I am currently reading this ARC for HarperColins FirstLook review program

Summary of back of book info
Reveals for the first time how Diego de la Vega became the masked man we all know so well (Zorro)


Born in California to a Spanish military landowner father and a Shoshone warrior mother. Diego witnesses the injustices dealt the Native Americans by the Europeans.

At 16 he is sent to Bacelona for an European education. Between California and barcelona the persona of Zorro is formed.

Returning to Californina to reclame the hacienda he was rised on and to fight for those can not fight for themselves.

Here is the traveling order. It is subject to change

Mojosmom us
czersk us
cadelagaraza us
caligula03 us
rrrcaron us
dospescados US
atwojay canada
ekaterin4 germany
bookmanu portugual
caro1 uk
gran-ducato chili

Just arrived! I will try to read it fairly rapidly. Thanks for starting this ring!

Okay, I'm an old Zorro fan from way back. Had a big ol' crush on Guy Williams (and if you tell anyone I'll deny it!), liked the old silent film with Douglas Fairbanks and the talkie with Tyrone Power, read the original book by Johnston McCulley. Allende has given us a nice addition to the canon.

This was a flaming good adventure yarn, with lots of romance tossed in. Allende's Zorro/Diego is very human. He's a tad conceited, something of a ladies' man, likes to play tricks, and is not above a bit of card-sharking, but all in a very likeable way. And like any good hero, he is loyal, honorable, courageous and dashing.

However, despite the fact that he is the one the book is about, Z/D is not the most fully realized character. I had a much better sense, for example, of the de Romeu sisters (with one of whom he falls in love).

Most of the book takes place outside California, in Spain, or during trips to and from Spain. Allende covers a lot of historical ground here: the colonization of California by Spain, the Napoleonic Wars, etc., so you'll learn a fair bit about Spanish politics in the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries. You'll also meet some well-known characters such as Jean Lafitte and Marie Laveau.

I will say that this is not Allende's best book, but that's okay. It was fun.

Yay! I was very excited to find this book waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors, and who wouldn't love a good Zorro story? I hope to get to it very soon.

I must admit that this was not my favorite Isabel Allende book, although it was a brilliant adventure story. Zorro himself was my biggest disappointment. He was just too human. What really ended things for me was when Isabel writes that he trips on his cloak. That wasn't supposed to happen! He should be Zorro, full of grace, not Zorro the Clutz. Halfway through the story I decided to just forget about it, and let myself enjoy the rest of the characters, which I did. Bernardo, I think, was more qualified for the leading role than Diego was. He possessed a silent energy that held my interest throughout the entire novel- I was always waiting to hear what was happening to him rather than the results of Zorro's antics.

Off to the next!

The book has arrived. Thank you!

I got the feeling while reading this book that Allende was intimidated by the character of Zorro and she kept skirting around him, spending her time instead building the characters and world that shaped Diego de la Vega and inspired Zorro. At other times I felt like she was too wrapped up in paying homage to Douglas Fairbanks and it seemed like she tried to merge the Black Pirate (1926) and the Mark of Zorro (1920) into one timeline/one character. The first 200 hundred pages take too long to get into the action. By the time Zorro had emerged I was ready for the book to be over.

RELEASE NOTES:

Mailing to rrrcaron.

Received this in the mail on Saturday. I'll get to it as soon as I can.
Ruth

I loved this story! I had always heard of the character Zorro, but never the entire story. I loved the way it was written, and all the adventures between the covers. I am going to rent the movie now and compare the two. After many attemts at contacting dospecados, i have decided to skip her and move on to the next in line. The owner may want to add dospecados again at a different place in the order. Sorry I hed this so long. It will be moving again tomorrow!
Ruth

Got it in the mail the other day and can't wait to read it. I do have a few before it on my TBR pile, though. :(

Wow, this was an interesting book. I'm sorry I've had it so long. Too many other books to read and we're renovating so the house has been kinda in chaos for a little while. I couldn't find ekaterin4 using a members search...