Rating: 
Summary: textual healing
Review: In The Club Dumas, Reverte takes the idea of the novel-within-a-novel to an entirely new, compelling level. The levels of references within the novel are rich, nearly impenetrable, from the more obvious connection to Dumas's Three Musketeers to the fact that the central female character is named Irene Adler, who was "the woman" in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, "A Scandal in Bohemia." The Club Dumas is a mystery about books, and Corso is a book detective. The reader must act as a detective as well, sorting through the woodcuts, the diagrams, and the references in order to follow Corso's journey. Reverte is successful in that he creates an experience for the reader that mirrors Corso's own experiences; whether that experience is enjoyable for the reader remains to be seen. "Books play that kind of trick," Reverte writes, and the tricks within this book can actually reach the point of tiresome at times. Nevertheless, this remains one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. The narrative style is compelling and rich, even if it takes a bit of time to be fully digested. The Club Dumas is a testament to bibliography and the treatment of books as physical objects as well as intellectual entities. The books within the novel interact with each other as they interact with the characters and with the reader. There are many ways to read this novel, but if nothing else, Reverte's novel is a love story to the book. It is difficult, if not impossible, to read it without feeling Corso's, or Reverte's, emotional connections to text.
Rating:
Summary: Don't worry about the bad movie version ...
Review: Arturo Perez-Reverte is a mystery/thriller writer with a decidedly intellectual bent. When I first started looking for his work, I expected it to be in the general fiction or literature section of the book store, but finally found it listed under mystery. This is a wonderful book for people who like books in the way that antique people like the antiques roadshow on PBS. It revels in the details of book-making, old texts, and bindings. Lucas Corso, the main character, is trying to discover the link between a fragment of a Dumas manuscript and a possibly Satanic text. Though the movie version, the Ninth Gate, goes whole hog on the occult angle, the book is more about the Dumas manuscript and its connection to the other book. This makes the movie really irrelevant to the enjoyment of the book, other than if you liked the general idea of the movie, then this book is surely for you. If you like to go to second hand book stores, or you enjoy talking about an old book, or if you go to garage sales to look through the old books, then Club Dumas is your type of book. I like Perez-Reverte's ability to go off on small tangents as part of the story, as when he digresses to discuss the ways to restore an old book or insert pages to complete it ... this may not appeal to everyone, but he doesn't use anything that isn't essential to an understanding of the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: The limitations of awarenes
Review: I was struck by Arturo Perez-Reverte's capacity for juggling story lines that move in and out of each other so constantly within _The Club Dumas_. As Lucas Corso attempts to fulfill his role as a book detective and mercenary he is called upon to establish and understand the link that brings several of his cases and clients together, connecting them finally with the devil himself. It seems, however, that Perez-Reverte is caught between the desire to be the author of high literature and thrill associated with good detective fiction. With this confused desire comes a hyper-awareness of the role of literature within literature. This awareness introduces a literary level not common in mystery texts. Though this is a style which may appeal to the sensitive disciple of art and literature, it also has the potential to take away from the joys of attempting to simply understand and unravel the mystery at hand. The allusions, though sometimes relevant and always well chosen, detract from the reader's ability to savor the pleasure of identifying the source of evil and the enjoyment of assuming the persona of the character employed to destroy it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Club Dumas
Review: 100 pages into "The Club Dumas," I thought that the book simply required too much knowledge of "The Three Musketeers," antique book-binding, and French history for me to possibly enjoy it. Fortunately for me I had to read it for a class, and once I'd finished it I felt it was one of the better books I've read in some time. The beauty of "The Club Dumas" lies in its complexity and self-consciousness. It's a book about books, which any book-lover can appreciate, but gives even the most fervent reader new insights into books as stories and entertainment versus books as objects. The "detective" of this mystery, Lucas Corso, circulates in the world of antique book-dealing, tracking down first editions and manuscripts for the book-fetishizers of the world. Perez-Reverte clearly understands this sort of obsession: the virginal quality of an uncut book, the tactile sensuality of a book's binding. But while Perez-Reverte clearly can appreciate books as objects, his own novel reveals continually deepening layers of meaning and significance. Of central interest is the afore-mentioned debate between books as objects and books as entertainment, and this is carried out more and more as we near the end of the book and realize that at the central conflict between the "hero" and "villain" of the book boils down to this very debate. This is all not even to mention the strong presence of demonism, cabbalism, and morality in the novel. Perez-Reverte attempts to include a pretty wide consideration of the world and history for something as simple as a detective novel, but he manages to pull it off magnificently. Even if you find yourself perplexed by his literary and historical references, you'll probably enjoy this book; and if you are an afficionado of Dumas, Napoleon, book-collecting, or demonism, this book is a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: A book about a book about a book ...
Review: _The Club Dumas_ takes two mysteries, ties them together, strips them apart, and pits them against each other. An antique book dealer, Lucas Corso, is commissioned to determine the authenticity of a medieval demonology text, _The Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows_, as well as to shed light on the apparent suicide of a book collector who left behind a chapter of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's _The Three Musketeers_. Though the cases seem unrelated, Corso soon finds himself drawing parallels between the occult mysteries of _The Nine Doors_ and Dumas's writing career. As he follows the trails of the two mysteries, he soon discovers that he is surrounded by real-life versions of characters from _The Three Musketeers_ . . . and that he is falling in love with a woman who may be the Devil herself. Perez-Reverte blends the supernatural and the rational into the act of detection as Corso uncovers the secrets of _The Nine Doors_ and its predecessor, the mythical _Delamelonicon_, supposedly written by the Devil. _The Club Dumas_ possesses a hyper-awareness of itself as a work of literature through its inclusion of myth and story, forgery, and real-life texts, engaging its readers in layer upon layer of analysis regarding what is real and what is fiction in the novel. Intriguingly complex, _The Club Dumas_ even invites its readers to solve the two mysteries alongside Corso by providing copies of charts, tables, illustrations, and nine hieroglyphic engravings from _The Nine Doors_. As it alternates between a serial and a crime novel, _The Club Dumas_ lends a sense of adventure to the presumably more often mundane world of book dealing while still standing firm under careful investigation of its literary techniques. Although the book's ending is slightly disappointing and leaves a critical question unanswered - no doubt Perez-Reverte's intention - _The Club Dumas_ is a fascinating study of how literature works, with just enough magic to leave the reader convinced that anything - no matter how fantastic - could happen.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable literary patchwork.
Review: 'The Club Dumas' is essentially a detective story, although the hard-boiled, gin-drinking, chain-smoking private eye in this novel is also a highly educated and well-paid book detective named Lucas Corso. The plot revolves around Corso who, like many other fictional P.I.'s, takes on two apparently unrelated cases but soon discovers hints that there may be a link between the works he is investigating: a 17th century Satanic text and a 19th century Dumas manuscript. What makes 'The Club Dumas' truly unique is the fact that Corso, as a literary expert, recognizes that he is wrapped up in a standard mystery plot and surrounded by people who behave just like stock fictional characters. Even though the mercenary, almost nihilistic Corso is not a very appealing character, he manages to elicit some sympathy as he is a "second level reader" who looks between the lines of the story being written around him in just the same fashion as any intelligent person reading the novel would. The only difference is that Corso (much to his chagrin) is actively involved in the story, and cannot view the developing action from a more comfortable detached position. The author deluges the reader with references to other popular books and films, creating a melange of culture which he uses to define Corso as an individual. Reverte also references many obscure works and makes use of the literary tool of creating "forbidden" occult texts, in this case 'The Book of The Nine Doors' that Corso researches, as well as its lost predecessor, the dread 'Delamelonicon'. This technique was pioneered by H.P. Lovecraft, who would use such references as part of a systematic attack on the reader's skepticism, forcing him or her to believe in the unthinkable terror that the characters in the story find themselves in. Reverte cleverly recognizes that this concept of forbidden texts has become another stock feature of modern fiction, and incorporates it in 'The Club Dumas' as a tool to (mis?)lead both Corso and the reader down a dark path, which he alternates with the seemingly harmless Dumas manuscript of 'The Three Musketeers'. By this juxtaposition of the lighthearted 19th century adventure novel and the venerable 17th century demonic text Reverte manages to keep both Corso and the reader guessing at where the plot is headed. In short, 'The Club Dumas' is not only highly entertaining but also very interactive, thanks to a series of cryptic illustrations that form part of the puzzle that the reader tries to solve before Corso and his mysterious opponents. My personal experience was that the book was enjoyable, but borrowed a few too many plot elements from Dumas, Agatha Christie, etc. for my taste. I also found Reverte to be somewhat pedantic in his name dropping of authors and titles. Still, it is a fun read and I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Bibliophiliac's thriller
Review: Lucas Corso is a book detective, a mercenary often hired to locate rare editions for clients. After the apparent suicide of a book collector, Corso is called in to authenticate the fragment of Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers" that's been left behind. Then Corso is hired for a mysterious job involving a book whose creator was burned at the stake for heresy. The two plots converge and blend, leaving Corso bewildered and fighting for his life as those involved die in the wake of contact with Corso. He gets help from a mystery woman named for a woman in a Sherlock Holmes story, but at what cost does this help come? Fully intertextual and entirely mesmerizing, Pérez-Reverte's thriller presents enigmas wrapped in mysteries that, when solved, leave the audience breathless. While I too had problems with the way the book ended, after reading the ending again, it makes perfect sense to me in the scope of the story presented here. I was a fan of the movie version, "The Ninth Gate", until I read this book. Yes, the movie is pretty good taken by itself, but as an adaption it fails.
Rating:
Summary: Another challenging read
Review: I find Perez-Reverte's books to be both diverting and challenging reading. He fills The Club Dumas with such interesting referentials to Dumas, The Three Musketeers, and books on the occult that one begins to develop a list of books to read (or reread). The plot is intriguing enough in itself, but I enjoy the challenge that one must be well-read or, at least, somewhat knowlegeble in many areas to appreciate the true depth of the work. I think the comparison to Umberto Eco is most apt. The Club Dumas is not a light read, but it was an illuminating one.
Rating: 
Summary: (2.5) An unexpected twist
Review: I read this book on the recommendation of a friend. After the first couple of chapters, I realized that I had seen the movie, "The Ninth Gate", based on THE CLUB DUMAS. While I found the book enjoyable, especially the descriptive passages on the nature and fascination of books, the passion of imagination and archival treasures, I became confused by the two plot lines. In addition, I was disappointed to learn that the concurrent themes intersected only in the mind of Lucas Corso, the mercenary book detective. All the characters are questing after Satan's secret map to immortality; unfortunately, they are all reduced to self-seeking greed. Unless a reader is curious about Satanism, I wouldn't consider any of the characters remotely interesting, except for Corso. Possibly the only redeeming character was that of Lucas Corso. But his attraction to the young woman posing as his "guard" seems facile and predictable. Ultimately, I was disappointed in the experience, often prefering the movie images to the confusing passages in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to follow complex mystery
Review: I am not a fan of mystery stories, I hate trying to find that ridiculous obscure clue that has been hidden in the story. this story is more complicated than any standard mystery, yet the delivery of the clues and the presentation of the deep subject matter keep the reader interested and informed.
Dangerous plot twists and turns, and a puzzle that you can actually unwind with the hero makes this the most enjoyable mystery novel I have read. You don't have to be brilliant and a book collector to enjoy it, just someone that loves a good story well told.
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