Swashbuckling Good Fun!!, 05 Jul 2007
What fun! This books just jumps right out and keeps moving along (except for a couple of slow spots -- but needed to develop the character's past, etc.) The cameraderie between the Musketeers is awesome and they are incredibly wonderful scamps.

D'artagnon was adorable, as were Athos, Aramis and Porthos. The evil Milady was truly EVIL and WICKED. The dialogue was awesome, it just crackled right along. I think we all know the basic story and how it ended, but reading the book was much more enjoyable than the movie, as they always are. It did bring back many memories of that wonderful version from the 70's, with Michael York and Raquel Welch. I will have to revisit that, and am currently reading the sequels, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louis de Lavalierre and The Man In the Iron Mask. Dumas is truly a brilliant author.


Fantastic - wasted on kids, 08 Aug 2003
This is the best book I have read in ages. I remember it as a childrens story but (as they say) you can't beat the real thing! The pace of this story is breathtaking and I soon found myself consumed with the whole tale. I really like his style. It's fast, it's fun, it's cheeky and the indiscretions add a certain something that, as I say, is wasted on kids. It's a classic for all the right reasons, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Harmless swashbuckling fun, 22 Dec 2002
The Three Musketeers has gone down in history as one of the archetypal historical adventures and deserves its reputation as an influential example of this genre. Because it was written originally as a serial, it has many moments of cliffhanger suspense throughout. The story is fast moving and it is great to get a glimpse of aspects of life from that age. On the downside, some of the characters are a little hard to get to grips with (e.g. Madame Bonancieux starts out as resourceful and cunning becomes increasing flighty towards the end, Lady de Winter is simply TOO evil, while Cardinal Richelieu does not seem evil enough to be a worthy adversary). Compare the characters in The Three Musketeers with those in The Count of Monte Cristo and you will understand how mature Alexandre Dumas' writing can be. Overall a fun but not necessarily challenging read.

fast paced but a bit predictable, 31 Oct 2002
I was inspired to read this after enjoying Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo". It was just as fast paced, enjoyable and entertaining. However I couldn't help feeling a little cheated. The plot was very predictable: we always knew none of the musketeers would die, and whatever troubles they had they would overcome them, giving the story a plodding, formulaic inevitability. Also, many of the characters were very one-dimensional: even the evil protagonist, Milady, who was just evil, with seemingly no motivation for her heinous crimes.
In short, enjoyable in it's own right, but "literary classic"- I don't think so.

Excellent!, 02 Mar 2001
This book is a magnificent choice for those people who love classic literature. It is an absolutely fantastic book and i recommend those people that have read this book to go ahead and also read the continuation of the musketeers' story. There are another four books, namely : Twenty years after, Le Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De La Valliere, The man in the iron mask. Personally i believe the best of the books is "The three musketeers" but all the books are sensational. Have a nice time reading!

The adventures of the enigmatic Captain Nemo and his fantastic submarine "Nautilus" have Made 20,000 Leagues under the Sea a legend in science fiction. This exciting retelling captures the essence of Verne's visionary and unforgettable story, while also explaining the fascinating facts and fantasies of Captain Nemo's marvellous ocean realm.

However, as you would expect being a Dorling Kindersley book, there is much more to this edition than an expert retelling of the story. With colour photographs, diagrams, narrative illustrations and a unique cross-section of the "Nautilus" this edition also explores Verne's unique vision and knowledge of the deep, adding an extra dimension to the excitement of this thrilling adventure story. (Ages 8 to 12)

Swashbuckling Good Fun!!, 05 Jul 2007
What fun! This books just jumps right out and keeps moving along (except for a couple of slow spots -- but needed to develop the character's past, etc.) The cameraderie between the Musketeers is awesome and they are incredibly wonderful scamps.

D'artagnon was adorable, as were Athos, Aramis and Porthos. The evil Milady was truly EVIL and WICKED. The dialogue was awesome, it just crackled right along. I think we all know the basic story and how it ended, but reading the book was much more enjoyable than the movie, as they always are. It did bring back many memories of that wonderful version from the 70's, with Michael York and Raquel Welch. I will have to revisit that, and am currently reading the sequels, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louis de Lavalierre and The Man In the Iron Mask. Dumas is truly a brilliant author.


Fantastic - wasted on kids, 08 Aug 2003
This is the best book I have read in ages. I remember it as a childrens story but (as they say) you can't beat the real thing! The pace of this story is breathtaking and I soon found myself consumed with the whole tale. I really like his style. It's fast, it's fun, it's cheeky and the indiscretions add a certain something that, as I say, is wasted on kids. It's a classic for all the right reasons, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Harmless swashbuckling fun, 22 Dec 2002
The Three Musketeers has gone down in history as one of the archetypal historical adventures and deserves its reputation as an influential example of this genre. Because it was written originally as a serial, it has many moments of cliffhanger suspense throughout. The story is fast moving and it is great to get a glimpse of aspects of life from that age. On the downside, some of the characters are a little hard to get to grips with (e.g. Madame Bonancieux starts out as resourceful and cunning becomes increasing flighty towards the end, Lady de Winter is simply TOO evil, while Cardinal Richelieu does not seem evil enough to be a worthy adversary). Compare the characters in The Three Musketeers with those in The Count of Monte Cristo and you will understand how mature Alexandre Dumas' writing can be. Overall a fun but not necessarily challenging read.

fast paced but a bit predictable, 31 Oct 2002
I was inspired to read this after enjoying Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo". It was just as fast paced, enjoyable and entertaining. However I couldn't help feeling a little cheated. The plot was very predictable: we always knew none of the musketeers would die, and whatever troubles they had they would overcome them, giving the story a plodding, formulaic inevitability. Also, many of the characters were very one-dimensional: even the evil protagonist, Milady, who was just evil, with seemingly no motivation for her heinous crimes.
In short, enjoyable in it's own right, but "literary classic"- I don't think so.

Excellent!, 02 Mar 2001
This book is a magnificent choice for those people who love classic literature. It is an absolutely fantastic book and i recommend those people that have read this book to go ahead and also read the continuation of the musketeers' story. There are another four books, namely : Twenty years after, Le Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De La Valliere, The man in the iron mask. Personally i believe the best of the books is "The three musketeers" but all the books are sensational. Have a nice time reading!

An underwater adventure, 07 Oct 2007
When you consider that Mr. vernes wrote this undersea adventure about a submarine, when steam engines were the rage. And underwater boat was unheard of. By todays standards the book is not very exciting, but for its time it is very adventerous. The endless cataloging of the undersea life and the operation of the submarine all come out of the autor's head. There is one thing to note that I first read this book in grammer school and just re-read it. It is a shame that what was once considered a childrens book, has vocabulary that most of the Worlds High School students can not understand.

Explore a new world with Verne, 03 Sep 2007
Jules Verne's chosen narrator writes passionately about the natural world, and his enthusiasm is easily communicated to the reader. Heading off originally on a mission to rid the ocean of a gigantic sea monster, the narrator Aronnax and his companions discover the redoubtable Captain Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. On the subsequent voyage, Aronnax dwells with the most pleasure on the many varieties of marine life they encounter (and indeed, his manservant functions almost entirely to classify and name the different creatures, this being the majority of his conversation). Their fascination with everything they encounter is no less than inspiring, even with Ned Land as a homesick counterpoint to their delight. Their wonder and delight, throughout their adventures, is a joy to read.

An Evergreen Classic, 18 Jul 2006

"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a wonderfully constructed science-fiction wherein there's a perfect blend of science and poetry to gift the world a rare genre of literature punctured on various occasions in its narrative flow by philosophical intonations and dark premonition about te future of the world. The first person narrative,a conversational tone and an innocent conincing adeptness lend the novel a touch of soothing feel and that intermingled with the exotic descrptions of not only the undersea world but the submarine itself moulds this novel into a classic. Here Jules Verne illustrates an imaginable picture and indeed the awe in which the great French author is held id made even more amazing by two strange facts. One is that when this novel was composed,no one had conceived the idea of a submarine let alone construct it and the other is that the undersea world was still yet to be explored. Jules Verne thereby becomes a great visonery and a man with a rare gift to write in a unique and pleasing flavour.

But "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" isn't just a narration of the undrsea;it's much more subtle in its implication;it's about man's continous wrestle with Nature and his urgency to conquer her;it's about man's conflict with man.

20000 leagues under the sea, 02 Jul 2004
This is the book that got me started on classic novels. They sure don't write them like this andy more it has adventure, excitement and too much other stuff to put down here. It is based in the 1800's and is a world travelling nautical adventure taking the reader from savage islands all the way to the south pole. One of the best books i have ever read a must read for Verne lovers. Truly brilliant!

Occasionlly drags but otherwise okay, 15 Jun 2004
As other reviewers have stated, Verne does love to spend pages and pages listing sea life and their properties during the course of this novel and it does become very tiresome. However people need to understand that you can skip these parts of the book without losing out on important plot detail.

The characters are well developed and you can indentify with all of them and how they view their effective captivity aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo is a wonderful character and Verne gives just enough information about him to keep you enthralled but not enough to remove the mystery.

This is a novel that was way ahead of its time and everyone should give it a go at least once. Just learn to skip past the author's lengthy aquatic descriptions.

Swashbuckling Good Fun!!, 05 Jul 2007
What fun! This books just jumps right out and keeps moving along (except for a couple of slow spots -- but needed to develop the character's past, etc.) The cameraderie between the Musketeers is awesome and they are incredibly wonderful scamps.

D'artagnon was adorable, as were Athos, Aramis and Porthos. The evil Milady was truly EVIL and WICKED. The dialogue was awesome, it just crackled right along. I think we all know the basic story and how it ended, but reading the book was much more enjoyable than the movie, as they always are. It did bring back many memories of that wonderful version from the 70's, with Michael York and Raquel Welch. I will have to revisit that, and am currently reading the sequels, Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louis de Lavalierre and The Man In the Iron Mask. Dumas is truly a brilliant author.


Fantastic - wasted on kids, 08 Aug 2003
This is the best book I have read in ages. I remember it as a childrens story but (as they say) you can't beat the real thing! The pace of this story is breathtaking and I soon found myself consumed with the whole tale. I really like his style. It's fast, it's fun, it's cheeky and the indiscretions add a certain something that, as I say, is wasted on kids. It's a classic for all the right reasons, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Harmless swashbuckling fun, 22 Dec 2002
The Three Musketeers has gone down in history as one of the archetypal historical adventures and deserves its reputation as an influential example of this genre. Because it was written originally as a serial, it has many moments of cliffhanger suspense throughout. The story is fast moving and it is great to get a glimpse of aspects of life from that age. On the downside, some of the characters are a little hard to get to grips with (e.g. Madame Bonancieux starts out as resourceful and cunning becomes increasing flighty towards the end, Lady de Winter is simply TOO evil, while Cardinal Richelieu does not seem evil enough to be a worthy adversary). Compare the characters in The Three Musketeers with those in The Count of Monte Cristo and you will understand how mature Alexandre Dumas' writing can be. Overall a fun but not necessarily challenging read.

fast paced but a bit predictable, 31 Oct 2002
I was inspired to read this after enjoying Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo". It was just as fast paced, enjoyable and entertaining. However I couldn't help feeling a little cheated. The plot was very predictable: we always knew none of the musketeers would die, and whatever troubles they had they would overcome them, giving the story a plodding, formulaic inevitability. Also, many of the characters were very one-dimensional: even the evil protagonist, Milady, who was just evil, with seemingly no motivation for her heinous crimes.
In short, enjoyable in it's own right, but "literary classic"- I don't think so.

Excellent!, 02 Mar 2001
This book is a magnificent choice for those people who love classic literature. It is an absolutely fantastic book and i recommend those people that have read this book to go ahead and also read the continuation of the musketeers' story. There are another four books, namely : Twenty years after, Le Vicomte De Bragelonne, Louise De La Valliere, The man in the iron mask. Personally i believe the best of the books is "The three musketeers" but all the books are sensational. Have a nice time reading!

An underwater adventure, 07 Oct 2007
When you consider that Mr. vernes wrote this undersea adventure about a submarine, when steam engines were the rage. And underwater boat was unheard of. By todays standards the book is not very exciting, but for its time it is very adventerous. The endless cataloging of the undersea life and the operation of the submarine all come out of the autor's head. There is one thing to note that I first read this book in grammer school and just re-read it. It is a shame that what was once considered a childrens book, has vocabulary that most of the Worlds High School students can not understand.

Explore a new world with Verne, 03 Sep 2007
Jules Verne's chosen narrator writes passionately about the natural world, and his enthusiasm is easily communicated to the reader. Heading off originally on a mission to rid the ocean of a gigantic sea monster, the narrator Aronnax and his companions discover the redoubtable Captain Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. On the subsequent voyage, Aronnax dwells with the most pleasure on the many varieties of marine life they encounter (and indeed, his manservant functions almost entirely to classify and name the different creatures, this being the majority of his conversation). Their fascination with everything they encounter is no less than inspiring, even with Ned Land as a homesick counterpoint to their delight. Their wonder and delight, throughout their adventures, is a joy to read.

An Evergreen Classic, 18 Jul 2006

"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a wonderfully constructed science-fiction wherein there's a perfect blend of science and poetry to gift the world a rare genre of literature punctured on various occasions in its narrative flow by philosophical intonations and dark premonition about te future of the world. The first person narrative,a conversational tone and an innocent conincing adeptness lend the novel a touch of soothing feel and that intermingled with the exotic descrptions of not only the undersea world but the submarine itself moulds this novel into a classic. Here Jules Verne illustrates an imaginable picture and indeed the awe in which the great French author is held id made even more amazing by two strange facts. One is that when this novel was composed,no one had conceived the idea of a submarine let alone construct it and the other is that the undersea world was still yet to be explored. Jules Verne thereby becomes a great visonery and a man with a rare gift to write in a unique and pleasing flavour.

But "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" isn't just a narration of the undrsea;it's much more subtle in its implication;it's about man's continous wrestle with Nature and his urgency to conquer her;it's about man's conflict with man.

20000 leagues under the sea, 02 Jul 2004
This is the book that got me started on classic novels. They sure don't write them like this andy more it has adventure, excitement and too much other stuff to put down here. It is based in the 1800's and is a world travelling nautical adventure taking the reader from savage islands all the way to the south pole. One of the best books i have ever read a must read for Verne lovers. Truly brilliant!

Occasionlly drags but otherwise okay, 15 Jun 2004
As other reviewers have stated, Verne does love to spend pages and pages listing sea life and their properties during the course of this novel and it does become very tiresome. However people need to understand that you can skip these parts of the book without losing out on important plot detail.

The characters are well developed and you can indentify with all of them and how they view their effective captivity aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo is a wonderful character and Verne gives just enough information about him to keep you enthralled but not enough to remove the mystery.

This is a novel that was way ahead of its time and everyone should give it a go at least once. Just learn to skip past the author's lengthy aquatic descriptions.

This book was very boring at times, but..., 03 Jun 2001
I think that this book was placed in the wrong age catogory. It should have been for a much younger age group. It lacks description, and the feeling older children, like myself need. My younger sister enjoyed it though.

A thoughtful treatment of a gentle sibling relationship., 20 Oct 1997
Readers will identify with the protagonist, a young girl who feels awkward and self-concious. The girl forgets all about herself when her mentally handicapped brother becomes lost while searching for the beautiful swans he had seen earlier. The swans are symbolic of the girls' transition from ugly duckling to graceful young woman. I especially enjoyed how Byars develops the special relationship between brother and sister. A warm, gentle book.

If you are critical of bad writing, don't read this book!, 09 Jun 1997
I read this book in sixth grade. As a sixth grader, I didn't look at novels the way I do now, but I hated it anyway. Ignoring writing conventions, plot, theme, and description, it is just plain boring. I'll read anything, and it bored me when I was a little kid! I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with a brain.