THE THREE MUSKETEERS

Buckle-your-swash and get ready for a rousing action-adventure, courtesy of Alexandre Dumas and Simon Vance. When hapless d'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his Gascon pride is wounded, and he takes on duels with each of the king's best swordsmen, the three musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Admiring the courage of the green youth, the four become inseparable. The story revolves around the musketeers' attempts to thwart Cardinal Richelieu as he plots the undoing of the King Louis XIII and Queen Anne. Simon Vance's performance is period-perfect. His characterizations are passionate, full-blooded, and memorable. Vance turns historical events into the background for romance and derring-do, sprinkled with healthy doses of irreverence, wit, and irony. Friendship, loyalty, and honor make this all-for-one-and-one-for-all listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]