The Sultan of Monte Cristo – Classics Retold

Title: The Sultan of Monte Cristo
Author: The Holy Ghost Writer
Source: bought on amazon
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Review Summary: The writing style was similar to the original, but the plot was boring, unbelievable, bizarre, and not true to the spirit of the original.

This book is supposed to be a sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo. My review contains some spoilers for this book but none for the original.

Initially, I actually had high hopes for this book. From the first few pages it was clear that the author had done a good job capturing Dumas’ writing style. The language was flowery, Dantes was arrogant, and Hadee subservient. Not my favorite things about Dumas but integral to his work and well represented here. However… The book opens with a blatant sex scene between Dantes and Haydee. Now, I don’t have a problem with sex scenes in principle, but nothing like this happens in the original. More than that, I thought the ambiguous nature of Dantes’ relationship with Haydee was part of the first book’s appeal.

Project: Fairy Tale – Scarlet

Title: Scarlet
Author: A. C. Gaughen
Source: library
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Summary: It’s a clever take on the original myth, but I was disappointed to see this fun adventure story turned into just another YA love triangle with an indecisive heroine.

As part of Alison at The Cheap Reader’s Project: Fairy Tale, I will be reviewing one original and three re-tellings of Robin Hood this month. Scarlet is the first re-telling I’ve  read and has the most unique premise among the re-tellings I’ve found. Told from the perspective of “Will” Scarlet, the author ponders the possibility that the young boy in Robin’s band was actually a young woman.  Adventure, and of course, romance quickly ensue.

Project: Fairy Tale – Ivanhoe

Title: Ivanhoe
Author: Sir Walter Scott
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: The writing style takes some getting used to, but it’s well worth it for this story of romanticized adventure and chivalry.

As part of Alison at The Cheap Reader’s Project: Fairy Tale, I will be reviewing one original and three re-tellings of Robin Hood this month. Ivanhoe is the best I’ve been able to find as an original, since (at least according to Wikipedia), Ivanhoe is the first story in which Robin Hood appears in his modern incarnation. In this version of the story, Ivanhoe is the central hero fighting to preserve England for Richard the Lion-Hearted, an endeavor which leads to his alliance with Robin Hood. Fortunately for our purposes, Robin Hood gets at least as much spotlight as Ivanhoe. This book also has the same over-the-top chivalry and sense of adventure that I’ve always found so enjoyable in modern re-tellings of the story of Robin Hood.