Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but unsatisfying
Review: I came to this book after multiple viewings of "The Ninth Gate", an excellent interpretation of the novel which unfortunately changes the setting (from Spain to New York) in order to appeal to American consumers. I love the movie, but hoped to gain more insight into the final scene by reading the original text.I loved many of the same things in the book as I enjoyed in the movie: the seedy world of underground book detectives and collectors in a wonderful setting, and ought to be used more often. Lucas Corso in particular should return for further adventures, as he's a very fun character to read: very intelligent and well-read, with nerdy hobbies (book-hunting and Napoleonic battle recreation) and regrets about past relationships. He's a unique everyman, which is a tough thing to pull off. The writing style (in the English translation) carried the characterization and plot well, too. I became interested in the lives of these dusty old books, and very few authors could have accomplished a similar feat. The plot begins strong--similar to but not parallel to the movie. There a whole extra plot in the book which took some getting used to, and which turned out to be more tightly crafted than the Nine Doors plot--the plot I'd hoped to read more about. But in the end, the book failed to satisfy my craving for more knowledge about that plot. It becomes more and more interesting right up until the end, and then doesn't really go anywhere--at least, not anywhere satisfying. I understand the desire to keep the mystery intact, but this can be done in a more reader-friendly way. Anyhow, it's a worthwhile read, especially if you like off-kilter mysteries, and if you've read The Three Musketeers (which I have not).
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing and unpredictable
Review: _The Club Dumas_ is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read. It's the story of Lucas Corso, a mercenary (please forgive my misspellings) of the book world, and the strange things that happen to him once he obtains an original copy of a chapter of _The Three Musketeers_ ("The Anjou Wine") and the extremley rare book "The Nine Doors". My summary doesn't sound too exciting, but this is an amazing book. I bought this book after seeing the movie "The Nine Gates" (Johnny Dep). The movie left much to be desired, but not the book. The movie is soley about the book, "The Nine Doors", but it plays a different part in the book. The book has many twists and turns, many pretaining to literature, et al, and is the sort of thing most people would enjoy, surprisingly. I am usually able to predict book/movie endings with fair accuracy, but this book took me by surprise time and time again. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!
Review: This an excellent book! Perez Reverte has a wonderful way to lead the reader through different situations, with intelligence and creativity. Besides, I've learned a lot from Alejandro Dumas's life. I highly reccomend it!!
Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining Mystery
Review: I became aware of this movie after seeing the movie "The Ninth Gate", which was based on this book. I thought the movie was very good, and I think the book is even better. Perez-Reverte creates a world of mystery that is filled with unique hints of supernatural motives and diabolical villians. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel was finding out that everything is not as it seems. Slowly and deliberately, the author takes you on a journey filled with wonderful characters and atmospheric locations. The unraveling of the mystery, as well as the main character Lucas Corso, is presented in a plausible, rational manner. What's so interesting is how the irrational is made to seem rational. There is a great deal of literary history that is central to the characters in the novel. A lot of it revolves around Alexandre Dumas and his "Three Musketeers." Bibliophiles will fall in love with several of the characters in "The Club Dumas" and will also learn a good deal of information on the way books are valued and treasured by other, true bibliophiles. There are moments of suspense that made my imagination race, trying to figure out what was going to happen next. There is a good amount of subtle humor that takes place, as well as some excellent dialogue and psychological and intellectual dueling. To sum this up; memorable characters, intriguing mysteries, surprises, humor, sex, violence, books, cigarettes, and gin all blend together in this exciting, stimulating, intellectual journey into the recesses of a man's madness and ultimate salvation. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: for the very well-read
Review: This was a very odd book unlike anything I've ever read. Fortunately, it was a very intruiging odd book, but also a book that required a vast literary background to really understand. Every other word seemed to be an allusion to some famous classic. Besides the fact that you MUST have read The 3 Musketeers before this book, other recommended titles include: The Count of Monte Cristo, Twenty Years After, Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, Mutiny on the Bounty, Notre Dame de Paris, Cyrano de Bergerac, etc. etc...
The story line--I supose it sort of existed--went something like this: Lucius Corso is a cynical old bibliophile wrapped up in a mess involving two ancient manuscripts and murder. Lots of it. You'll enjoy this book if you've done some classical reading, and if you don't mind learning a bit (a lot!) as you go along...about about ancient book binding and printing, how the 3 Musketeers was written, and of Dumas himself. I also found Corso's sneaking suspicion that he might himself be a character in a novel to be entertaining, especially when he wanted to "kick the head of whoever was writing this rediculous script." However, the ending was confusing, especially if you didn't stop to think about what was happening...but the last line was very fitting: "and everyone gets the devil he deserves".
Rating:
Summary: Second Favorite Reverte Book after Flander's Panel
Review: Another gripping novel by Reverte. I love all his books, except his latest one, and my favorite is "Flander's Panel". I am also a fan of Dumas, so it made this novel doubly interesting. Reverte is an amazing writer and weaves a thrilling plot. Highly recommended reading for anyone intrested in a good thriller!
Rating:
Summary: As Always Better and Different Than the Movie
Review: I watched "the Ninth Gate" with some friends last summer. They were only interested in the surface of the plot but I was more interested in the esoteric part of the movie. When I first went to school my English teacher told me that a book, "The Club Dumas" was based on. I imeadiatly went out to buy the book and when I read it I was glad that I did.
There are a few different plots that are going on at the same time, and you are constantly confised so you want to read on to figure out what is going on. He does a great job explaining everything at the end of the book and you feel smart because you figured th book out. T do have to say that the confusion iss the books downfall too.
The point of view changes two ar three times a chapter along with the scene making it hard to follow at times. After you have read the chapter a few chapters later you figure out what is going on and how it relates.
A great mystery that follows the tradition and breaks the rules.
Rating:
Summary: Rather fascinating...
Review: People who call this book anti-climatic aren't over-exaggerating in the slightest. "The Club Dumas" -- while it can be appreciated for it's nuances and fine imagery (not to mention the meticulous detail the author *painstakingly* researched to have such a complete history and knowledge of bookmaking and binding) makes it a bit of a treasure. True, it has a lot of "common" crime-novel cliches, and even goes so far as to illuminate someone who may or may not be the devil (it's a tricky thing to decide) as a main character. Despite it being rather musty to the eye of some readers, this book hold in it's pages something remarkable; true writer's talent. Arturo Perez-Reverte is a fantastically wonderful writer, who's wit manages to more than survive the English translation (by Sonia Soto). I have more than once put down this book and blinked a few times, trying to digest an odd bit of dialog here, or some vague but fascinating imagery there. The manuscript reflects how much of a book enthusiast Perez-Reverte really must be. His attention to detail (I can't stress this enough, how amazing it is and how subtly it can slip by you, unless you pay attention) and his careful construction of the nearly-hidden plot is brilliantly done. Would I recommend this book? Of course, but only to people who truly like to *read*.
Rating: 
Summary: good writing conceals a plot flop
Review: I began this book expecting something great, but my expectations fell steadily as I read on and on -- and on and on -- until, at long last, I reached the mundane end of what was, at best, an average novel. Readers respond well to high-class mystery tales with literary themes. Unfortunately, the author didn't have the imagination to come up with an extraordinary, unexpected, knockout conclusion. Instead, he hemmed and hawed for the last hundred or so pages while he tried desperately to find a satisfactory ending to the book -- and failed miserably. The good points are that the book is well-written, the story line intriguing, and the mystery is mysterious enough to keep you reading -- albeit with increasing and well justified suspicion that the author has nothing to say and is saying so at great length. I'll give the book three stars because I learned something about Dumas and demonology and the antiquarian book trade.
Rating:
Summary: Delicia Intelectual.
Review: Cada sierto tiempo un libro viene y sin tu esperarlo justamente cuando lo estas leyendo te das cuenta de que tienes un clasico en tus manos, El club Dumas es una de las mejores obra literaria de nuestro tiempo y sin lugar a dudas Arturo Perez-Reverte es un virtuoso de la literatura moderna.
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