The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumasby Alexandre Dumas
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 2 of 13 historical novels by recommenders
Recommended for its fast, action-packed plot, romance and humor, and for holding readers' attention from start to finish. Critics raise no recurring caveat.
Recommended for its fast, action-packed plot, romance and humor, and for holding readers' attention from start to finish. Critics raise no recurring caveat.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fast-paced action from start to finish
“relentless and fast moving it is. Moving from one action set piece to the next from beginning to end”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church” “It is almost overpowering, literally had to catch my breadth before turning a page.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church” Engaging and enjoyable to read
“they certainly held up in terms of being engaging”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” “which I very thoroughly enjoyed”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “"Don't You Just Upload It to ChatGPT?"” Romantic, funny, favorite adventure story
“It's both romantic (like Monte Christo) and also really funny, not dark at all.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “The Three Musketeers is my favorite adventure story of all time.”
Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church”
Other historical novels people recommend
The four most recommended other historical novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aubrey-Maturin seriesby Patrick O'Brian | 18 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Three Musketeersby Alexandre DumasThis page | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The MANIACby Benjamin Labatut | 12 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| I, Claudiusby Robert Graves | 11 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Master and Commanderby Patrick O'Brian | 7 | 1 | 88% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's both romantic (like Monte Christo) and also really funny, not dark at all.”
“My wife's also a big fan of the Three Musketeers”
“they certainly held up in terms of being engaging”
“which I very thoroughly enjoyed”
“The Three Musketeers is my favorite adventure story of all time.”
“It is almost overpowering, literally had to catch my breadth before turning a page.”
“I read both of these in the last year and they're both phenomenal.”
“relentless and fast moving it is. Moving from one action set piece to the next from beginning to end”
“Lawrence Ellsworth's translations are good (he's a sword and sorcery writer)”
“Dumas was meticulously accurate, not to the world as it historically existed, but to how the French upper classes felt and wrote about.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.