The Man in the Iron Mask

Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) – This story, in my opinion, wasn’t one of the best written by Dumas. The story line was well done, but the way in which it was written was difficult for me to follow. It jumped into the middle of confusion and right off the bat it was hard to know what was going on. Many times it would follow one person on their part of the story and when they would meet up with someone else of importance it would follow them for a few chapters and then go back to the other person. It sounds confusing to even describe it. Fortunately a few of the characters I was already familiar with from reading The Three Musketeers. The famous musketeers come back in this story to fight against each other, preserving what they each believe to be in the true interest of the kingdom. I did thoroughly enjoy the story. After finishing it I think it was easier to understand what was went on and how it came to that ending. The adventures that were carried out in this story were very true to Dumas’ natural writing. He captures the adventure in chases and sword fights. I love the action that goes on in his books. The book didn’t follow the story line that I at first thought it might. It seemed to move very quickly to different directions. Again, I almost didn’t know what was going on until I finished the book. The story progresses from one moment to the next very quickly and the story completely changes. It is quite interesting to read. I do recommend it, most likely right after reading The Three Musketeers. I think it would help to keep the characters straight and also to keep up with the writing style.