Reviews

The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley

gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition

4.0

I finally read one of the early Zorro books. Generally, those old adventure classics are pretty great (The Prisoner of Zenda is fantastic, as is Captain Blood). Anyway, The Mark of Zorro was great! While it was one of those books where the hero never even gets wounded, still it was a fun romp. I definitely recommend it to classic adventure fans.

sidharthvardhan's review against another edition

5.0

It is only while reading this that I thought about how much Batman in particular and masked heroes in general owe to Zorro - the similarities of masks, twin identities and black costumes used to hide in darkness aside; Bruce Wayne was watching a theatrical adoption of Zorro when his parents were killed in the original version of atman. McCulley also apparently wrote in another book about another person who was inspired by a bat to fight against crimes. As if this wasn't enough, he also seem to have laid seeds of contribution toward creation of Joker in another book where he apparently wrote about a villian who leaves a mark behind. And all this from a writer who doesn't even have a profile picture on goodreads!

As for actual reading experience, you will have to look past racism of the book. Apart from that it is even funny at times. You will probably guess from very early on who Zorro is but thats hardly the point after decades of masked hero genre inspired by the work,

machinanastusia's review against another edition

5.0

So sweet- I watched the Zorro film with Anthony Hopkins, yet to see the older version, I still felt the giddiness and fear and excitement of the story as if I was learning about Zorro for the first time all over again. I've been in a reading slump and this was fast but so enjoyable!
If you like yearning, danger, jack-sparrow level evasion, witty one-liners then this is the story to try!

amyrashelle's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

devonforest's review against another edition

5.0

A classic story with action, fighting, and romance. What's not to enjoy? It was a fairly quick read and kept me interested throughout the whole thing. Halfway through I did guess that Don Diego was Zorro and was just waiting for it to be revealed. I'm not totally sure why I thought that; I've seen bits and pieces of the movie so maybe I saw it at one point and it stuck in my subconscious.

callmecat's review against another edition

4.0

That was fun. In some ways it reminded me of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Also I noticed that his cloak was described as purplish rather than black. And that his mask fully covered his face, because he had to raise it up to kiss the girl. So his outfit is different than the Zorro I've always known. That was interesting.

mtb_za's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Fun read. The novel treats Zorro and Diego Vega as completely separate, with no hints as to who he is, aside from never being around at the same time.

The ending felt like a bit of a deus ex machina, and would kill off any sequels if stuck to, but it is still satisfying.

haleyscomet1's review against another edition

adventurous funny relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

ipanzica's review against another edition

4.0

A predictable yet fun book.

tambek's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0