The Three Musketeers feels like the template for most Hollywood action movies. The heroes are flawed, but we root for them nonetheless. The villain is brilliant, but pure evil. The heroes, of course, win in the end.

The first half of the book was quite good. Dumas introduces d'Artagnan and the three musketeers. We learn about their histories and watch as they become close friends. So far, so believable.

The second half of the book, however, made it impossible for me to suspend disbelief. The problem was Milady's character. Or rather, the complete lack of anything that could be mistaken for character. To justify his ending, Dumas has to make her completely evil. But we must just accept that she's evil. She seems more of a device to drive on the plot, a foil for the musketeers, than an actual person.

This wouldn't be a problem if there weren't at least half a dozen chapters that dealt with Milady's captivity. Watching an author explore the depths of a character that has no depths is excruciating.

In the end, I suppose I would have enjoyed the book more were more of a fan of the genre that Dumas helped to spawn. Fans of 24 and the Die Hard films will probably love the book.