The D'Artagnan books by Dumas did form a large part of his bread and butter writing in his later years. Having Mined the Four Musketeers for what they were worth, there was no one left but the son of Athos. while there was less violence in the age of Louis XIV, the themes of this period deal more with relationship of men and women, and the tangled sexual careeer of that monarch is explored in depth, beginning with this book. ( )

3½ stars. I was a bit surprised to have the book end as I still had several CDs of the audiobook to go! This discrepancy is annoying but understandable as both the book and the audiobook are just the first part of the book Dumas originally wrote as the final novel of the d'Artagnan trilogy. This last book was so enormous that it is almost always divided into 3, 4, or even 5 separate volumes. I am reading the Project Gutenberg Kindle editions which are using the 4 volume division (although there was a nice little note showing where the book would have ended in a 5 volume split!). I thought that the audiobook I was listening to was also from a 4 volume split but perhaps it was from a 3 volume split instead.

I found sections of this volume very interesting (such as the parts about General Monk) but some of it was rather too long-winded (even for me!). Despite the title, the main character of this is our friend d'Artagnan. Porthos and Aramis don't appear until quite close to the end (Chapter 70 or so), which was a bit disappointing. Athos was present for much of the story although he and d'Artagnan were working at cross purposes for a while. As in the previous book, [b:Twenty Years After|7184|Twenty Years After (The D'Artagnan Romances, #2)|Alexandre Dumas|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1165607713s/7184.jpg|666376], the four friends are not in close contact as the book opens & sadly are once again split in their loyalties, although this time it is d'Artagnan and Athos on the side of Charles II & Louis XIV versus Porthos and Aramis on the side of Fouquet. In Twenty Years After, d'Artagnan and Porthos eventually do come together with Athos and Aramis on the side of Charles I against Mazarin. I hope the 4 come together in the next book! ( )

This volume (#3.2 in the D'Artagnan series) had less adventure and more plotting than the previous ones in the series. I have already read "The Man in the Iron Mask" (volume #3.4) and I could see that a lot of groundwork for that volume was being laid. I am unhappy about Aramis who is more clearly on the opposite side from D'Artagnan, Athos, and Raoul. He has become very ambitious -- I miss the lover! And despite the fact that he knows Raoul loves Louise de la Valliere, he doesn't hesitate to involve her in his plots.

D'Artagnan & Athos hardly appear in this volume -- I hope they appear more in the next volume, "Louise de la Valliere" (#3.3). ( )

The series begins to become entertaining.
My favorite quote is when Planche wants to put Cromwell in a cage and charge to see him. ( )

Listened on Librivox. (Out of order for this Vol III which is broken into 3, sometimes 4 parts). Story is good but meanders beyond the Musketeers more time these previous book. ( )