Czarcie Wzgórze

by Eugène Sue

Martynika, rok 1690. Na szczycie Czarciego Wzgórza wznosi się tajemniczy pałac otoczony gęstym parkiem. Dostęp do niego prowadzi wąską, niebezpieczną ścieżką wijącą się po zboczu dzikiej, poszarpanej skały. W pałacu mieszka piękna i szalenie groźna księżniczka; każdy mężczyzna, który się do niej zbliży, ginie w ciągu roku…

Nie odstraszy to jedynie kawalera de Croustillac…

W Czarcim Wzgórzu Eugene’a Sue znajdziemy wszystko, czego potrzeba w awanturniczej powieści przygodowej. I piękną kobietę, i czarodziejskie pejzaże, i tajemnicze postaci strzegące skarbów. Pojawią się bohaterowie źli i oczywiście ci dobrzy…

Genres: Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1852

About the author

From Wikipedia:

Joseph Marie Eugène Sue (20 January 1804 – 3 August 1857) was a French novelist.
He was born in Paris, the son of a distinguished surgeon in Napoleon's army, and is said to have had the Empress Joséphine for godmother. Sue himself acted as surgeon both in the Spanish campaign undertaken by France in 1823 and at the Battle of Navarino (1828). In 1829 his father's death put him in possession of a considerable fortune, and he settled in Paris.
A street in Paris is named for Eugene Sue, in the 18th Arrondissement: Rue Eugene Sue is located near the Poissonnière Metro station, and is not far from Montmartre and the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur.

Reviews

[Aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

chyba przygodówki nie są dla mnie, a na pewno nie takie

nawet nie wiem jak do końca ocenić, bo mam takie meh po prostu

już po godzinie audiobooka myślałam czy nie zrobić dnf'u, ale pomyślałam krótka książka to skończmy (mogłam jednak zrobić ten DNF..)

1.75?

[Majcix_k · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh
2,5

[Paulina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Za krótka, a mogłaby być naprawdę dobrą powieścią przygodową.

[PanDa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,75

[Alexe Bogdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cartea asta le-a avut pe toate, de la un personaj principal flamboiant, dar comic, într-o asemenea măsură încât aproape că îți stârnește mila, până la o poveste plină de aventură și întorsături de situații; toate acestea petrecându-se sub semnul unui mister rupt la final în cel mai neașteptat mod.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is the 1690s. On the French colony of Martinique, a rich woman has built an almost inaccessible castle and a frightening reputation as a serial assassin of husbands. Three times she has married. Three fortunes she has inherited. Three husbands have mysteriously disappeared. A curate knows what’s what about all this but can’t tell — he heard all during confession. But he knows enough to warn off an outrageous adventurer from Gascony. The Gascon, however, figures on getting rich quick by presenting his subtle sexual charms to the lady and marrying her. Is our Adventurer prepared for all the intrigue that will result from his mad quest?

Here’s an 1840s Gothic novel with a ton of almost Monty Python style comedy. The premise is outlandish (and becomes even more outlandish when the secret everyone is hiding is revealed). The lead character is actually a solid comic creation. Like Chaplin and Keaton, Sue seems to recognize your hero can be very funny, and still heroic enough to carry an action hero plot.

The first half of this one is darn good, with comedy and drama switching off well. (I am not sure what the more haunting image is: one of the subsidiary characters sealed up in a cave because his partner is killed by a poisonous serpent and can’t move forward; or our hero being attacked in the jungle by a pack of feral cats). The second half has moments (including a rather cynical revelation about the sanctity of the confessional) but is basically ruined by the utter, mind bending, you gotta be kidding me nature of the great revelation in this novel’s midpoint.

By the way — not for the woke. France had slavery in its islands, and there is standard 19th century racism throughout. But, well if you are a movie producer looking for a popcorn thriller for someone like Johnny Depp, this might be worth a look.

[Klaudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️