what are some good fantasy books The Count of Chanteleine: A Tale of the French Revolution
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Stand back, musketeers, they shall sample MY blade!By Alex KirstukasThis book is full of surprises, but I'll give away one of the nicest ones right now: Jules Verne, generally known as one of the gods of science fiction, also wrote high-class historical adventure stories. "The Count of Chanteleine" has all the trimmings of a classic swashbuckler: last-minute escapes, angry mobs, nobles traveling incognito, a touch of romance, the works. I admit that nobody ever actually says the line I quoted in the title of this review, and it would have been anachronistic if they did (it's from the classic Looney Tunes short "Duck Amuck," in case you were baffled), but it taps right into the spirit of adventure that Verne evokes with gusto throughout the book.The story itself easily merits four stars, but I bumped my rating up to five because the book's presentation is superb. Edward Baxter's translation is faithful and intensely readable, and a coalition of scholars have contributed an informative introduction, an interesting addendum about Vernes own travels, a wealth of explanatory notes, a generous supply of double-page map spreads, and reproductions of all the original 19th-century engravings for the story, plus other relevant images from the same period. All things considered, an exuberant celebration not only of good old-fashioned derring-do, but also of a marvelous author whose full depth and breadth are only now beginning to be understood. Vive la Renaissance de Jules Verne!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Count of ChanteleineBy namwan kalongKindle edition had a good text (not too many spelling errors) and I could find my chapters with the table of contents rather than having to bookmark them. The book was rather short, but had a well designed plot. Jules Verne establishes the story first by outlining the history of the events in the story in the first chapter. It was helpful to have this historical background to make sense of the story with its references to people in various battles. The rest of the story is about the Count and his family in the aftermath of the defeat of the Royalist army. It did have a surprising ending, but even that was in keeping with the time period.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Sombre Historical FictionBy EmrysThis work is a surprising genre for Verne; the overall mood is very sombre. Of course, the characters are fairly flat, but the story progresses steadily, and has some interesting turns. The Count starts off as the protagonist, but quickly takes a back seat to his trusty servant Kernan. Lots of historical footnotes.