In this futuristic retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edward Maret is a happy man. He is engaged to a women he loves and destined to inherit a bountiful estate. Little does he know that he has enemies who are prepared to betray him because they covet what he has. Denounced as a revolutionary and condemned by a corrupt judge, Edward is turned into a mindless cyborg and sent to kill any who threaten his world. When he is eventually freed from the mind control, his first thought is of revenge…

At the heart of the original novel is the story of how betrayal and an obsession with revenge can make even the nicest of people become cruel. I think this book did a great job preserving that message and even brought it to the forefront by sharing with us Edward’s introspection after he is betrayed. This deeper understanding of Edward made it a little easier to empathize with him, as did the fact that what happens to him in this book seems far more terrible than what happened to him in the original. He still becomes an unlikeable, cruel person but it’s easier to understand where that’s coming from.

The plot was a bit disappointing. A book could easily be as complex as the original without being as long by writing more concisely and eliminating the many digressions. This book does both of those things, but also loses the complexity. It seems like Edward’s enemies largely self-destruct. His plots are far less elegantly intricate and even when he does do something interesting, it’s often mentioned in passing. On the other hand, the world building was very good. A fascinating and believable universe was created and every detail of that universe enhanced the story. Over all, I thought this was a very unique and well executed modernization of this classic.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. ( )