted more of the young musketeers. But now, forty years later, I "get it". Our old friends, older and a bit embittered (or at least, d'Artagnan is) initially found themselves on opposite sides of the political fence (in the first part of this set). But friendship vanquished misplaced duty, and d'Artagnan and Porthos joined Athos and Aramis in attempt to rescue the English King Charles I from execution. Of course, to do so would have altered the course of history and that's not Dumas' aim. I love the way he melded his characters into history and enriched the story without sacrificing veracity. Our heroes are constantly foiled by the treacherous and terrifying Mordaunt, son of Milady. Because this is part of a million-word serial written for Le Siècle, the story does not end here but goes on to finish the Frondeur revolution against Cardinal Mazarin, where again our friends play a critical part. The Narrator John Lee did a perfect job delivering the dialogue of our characters. I absolutely loved his Porthos!

Suspenseful, humorous, and exciting!

The Three Musketeers is one of my favorites from Dumas. This is a sequel to the original novel, it was as thrilling to read, as the first one.
The narrator excelled at captivating my attention, and bringing this book to life.

This book doesn’t exist. It’s just the second half of a book you already purchased.

If you wondered why, “20 years after” ended so... nonchalantly, it’s because it didn’t. They decided to give you half of the book and make it book 1. Blood Royal is just chapter 34 or so to the end published under a second name to double the profit.

Don’t hold it against the narrator who does a wonderful job, but it leaves me with a bad taste to nickel and dime us.