The Vicomte de Bragelonne Book

In case I haven't made myself perfectly clear, I am 10000% obsessed with this series.

The Musketeers are officially my bros, and when I read about them I imagine them as friends, which means I feel their experiences that much more significantly. I laugh out loud, I grin, I gasp, I tear up, I bite my lip and I'm pretty sure if I had a mustache I would twist it. This series gives me a very serious case of feelings.

I feel sad when I think of how many people never make it this far into the series. Granted, we're getting pretty political now, and there's a lot about the animosity between Focquet and Colbert, and bits and pieces about the governing of France and her relations, so it can be a little more tedious in spots. The Musketeers are divided, and Porthos and Aramis don't even make an appearance until well over halfway through. This book borrows Raoul's title, but he's not a major player, but one can clearly see he personifies a combination of our four favourite heroes so there's a strong desire for more of him.

But there is so much fun to be had within these 650 pages. This book begins with one of d'Artagnan's famous schemes, and it makes me laugh so hard. It's so ridiculous, and I love it the more for that. Athos is still a noble example that counteracts d'Artagnan's impulsiveness, and I love that this friendship is still going strong. My heart pounds harder every time some of the friends are united, and the appearance of Porthos at his time made me want to hug him myself. He's not given nearly enough credit, and every time I read the series I love him more. Aramis is still a cunning fox and I'm saddened every time they lie to one another, even though they still support their friendship. The younger generation that's slowly leaking into the story are actually a lot of fun, and I rather enjoy the relationship between Raoul and the Comte de Guiche. You can feel the tone of the story moving into the new friendships that are being born, so there are new dynamics to play with.

There's no real villain in this story - Mazarin the Miser is less threatening, and Colbert is not yet important enough to be evil, though he's well on his way. The King is still finding his footing, and there are others who have malicious intentions that are easily put down by one of our growing list of heroes.

So to sum up, this book contains a lot more politics, and French history. There are a lot of new names to remember (and this handy edition has a breakdown of characters at the back) but there are still some fun musketeer adventures and daring deeds.

This specific edition, though, includes a lot of notes which bothered me a bit. I didn't think it was necessary to add a note for everything that referred to something from a previous book. We all remember what went down with Milady, yo.

I hope more people get around to reading the entire series, because you've really gotta read how d'Artagnan decides to get rid of Monk. It's my favourite part of the whole book and it's hilarious.


***
Original Review 13/11/13

I love D'Artagnan and his crazy adventures! Some classics, you have to wade through the descriptive literature to find the threads of a story- with the work of Dumas, this is rarely the case. The story is so colourful that the language simply adds a greater depth and poetry that enhances, rather than hinders, the work. The story itself has as much intrigue as the previous Musketeers novels, though the absence of two of the four is sorely missed for a good portion of the book. There's a fair bit of travel but that's nothing unusual, and D'Artagnan is as charming as ever, despite the fact he's getting on in years. Bit of a weird spot to end Part I, but I will be keen to get into the next part!