It’s pretty pulpy and bad. I contemplated giving up on this book but I didn’t want to be poltroon.

That is a fun word I learnt from the adventures of Zorro.

Completely politically incorrect, caricatured characters and plot, but just plain fun escapist reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A bit more of an adventure/romance and super corny, but completely entertaining.

This was the coolest audiobook I have ever listened to, hands down. Blackstone audio really won me over with this one, will be listening to them more. That aside, the story really is wonderful. I'm a fan of swash-buckling classics and The Mark of Zorro satisfies. If you like the movies, the book is a wonderful addition to the world of Zorro. All the talk of honor, of traveling to Pueblos and drinking at taverns, reads like the Three Musketeers but in the days of Spanish California. Even if you have a hard time stomaching classics, this story is short enough that you can get through it quickly.

Such a fun story. Everything you expect for the classic pulp stories of the past. Swashbuckling adventure, romance, mysteries, and heroism. The chapters are very short, making for some quick pick-up-and-read sessions. A must read for any Zorro fan who only know the character from the excellent Disney 1957 series or the more famous Antonio Banderas The Mask of Zorro movie.

I finally had a chance to read the original novel inspiring the many Zorro films in the 20th century. Unfortunately, the story and the book are not really worth mentioning from a literary point of view and they do not really cover any interesting or inspiring events that render it slightly readable.

Overall, it's a solid book. Modern readers are going to see some of the twists and turns coming a mile away. It's been ripped off, fifty-eleven times. I'm excited to go read the Scarlett Pimpernel and see how much of it was ripped off by this book.

The first fight in the book is Zorro whooping a dude for cruelly abusing a "native." I was not expecting racial justice appearing in a book this old. But the indigenous Mexicans are not really regarded that highly for the rest of the book, which is a bummer. There's a lot of talk of noble blood and whatnot too, which is distressing.

And there's some old timey ideas about women, but it's mostly about like formal courtship and stuff. There are two women in the book, the lady who wants to get married, and her mom who wants her to get married. Not a lot there.

So many terrible typos in this edition!

I really wish it was possible to have read this without already knowing the end - I have to wonder at what point I'd have figured things out. But it's a truly great adventure story, with many buckles swashed!