Rating: 
Summary: Great Story - Read the Whole Thing
Review: I was inspired to read The Man in the Iron Mask after seeing the movie (the one with DiCaprio). I hadn't realized that the Musketeers were part of the story and was very intrigued. Which plot lines were in the original and which were developed by Hollywood? Wow! Was I in for a surprise! The movie and the book tell different stories, but both are excellent, entertaining, and thought-provoking.I appreciate books/series which show how the characters have aged and developed. Dumas does this with the musketeer series. D'Artagnan is no longer the wide-eyed "Gee, what could happen to me next?" hero of The Three Musketeers. He has to deal with questions of loyalty vs. friendship, support for the king vs. honor vs. love of his friends. There are still adventures and swordfights, but also more character conflicts. There is no simple nasty villain for the "good guys" to fight. When I first read The Man in the Iron Mask (the movie tie-in edition), I was confused about who many of the characters were. The beginning didn't make much sense since it came in part-way through the story. The first line of the first chapter in particular confused me since it referred to events which I as the reader knew nothing about. The book makes a lot more sense when read as part of the whole series (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask). I STRONGLY suggest reading the Oxford World Classics edition, which starts with earlier chapters than other published versions and includes scenes that make the story more understandable: Athos confronts the King, Aramis reveals himself as a Jesuit and scopes out the Bastille, D'Artagnan confronts the King... These are some of the best scenes in the book, and it is a shame that other publishers don't include them.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Traedy
Review: This is the greatest tragedy I have ever read, in terms of strength of feeling, style of writing, and everything else that makes a story good. Two warnings: the book is hardly similar to the recent movie (which was a good movie, but the book is even better); and, if you haven't read the first four Musketeers books, "The Man in the Iron Mask" won't make much sense. The first books are "The Three Musketeers" (obviously), "Twenty Years After," "The Vicomte de Bragelonne," and "Louise de la Valliere." Without the middle books, which may be hard to find (my library had to special order them), you will hardly know the characters at all, but if you read all five, they will feel like your best friends. (Also, don't read the Introduction to the Oxford World Classics editions; it gives away the ending!) The last book had me crying the last hundred pages, at least. This is the greatest series of books ever written. --Abigail
Rating: 
Summary: Beware: Not all versions are the same
Review: I had been reading the entire series in the Oxford World Classics version, and when I finished "Louise de Lavalliere" I switched to a Signet version (Leonardo Dicaprio cover) I had bought locally. As I read, I couldn't understand certain references. I later discovered that the Signet version of "The Man in the Iron Mask" starts on chapter 29 of the OWC version!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! But be warned!
Review: Let met start by saying that I've read this at least four times, so obviously I love it. But the title is deceptive. If you are looking for a story about a falsely imprisoned man bravely escaping and getting revenge on those who did him wrong, you should think twice about buying this book. Hollywood has for years tried to turn this novel into such an "escape" story, based mainly on its title, so that's the impression people have of the book. If you're looking for such a story, I'd highly recommend The Count of Monte Cristo (Oxford has an edition that runs upward of 1,000 pages - which is daunting - but Bantam has an abridgement that is 450 pages and is quite entertaining. That may be the exact book you're looking for!). The Man in the Iron Mask tells a different story, one based on historic facts. In 1661, King Louis XIV of France had his minister of finances - Nicolas Fouquet - arrested for embezzlement. Also in that year, Louis successfully wooed a young handmaiden named Louise, which caused some stir. In this novel, Dumas gives us the secret history behind these facts, and it is no surprise that the story involves his famous Four Musketeers. More specifically, Aramis becomes privy to the fact that Louis has a twin brother languishing in the Bastille, and he attempts to switch the two. The novel details his fascinating and rather intricate plot to pull this off, as well as how the other Musketeers fit into the plan. However, the first couple of hundred pages concern mainly the aforementioned historic events, and its a bit of reading before you get to the meat of the action. I can't recommend this book highly enough - it seems to have become part of my life, the way some good books can - but don't let the title create a false expectation. You'll be dissappointed - instead, read The Count of Monte Cristo. But if you love literature, if you love stories of complex intrigue, and especially if you love the Four Musketeers, you HAVE to read this book at least once in your life!
Rating:
Summary: This is Dumas at his best!
Review: I read Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo when I was a freshman and fell totally in love with his writing and the story. Surprising then, that I didn't pick up more of his books till three years later, after seeing The Man in the Iron Mask the movie. Guess what, the book and the movie are nothing alike, (what a shocker) but the book is better in all ways. Only Dumas can capture the sense of history and timelessness that is in his novels. I admit that the beginning of The Man in the Iron Mask is confusing for those who haven't read the previous four books(it was for me) yet the story is a wonderful one, richly told and full of the adventure and excitement that Dumas puts into all his works. Within pages I was hooked on the book and found myself totally engrossed with characters I had never met before. It has all the qualities of a first-class adventure story: bravery, friendship, love, death, and an indefinable longing for the world to be somewhat better than it truly is. The plot has little to do with Philippe (The man in the iron mask) and deals with the last adventures of Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan, and the ties of friendship which bind them together. I cried throughout the last fifty pages of the book. After finishing it, I immediately read the rest of the Musketeer series and have become a life-long fan. I recommend this book to anyone who has a sense a romance and adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Beware: Not all versions are the same
Review: I had been reading the entire series in the Oxford World Classics version, and when I finished "Louise de Lavalliere" I switched to a Signet version (Leonardo Dicaprio cover) I had bought locally. As I read, I couldn't understand certain references. I later discovered that the Signet version of "The Man in the Iron Mask" starts on chapter 29 of the OWC version!
Rating: 
Summary: Librarianwatch
Review: Buyers need to know that the Bt version of this book is written down to a 4th grade level. I can't see anywhere on the listing that it says abridged, but this is 118-pages of large print--not the original at all.
Rating:
Summary: could be better
Review: Great book but for Dumas standard it could be better. The 4 preceeding books starting wtih The Three Musketeers , Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne and Louise De LA Valliere are by far more carefully written. It seems that Dumas wanted to hurriedly end the saga. Could be better and the story can be extended a little more... Pointing blame to La Valliere and abrupt end to Aramis' actions are too roughly plotted.
Rating: 
Summary: The Corsican Brothers does not fit in.
Review: This is what I originally put in my review: If the order of Dumas' D'Artagnan novels is: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask, as one reader has put in his review, then where does The Corsican Brothers fit in? I only filled in 1 star because that was a required field. I haven't actually read the book. I have since learned that _The Corsican Brothers_ is not related to the Musketeers/D'Artagnan series. It not only set during Dumas' own lifetime, he made himself a minor character in it. I would have deleted this whole review, except that I saw that 1 in 6 people found it helpful. I hope the one person who liked it sees this correction. My appologies to the other five.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Dumas
Review: As usual, Dumas pulls out all the stops and renders a heart-wrenching account of love, betrayal, intrigue, love, death, parting, love, loyalty, war, love...did I mention love? This is the final in the Musketeer series, which no movie can ever do justice to. In fact, if you plan on reading this book or this series, do not watch the movies for two reasons: one, they usually mess with the facts and leave you anticipating what will not come, and two, this is far more epic than can ever be put on screen anyway. Read this book!
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