Rating: 
Summary: The Count of Monte Cristo A Tale of Betrayal
Review: Most people you run into say the idea of trying to escape from prison is a bad thing. This isn't the case in Alexandre Dumas' book The Count of Monte Cristo, where our hero Edmond Dantes, is thrown into one of the darkest, dirtiest dungeons in all of France.
Edmond Dantes, a carefree young sailor, who it seems will soon be captain of his very own ship, wants nothing more than to be able to marry his fiancé, Mercedes and settle down.
Sadly this will not come to pass, for Edmond becomes the victim of other men's ambition, greed, and envy. His enemies each have a different reason for making him want to disappear, but only when they come together do they decide what they will do.
They devise a wicked plot to frame poor Edmond and falsely accuse him of being a traitor. He is sent to the horrible dungeons of Chateau d'If, to spend the rest of his life in a lonely cell.
However during his long imprisonment he meets the "Mad Priest" Abbe Faria, who takes him from the brink of insanity and teaches him geometry, chemistry, history, algebra, and many other skills. He then tells Edmond of a secret treasure on an island known only as Monte Cristo. Soon after that Edmond escapes prepared to take his revenge. He finds that those who wronged him had gained enormous power and now lived in Paris.
So backed by his newfound fortune, he decides that it is time for Paris to get a visit from The Count of Monte Cristo.
Rating:
Summary: Whoa, what a book!!!
Review: A brilliant piece of literature, a real tribute to French literature, Alexandre Dumas is a genius with all the subplots and major plots that he intertwines which makes this a superb novel. I found myself guessing about what was going to happen next but each time I tried to guess, I was wrong. I loved the character development. There were so many characters in this novel and each character brought new attributes to "the table" which made the book even more interesting. Also I loved the plot development. There were so many subplots that all ended up tying into the main plot which made the book that much more interesting. Starting out as an honest sailor in Marseilles, he is framed for being a Bonapartist, and is sentenced to life in jail... With little hope for escape he is left to die in his cell, but when he meets Abbe Faria his luck just starts to turn around... With this in mind I would definitely encourage others to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book of ALL time!
Review: All I can say is that I spent many days enthralled with this book and when it was finished I felt like I had lost dear friends. I found myself shirking school duties in favor of falling into the story of Edmond and Mercedes. The plot has everything. Evil villains, traitors, chivalry, romance, intrigue, redemption...I could go on forever. Some of the scenarios Dumas sets up are exquisite and will literally have your heart racing in excitement! There are so many mini-plots, each of them fascinating, to keep your interest. Do yourself a favor and read this book! And while you're at it, check out "The Three Musketeers" and all the other books available by Dumas. His personal life is very interesting to read about as well (he took part in a duel amonst other things).
Rating: 
Summary: The Count of Monte Cristo
Review: Although Count of Monte Cristo kept me on my toes wondering what would happen next, it seemed to drone on by without a certain explanation. I loved the book, it just had parts that i thought Dumas could have easily done without. Besides that, Count of Monte Cristo was a wonderfully written book that deserves full credit on itself. It had such passion and devotion inside it; it's as though Dumas himself was feeling the same imprisonment as Dantes.
Rating:
Summary: Professionally Awesome to the Max
Review: Dear You,
This book was the epitomy of all things good. That's all! There's pretty much no way to describe its supreme awesomeness. The book is written in a style that requires you to read it fairly quickly because its easy to forget who on earth you're supposed to be reading about. For example -- I didn't read it for a whole week and I forgot who was who until I read the previous chapter. Then I just spent a Saturday and finished the last 600 pages up. I suggest you do the same to fully grasp the masterpiece that it is. Sincerely,
Me, very satisfied
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful!
Review: For the past year, I have thought that Austen's Pride and Prejudice would remain my all-time favorite book, but now I see that I am mistaken, as The Count of Monte Cristo has DEFINITELY topped P & P on my list.
This book, about the transformation of Edmond Dantes from an unsuspecting, guileless, innocent young man into a vengeful, dark, and clever man, and how the newly born Dantes uses his fortune and wit to avenge his past life, is one book that I shall never forget. I simply could not put this book down, and was even scolded by my family for neglecting my meals, sleep, and work to read this enchanting story. The details, the plot thick with intrigue and secrets...all of this and more were combined by Alexandre Dumas to create a masterful work of literature that one will surely come to appreciate greatly. I urge you, READ THIS BOOK! You shall not regret it!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful!
Review: For the past year, I have thought that Austen's Pride and Prejudice would remain my all-time favorite book, but now I see that I am mistaken, as The Count of Monte Cristo has DEFINITELY topped P & P on my list.
This book, about the transformation of Edmond Dantes from an unsuspecting, guileless, innocent young man into a vengeful, dark, and clever man, and how the newly born Dantes uses his fortune and wit to avenge his past life, is one book that I shall never forget. I simply could not put this book down, and was even scolded by my family for neglecting my meals, sleep, and work to read this enchanting story. The details, the plot thick with intrigue and secrets...all of this and more were combined by Alexandre Dumas to create a masterful work of literature that one will surely come to appreciate greatly. I urge you, READ THIS BOOK! You shall not regret it!
Rating:
Summary: just perfect
Review: I agree with the reviewers that this is one of the best books ever written. I read this book as part of a book club and probably never would have read it on my own--having read many of the books of Hugo and Dickens and other writers of that approximate era. I love both of these writers but find them both at times cumbersome and stilted and really wasn't in the mood for another. However, I could not put the Count of Monte Cristo down. This book seems freshly modern in writing style compared to these superb writers. From the beginning it is a page turner--almost Harry Potter like in its ability to have action, adventure and drama on almost every page. If you read the unabridged version you will find some allusions to morality and the wrongness of revenge which I enjoyed. But what makes the book great is the grandeur of the writing, the tightness of a wonderful plot, filled with subplots, the development of the characters, and the constant magic of combining romance and adventure. It is the ultimate romance book. If you watched the most recent version of the movie, you might be disappointed at the lack of sword fights, but there is never a lack of adventure and suspense. It might be 1400 pages long, but it never disappoints.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I just finished this book as a summer reading book for school, and it was amazing. Dumas uses an incredible amount of foreshadowing in this book, but it only adds to its intrigue. The plot itself has so many twists and turns as it follows the life of Edmond Dantes and others involved in his life. The evolution of the characters is also amazing. It's almost a psychological analysis of human characteristics, with their qualities and defaults.
I read this book in three days. I was hooked from beginning to end. The story simple flows together, and by the end, everything comes to a neat solution; the conclusion isn't completely definite - it gives the reader time to imagine what happens to Edmond after the book ends.
I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age. The writing style is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat, eager for more.
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written
Review: I know this seems a little over the top perhaps but Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Christo is just that in my opinion. The scale, the depth, the characterisation, and ultimately the story underpinning it all- a tale of a virtuous young man, wrongly imprisoned, mentally and physically due to the jealousy of others, and his resurrection from the abyss as an avenging angel to exact his revenge on those who inspired it- add up to a breathtaking picture spanning 1200 or so pages. In Edmond Dantes, Dumas has created a character which deep down we can all identify with as our pure inner self. All of us can remember our childhood when everything was a lot more natural and bereft of worry. He is careful to highlight Dantes strengths and flaws early on in the novel, so as we can appreciate this person against who this terrible act has been aimed. His transgression from innocent, naive but virtuous boy into the cold blooded man of the world, is excellently handled, and fits with the gap of years between his escape from the chateau d'if until his re-appearance as the chameleon he has become. The way that the plot comes together shows the time Dumas must have spent creating the jigsaw, and the ending is everything you could want and more. I implore you to read this book- the length of the script will keep you busy for some time admittedly- but the end result and the fact you will be able to look back afterwards and remember its message for a long time, should make this top of your to-read list. And amazingly it was based on a true case.
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