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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 863.64
EAN num: 9780156032834
ISBN number: 015603283X
Label: Harvest Books
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: May 01, 2006
Publishing house: Harvest Books
Sale Popularity Level: 14156
Studio: Harvest Books
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Product Description:
#1 International Bestseller
Lucas Corso is a book detective, a mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found hanged, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is brought in to authenticate the fragment. He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and swashbuckling derring-do among a cast of characters bearing a suspicious resemblance to those of Dumas's masterpiece. Aided by a mysterious beauty named after a Conan Doyle heroine, Corso travels from Madrid to Toledo to Paris in pursuit of a sinister and seemingly omniscient killer.
Part mystery, part puzzle, part witty intertextual game, The Club Dumas is a wholly original intellectual thriller by the author of The Flanders Panel and The Seville Communion.
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Rated by buyers 
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An amazing, intelligently written, mystery and occult puzzle novel written by a favorite Spanish author. Books, writers, collectors and dealers in old and rare books are introduced into this story about a certain book dealer who makes his living researching and finding and buying and selling books for a selected clientele. Lucas Corso is hired to authenticate part of an original manuscript, part of "The Three Musketeers", written by Alexander Dumas ;Dumas was known to collaborate with others when he wrote his novels, hence the need for verification. As he goes about this task, he is engaged by a very wealthy collector, Varo Borja, to research a demonic book called "The Book of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows" supposedly authored by Lucifer himself. The book is supposed to enable the owner, if he can figure out the puzzles, to meet the Devil and become all powerful. There are only three such volumes in existence and Corso is charged to examine each one in order to assure Borja that the one he has is genuine; he suspects it might be a forgery. (Perhaps, Borja tried to meet the Devil and the ritual did not work) Corso finds himself involved in a complicated plot where he meets people that seem, to him, to resemble the main characters of the "Three Musketeers", a sensuous woman the wife of the previous owner of the manuscript that he identifies as Milady De Winter and a man who is closely identified with the woman he thinks of as Rocheforte.
At the same time ,as he begins to compare the second of the Book of the Nine Gates, he discovers that while the binding, the paper and the print are identical, there are slight differences in the nine prints. He also discovers that some of the prints were originated by the publisher and others were originated by another person "LCF" (Lucifer?). Corso is followed and threatened by the person he thinks of as Rocheforte but each time he is in danger, he is rescued by a strange young girl who follows him. As the story progresses, death and destruction of their libraries come to the two other owners of the Book of Nine Gates; the books are destroyed but the prints were removed prior to burning the books. Corso finds himself in the middle of a twisting plot that involves devil worship, occult practices and a secret organization relating to Alexander Dumas.
This was a fascinating novel; the plot was complex and the climax was interesting and throughout the book there were lively discussions between Corso and book dealers and book collectors where literally hundreds of novels and author's works were discussed or quoted from and great care was taken in the story to show the sources that Corso and others used as they researched both the manuscript and the occult book.
This novel was adapted into a film by Roman Polanski. Johnny Depp played Corso in this dark and exciting movie called "The Ninth Gate". Get the DVD.
Rated by buyers 
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Like some other reviewers here, after seeing the Ninth Gate, I figured Roman Polanski, given his history, based it upon a well-written novel. Googling led me The Dumas Club.
As usual the book's storyline went deeper than the film. The clues to Irene Adler's true identity were much heavier yet more subtle than the film. Although, I'm still amazed that some readers never got the point that she was a female demon, a personification of the Harlot which was pictured on the last woodcut, where she's riding the Beast. I thought that while the film didn't let on until the final scene of love making in front of the burning castle, the novel sprinkled hints throughout. The most beautifully written scene was when Irene came to Corso's hotel room and her shadow cast across the bedcovers changed and mingled with the burnt remains of the second book, and embraced Corso's. If the reader didn't see what was happening here or what the author was shouting, they must be blind.
I gave it four stars because, frankly the screenplay was tighter and an improvement on the overall storyline. The subplot and allusions or metaphors of Dumas' Three Musketeers muddled the pacing and the plot. They didn't move the story along but rather slowed it. And like some have said it took away from that necessary dark terror that grew step by step until your belief and Corso's was finally suspended, and the dark evil that lay within the book became a real threat. I felt it was the writer's literary indulgence that was overdone.
While Perez's dialogue between Irene and Corso was spot on and laced with ominous subtlety, I felt the character Varo Borja could have come off a bit darker and menacing much earlier on in the book. But the main strength is that it was a great story concept.
Rated by buyers -
The author did a good job developing the characters and the plot. The old manuscripts/books angle kept my interest. Having seen some Spanish, Argentine, and Mexican films, I'd have to say the ending of Club Dumas was very much in line with types of endings many Spanish speaking films have - bizarre! This was a good read. I would definitely recommend this book. I will also read books by this author again.
Rated by buyers -
I wish the literary references weren't constantly beyond me, because I really liked this book, but I did feel it would have helped to bone up on Dumas and The Three Musketeers in advance. However, if you like books, and mysteries, with a bit of occult (perhaps conjuring up Satan himself), this book will keep you interested to the very last page.
Rated by buyers -
Usually when I view a movie (in this case The Nine Gates), if I see it is based on a book, I read the book. As usual, don't expect the book to be the same as the movie, although it comes close in some areas. The book was far better and was more "gripping". However, you had to be familiar with Dumas' The Three Musketeers (not the movie, although watching that would help)to make the book come to life. You can't go wrong here. What is even better is the author gives you a bit of an biographical history of Dumas himself which is a plus. You like this one. Don't miss it.
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