4/5 Morgenstern is not real
  by W. Wise
It took me awhile to find the "right" version of the Princess Bride. The description of "Princess Bride" tells of William Goldman abridging the original by S Morgenstern. I was constantly confused with Goldman's talk of Guilder and Florin and Morgenstern's original version. But, there is no Morgenstern! There are no countries of Guilder and Florin. (But Goldman's commentary at the end talk about him visiting Florin and the real Cliff's of Insanity). It is all part of Goldman's imagination. The preface and commentary talk about Goldman's struggle with Morgenstern's estate is also made up. Everything about the book's publication and legal battles are fictional. I wish I would have know that before I read the book, preface and all. It would have made more sense, but discovering this after the fact, I found it quite dissapointing.

As to the actual story: I grew up quoting the Princess Bride movie. I have most of it memorized. So, it was quite fun to relive the story. Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the movie, so it follows the book very faithfully. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie.

Vizzini: "Fool. You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is 'Never get incolved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well know in this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.'"

Classic.

"Inconcievable". "You keep using that word! I don't think it means what you think it does."

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya (btw it took me forever as a child to learn how to pronounce that); you killed my father; prepare to die."

The book did explain in more detail the background of Inigo and his father's death. The part about Wesley's torture is pretty grusome, so skip that part. Goldman's commentary is also quite boring and contains lots of swearing.

This version contained a preface and Goldman's abridgement of the first chapter of the sequel "Buttercup's Baby". I did not like it at all. Btw, there is no sequel. Goldman never got past the first chapter. And remember Morgenstern is fictional, so the abridgement is not an abridgement but Goldman's original work.


5/5 Highly Recommended!
  by Andrea King (United States)
This is an amazing book with a little bit of everything; swordfights, hand-to-hand combat, romance, mystery, adventure, true love, chases, torture, revenge, magic, death (and the mostly dead), humor, bravery and cowardice.

It can get a little wordy at times, but mostly it does serve to move the story along. This is different than the movie, so don't expect a word-for-word printed version of the movie. The book does do a better job of fleshing out the characters.

The book starts with an introduction meant to lead the reader into thinking this is an abridged version of the childhood story the author heard from his father. The book is full of parts that have been "cut" from the story for our reading enjoyment. It can sometimes get a little confusing to keep straight, and occasionally the extra bits can distract from the flow of the story, but overall, the whole package makes for a very fun and entertaining read.

3/5 Pass, the movie has the good parts
  by Ella Lopez (TX, USA)
I had been wanting to read this book for years. I guess it was a big buildup that led to me be disappointed. I recommend if you want to read this book, skip over everything written in italics. Goldman should have just written his own story. The whole Morgenstern history and museum and all that was a major distraction.

4/5 Classic
  by Sarah Cooley (US)
I loved watching this movie when I was younger and when I read the book I thought of that movie! Great book!

3/5 after all the wait...the movie was better
  by Sher (Frederick, MD United States)
For the first time ever, I feel the movie was better. The author interrupts constantly with comments that bring you out of the story and it is not as "charming" as it plays out on the screen. Did not make it till the end--despite that this movie was a "cult classic" for my generation/age group.