Uncertain, Fugitive, Half-fabulous

Well, that was good stuff.

Steven Brust's extremely specific ode to The Three Musketeers dances very close to the line of taking its gimmick too far many times, but never quite crosses it. What we get, therefore, is an extremely fun, in which the characters are familiar and likable, but not straight-up derivative, and in which the flowery language and verbose descriptions help to set the scene at the beginning of many chapters, but thankfully peter off soon after, letting the reader enjoy the events without distraction.

What's more, the ways in which Brust applies some of the Dumas homages are themselves quite inspired. For example, the heroes' great friendship comes about from duels that transpire in an entirely different way. Or, my favorite, the Porthos-ish character is female, but still acts much like her original influence, which is entirely unlike any of the molds in which female characters are usually cast.

I won't go on, you get the point. Suffice it to say, I laughed out loud more than once and was often desperate to know what would happen next.