Rating: 
Summary: Mind Candy (not to be swallowed by everyone)
Review: "The Club Dumas" kept me at home, curled up in bed the whole weekend despite a long-awaited Saturday rave. It was THAT good.The plot is enough to keep you on edge until the last line. It starts of with an investigation on the suicide of a well-known bookseller, who had left a manuscript of "The Anjou Wine", a chapter of Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers". Lucas Corso, the central character of the novel, is a book detective hired to authenticate the manuscript. His investigation leads him to a vortex of mysterious events, and he becomes involved in puzzling murder scenes and even demonology. To add to his stange experiences are the people he meets, who bear a puzzling resemblance to characters in the Dumas masterpiece. This book was so interesting. It had twists and surprises that didn't use tired formulas of old mystery novels. I must add, though, that this book may not be enjoyed by everyone. If you're looking for an easy, fast read, well, you might have to think twice before reading this. There are various allusions to classic literature (particularly 19th century French literature), medieval history, religion and demonology. A reader not versed in Dumas' works may get confused. (And I haven't even mentioned all the Latin phrases yet). I DO recommend this book, however, to all bibliophiles, fans of classic literature and murder mystery genres. All the little literary tidbits, particularly on Alexander Dumas, will be mind candy, indeed. The author, Perez-Reverte, was compared by some critics to Umberto Eco in this novel. I have to disagree a bit, though...for although "The Club Dumas" resembles "Foucault's Pendulum" in that it freely alludes to history, ancient texts and esoteria, finding connections to otherwise unrelated events, I think that Perez-Reverte's writing is easier to take in. ( I didn't need a dictionary for the first sentence). The plot of "Club Dumas" also reminds me of another, not-very-known book, "The Eight" by Catherine Neville, because of the protagonist's entanglement with juicy puzzles and references to historical figures. I was also particularly impressed by the ending of the novel, which I thought was clever. Not a lot of books I've read these days have endings that satisfy me. (Hell, not a lot of books can keep me antisocial for the weekend!)
Rating: 
Summary: I can only hope someday to keep so many plots in my head.
Review: This sends the reader in many directions, all of them exotic and weird. I was lucky enough to have read it on a cruise, bracing enough in its own right. This book haunts the reader, and teases him/her, as if to say, "Have you been here before, perhaps?" We all imagine ourselves in an emotional confrontation with sex, violence, self-knowledge, the occult, our own fears. This book delivers all of the above, in spades. Alexander Dumas, alone, would have satisfied me and most readers. Put on top of that, however, the Medieval and the occult, guys being roasted on bonfires-and not merely of their vanities but of their persons-and you realize the stakes. But I digress. Like most mortals, hoping to live out their years on this mortal coil without getting locked up or caught in flagrante delicto, I felt this book deserved to be elevated above the generally forgettable material I read in 1998.
Rating: 
Summary: comment
Review: Thank you for your review of "one week to freedom"
Rating:
Summary: Relax, and read a great book
Review: I have to admit that I loved how the book engrossed me so quickly. Perez-Reverte quickly and effortlessly transports the reader into Lucas Corso's world. The story starts quickly and moves rapidly throughout the novel, but what is amazing is how much Perez-Reverte is able to fit into each page. One cannot help but understand Lucas Corso's world through a combination of allusion and the author's narrative. I have to admit to a feeling of...dissapointment...at the way one of the plot threads was wrapped up, but overall I greatly enjoyed the novel and learned a lot about the both the occult and the "world of books." A good beach book to sit back, relax, and enjoy reading. I've noticed some people criticizing the novel for cliches or triteness, but what these people failed to realize is that this is a melding of the classical serial adventure, where most of our "modern" cliches come from, and the classical mystery novel, another genre rife where people with dillusions of literary ability like to find cliches. Realize that is a novel with few literary pretensions, in fact those who go looking for pretensious and cliched writing are often the very source of the style that they despise so much. Enjoy "The Club Dumas" and accept it as a novel, nothing more.
Rating: 
Summary: The End?
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book until I reached the ending. When I reached the conclusion I felt that I had been plunged into some kind of adolescent weekly reader. Once you find out what the "Club Dumas" actually is, there is quite a let down from the very exciting events that lead you there.
Rating: 
Summary: Delicious, then irritating
Review: I was lovin' this book up to the scene where the title's meaning is revealed. Loved the nine pairs of woodcuts, each with one tiny, crucial difference; loved the history of book-bindings and -burnings. Loved the meditations on the greatness of Dumas and other swashbuckling trash; loved the allusions to Sherlock Holmes. I was hooked, for a while, on the occult events, baroque settings, and twisty plot. But the ending was the lamest "faux-po-mo" cop-out imaginable. Bah humbug! I said, and threw the book across the room. I exchanged it for "The Three Musketeers" and "A Scandal in Bohemia."
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating Plot
Review: This may be a "beach book for intellectuals", but it is certainly not one for the less sophisticated reader who just likes a good read. Those of us without a solid foundation in medieval satanic practices and a PhD in literature might have trouble with all the allusions. And for the mystery lover, there are too many red herrings and enough loose ends to knit a sweater. Even the sub-plot of Corso and the green-eyed beauty seemed gratuitous and implausible.
Rating:
Summary: Starts very well, but falls apart later
Review: I liked this a lot at first, but he leaves too many loose ends, loses the characters and atmosphere at the end. And the ending is a big disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly above average
Review: If I gave this book a letter grade, it would earn a "B minus." The plot is interesting, but it felt strung out. What was the deal with the green-eyed beauty, Irene? Themes felt like they were repeated over and over... I think Arturo Perez-Reverte's bias towards Dumas was also prevelent. One could make the argument that the barrage of pro-Dumas commentary was made because of the ending. I don't forgive Reverte, though.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not for those looking for a regular mystery
Review: Perez-Reverte combines the most interesting of elements to creat a great plot. However, if one is looking for your typical 'who-dunnit' stay clear. This book is more apt for the latin scholar.
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