I am a firm believer that some creative works are done so well the first time that no one should try to redo them again later. This book solidified that belief for me. 

You can’t take a story as intricate and compelling as The Count of Monte Cristo and remove all the backstory, all the innocence, goodheartedness, and naïveté of the main character, and leave out all of the character development after the betrayal, and have the hollowed out remake hold any water. 

I love the idea of taking the original story and setting it in another culture with all the intricacies and influences that would involve. Unfortunately this book didn’t even seem to attempt that and came across empty and lackluster. 

Even if I weren’t comparing it to the original, there is still too much tell and no show, repetitive dialogue, two dimensional characters, and a rushed plot line.