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It’s been over fourteen months since we first began our journey with D’Artagnan and the rest of his musketeer friends, and today we reach the end of their story. Even though I finished my first reading of the series just three years ago, I still enjoyed reading it again, especially getting to revisit such interesting and noble characters. One of the things I appreciate most about the them is how they stayed true to their friendship even when they were on opposite sides politically.<\/p>\n
Looking back over my experience with these books, D’Artagnan remains one of my favorite characters in all of literature. Watching him grown from an immature hothead into a leader of men was enjoyable and satisfying, and the final chapter of the last book still gets to me. This second reading of the series has given me a greater appreciation of Athos, Raoul, and Porthos, but Aramis has gone down slightly in my estimation, especially after the events of the The Man in the Iron Mask.<\/em> My least favorite section of the series was definitely the volume entitled Louise de la Valli\u00e8re<\/em> — or really any section where the musketeers were not featured. I had little patience for hearing about the romantic escapades of the French court, and the rivalry between Colbert and Foquet began to get tedious. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed re-reading Twenty Years After<\/em>, and it almost matches\u00a0The Three Musketeers<\/em> as my favorite of the series. While Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo<\/em> is probably the better overall book in terms of plot, setting, and depth of meaning, in terms of characters I think I like those in the D’Artagnan series more. At least, I would love the chance to sit down to dinner with D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and Raoul.<\/p>\n