The Mummy of Monte Cristo by J. Trevor Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy thriller which is a retelling of the classic Alexandre Dumas adventure ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ but set in a world of monsters and magic. Like in the original novel the story centres around Edmond Dantes who is about to marry Mercedes his sweetheart and who has just been made captain of a ship. Just as things are going well for Edmond the jealousy and ambition of others result in Edmond being framed for treason and sent to prison indefinitely. Whilst in prison he finds a friend who talks about a terrible power which is hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. Edmond manages to escape and gives up his humanity so that he can get revenge on the group of men who framed him, making the decision to be mummified alive. Edmond then pursues his enemies to Paris where he devises a plan to ruin the men’s new lives completely but he keeps experiencing unexpected reminders of the humanity he left behind. He then learns that one of the men has an even grander plan that could result in worldwide death all for his own profit.

This is a wonderfully written novel and it really is a, “thrilling tale of magic, monsters, envy, wrongful imprisonment, and revenge”. I was hooked from page one and although it is a lengthy book I found I could not put it down. The story follows the original but with the added fantasy elements making the storyline intriguing and the narrative flows well moving the story along at a fairly fast pace. I like the short chapters and I think that works well and the authors descriptive writing style really brings the characters and the setting alive making me feel fully immersed in the story. The plot is action packed and full of drama and I was gripped until the end of this unique and original novel. This was an epic read but also an enjoyable and engaging one and I would recommend ‘The Mummy of Monte Cristo’ to all readers regardless of whether they have read the original.

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