Rousing, big, spirited, its action sweeping across oceans and continents, its hero gloriously indomitable, the last novel of Alexandre Dumas lost f...
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Oct 06, 2010
Stefanie
rated it: 
Whew! This very long yet unfinished book gets four stars because it's Dumas in adventure mode, which is always fun. The first half of the book focuses on Napoleon; the second, on the title character, Count Hector Sainte-Hermine. Saint-Hermine is ineffective and unengaging when we first see him. Because of his family's vow to uphold the right of the Bourbons to rule, Sainte-Hermine ends up on Napoleon's bad side and is imprisoned for three years. While in prison, he learns everything there is to
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Jan 27, 2012
Lissa
rated it: 
Saying that I have read this book is a stretch. Have you seen it? It's a monster of a book. I think it might be able to take "War and Peace" in a cage fight to the death. I wasn't able to finish it, so "read" is sort of a lie. I tried very hard to read it. My dad and I were supposed to read it together, and I just couldn't maintain the interest. Dad got further along and confirmed what I was feeling: the main character (Count Sainte-Hermine) is a flawless prick (Dad's words)
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Aug 04, 2009
Robert
rated it:
This was rollicking fun although frustrating. The novel is Dumas' last and it's unfinished. So there is no satisfying payoff at the end of 700 plus pages. Still it's thoroughly enjoyable. It made me want to read more of those classic adventure stories.
Now some of the complaints: Of course the "manly man having manly adventures" is out-dated. Women are essentially swooning eye-candy which I have to admit gets really tiresome after a while. The hero is almost perfect so perfect he More...
Now some of the complaints: Of course the "manly man having manly adventures" is out-dated. Women are essentially swooning eye-candy which I have to admit gets really tiresome after a while. The hero is almost perfect so perfect he More...
Jan 01, 2010
Gerald
rated it:
A lost masterpiece? Not for me. The frequent disruption to narrative thrust noted by another reviewer eventually became too much - I gave upon page 421. Dumas' strengths are undeniably there but payment by quantity undermines him. When Napoleon goes to hear a performance of The Creation, most of a page is given to a biography of Haydn; when St Hermine arrives in St Malo, a whole chapter relates the port's history; when his ship arrives at Mauritius, the narrative stalls again for another chapter
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Jul 12, 2011
Peter
rated it: 
It's unfinished, which is shame, and exasperating as I'm sure my copy doesn't mention that anywhere on the front or back covers. It's typical Dumas, though slightly too similar to the Count of Monte Cristo. Part II remains unfinished and part III is only 3 short chapters long, which after 600000 words is disappointing. Regardless though it still has the flair one expects from Dumas, in spite of the lack of any truly empathetic character-Dantes was fully formed, Rene seems only to be capable of h
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May 01, 2011
Melissa
rated it: 
Dumas does it again, taking a story fantastic all on its own and giving it that extra umph with its mixture of historical back round and settings. Dumas is my favorite author for many reasons, one being the author of my favorite book The Count of Monte Cristo and another being his complex plots and set ups involving many characters. Despite being his largest book The Last Cavalier is engrossing and exciting. The worst thing about this book is it is unfinished, however if you pick up on some
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Jul 14, 2011
Frances
rated it:
I've enjoyed all the other Dumas novels I've read so far, and this was no exception. I couldn't put it down and read it in three days! The characters are wonderful; the men are honourable and the women are feminine (things we've almost lost in today's culture), and it was an inspiring read. There was a sense of respect and honour even between enemies, and it was refreshing to see them do the right thing even if it meant personal loss.
Dumas adds a lot of historical background informa More...
Dumas adds a lot of historical background informa More...
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Mar 08, 2011
Jeanette
rated it:
This is one of those books that when you first pick it up...it's so heavy you may drop it. Knowing what a great author Dumas was after reading The Count of Monte Cristo I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. There are so many characters in this spun novel that you would think you would get lost in all the details....but it couldn't be any further from the truth. These characters were so real & so awesome that I simply didn't want the story to end. When I turned to the last page I was so disa
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Feb 24, 2010
Margaret
rated it:
This is Dumas' last novel -- well, most of it. Dumas scholar Claude Schopp discovered references to it and then tracked the installments down in the Bibliothèque Nationale; then he found some manuscript pages, never published, opening a new episode of the serial.
I loved the beginning, because I am a fool for Napoleonic fiction, and Dumas' portraits of Napoleon and Josephine are wonderful. But then, the last half of the book is all over the place, and I really had to talk myself into More...
I loved the beginning, because I am a fool for Napoleonic fiction, and Dumas' portraits of Napoleon and Josephine are wonderful. But then, the last half of the book is all over the place, and I really had to talk myself into More...
Aug 20, 2008
Misfit
rated it:
A Dumas novel no one new existed! What a find this must have been, to discover an unknown work of Dumas hidden away in the Library of Paris. As the novel opens, it is the dawn of the 19th century and Napoleon rules as First Consul, not yet having being having been crowned Emperor, and the Royalist forces are still battling to restore the crown. Our hero, Hector, the Count Sainte-Hermine has seen his father and two older brothers nobly die for the Royalist cause. During a brief truce, Hector hope
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Jan 10, 2011
Liviu
rated it:
After the superb Le Chevalier de Saint Hermine - translated as Last Cavalier - which had a story how it got in print almost as convoluted as its plot, and then became an unexpected bestseller, there was a problem. Dumas has been dead for a long time and the first book ended in the middle, with some chapters from the planned continuation and an outline.
Luckily Claude Schopp who found the original book in archives, and worked on it many years to make it get in print, is a very good More...
Luckily Claude Schopp who found the original book in archives, and worked on it many years to make it get in print, is a very good More...
May 23, 2008
Cynthia
rated it:
So far, this is one of the good ones, much better than the book that came before it in this series, Les Blancs et les Bleus. I'm particularly interested in Napoleon, so that's an added incentive to stick with it.
*******
well, just finished it (finally) and really thought this book would never end. It's interesting but it's very repetitive; the heroes keep having the same battles and adventures over and over again. It feels like Dumas just loved this character so much (once he finall More...
*******
well, just finished it (finally) and really thought this book would never end. It's interesting but it's very repetitive; the heroes keep having the same battles and adventures over and over again. It feels like Dumas just loved this character so much (once he finall More...
Jul 21, 2009
Ckw538
rated it:
Dumas is one of my favorite authors. And this novel is one of his bests. Too bad it is unfinished. The biggest problem is a hack of a Dumas expert tried to finish it. Other than that its a great story taking you from revolutionary France to the jungles of India. A great novel, and there is not much more to add to that.
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Nov 11, 2011
"Absolutely wonderful! Alexandre Dumas remains, now as ever, the Napoleon of storytellers." - Washington Post, a Top Ten Book for 2007
Listen to The Last Cavalier on your smartphone.
Listen to The Last Cavalier on your smartphone.
Feb 04, 2009
Jason
rated it:
Not what I would consider Dumas' crowning achievement but nonetheless an entertaining novel in the way only Alexandre Dumas could portray a part of french history. This was supposedly his last novel and was undiscovered until recently by a French Professor.
Feb 27, 2011
Paul
rated it:
This is Dumas's lost novel. Pretty good for a historical novel for the info about Napoleon. The protagonist was too idealized for me--he could out shoot, out fence, be stronger, be more gallant, and was more handsome than anyone else.
Jul 10, 2009
Margaret
rated it:
I guess it's not really read since I abandoned it, but the system won't let me unselect read. Although it read quickly and kept me occupied during a long day in an airport, after 300 pages it was neither about Count Sainte-Hermine or anyone's adventures making ultimately boring.
Aug 01, 2011
It is an unfinished, serialized novel- rough in parts- but it i a great adventure/political thriller story covering the imperial Napoleonic era. Simply the best!
Aug 10, 2011
Isabel
rated it:
Volver al estilo de Dumas es delicioso! Recordar las lecturas de la infancia y dejarse llevar por el maravilloso narrador sabelotodo :)
Feb 25, 2010
Dorene
rated it:
Heartbreaking ending, as the novel was unfinished by Dumas before he died.
All of the romantic elements are there, and the voyage is one of Dumas' greatest as you walk along side with Napoleon, Nelson, into the raw jungles of Burma, and wait ever patiently for true love to be validated as was fore told by the fortune teller - yet it is not, we are left hanging.
The Count Sainte-Hermine embodies all of the heroic elements that makes Dumas' men so grand and larger than life More...
All of the romantic elements are there, and the voyage is one of Dumas' greatest as you walk along side with Napoleon, Nelson, into the raw jungles of Burma, and wait ever patiently for true love to be validated as was fore told by the fortune teller - yet it is not, we are left hanging.
The Count Sainte-Hermine embodies all of the heroic elements that makes Dumas' men so grand and larger than life More...
Dec 31, 2009
Samantha
rated it:
Not my favorite Dumas book. There was a lot of rambling in the first half of the book, but I really enjoyed the second half when we really see the title character's story.
Jul 20, 2008
Miss
rated it:
I didn't realize that it's really just the third installment in what is essentially Dumas' history of France. Don't go into this expecting your usual historical fiction. Think of it more as a history book that reads like a beach novel. The translation is smooth and sometimes funny but there isn't enough drama to keep me in it for 700 pages. There isn't enough Josephine and really isn't she what keeps Bonaparte from being just another dreary old Caesar wannabe? But what do I know? Have you
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Jun 20, 2010
Jennifer
rated it: 
I didn't think that I would ever say this about an Alexandre Dumas book, but I didn't like this book. It was not cohesive at all - I felt that there were too many story lines going at once, and they were so loosely connected that it was confusing. Not recommended.
Jan 15, 2010
K.M.
rated it:
The historical half, about Napoleon, was fascinating, but the fictional hero's sad perfection suffered drastically in contrast with the dynamic and decidedly flawed Napoleon.
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Sep 26, 2011
Julia
rated it:
Menos maniqueísta e mais cheio de reflexões religiosas, éticas e filosóficas do que os outros livros, mas falta alívio cômico do Ciclo dos Mosqueteiros ou dos Valois. Fiquei curiosa pelo que poderia ter sido, embora já estivesse um pouco cansada do cavaleiro de Sainte-Hermine, atirador, esgrimista, musicista, poeta, desenhista, belo como Antínoo, ético, riquíssimo, cultíssimo, cativadoramente melancólico...
Sep 07, 2009
Thatcher
rated it:
I liked the adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine. The plot was kind of like "The Three Musketeers" meets "Heart of Darkness" (by Joseph Conrad).
I only gave this book three stars because I didn't like the ending, it was too abrupt. Although I don't blame the author, I'm sure all the loose ends would have been tied together better had he been able to finish the book.
I only gave this book three stars because I didn't like the ending, it was too abrupt. Although I don't blame the author, I'm sure all the loose ends would have been tied together better had he been able to finish the book.
