Frelga, I do hope you are not knocking the Count. Otherwise, he would come back from the deads and take his revenge.
I am sad to hear that it is difficult to find an unabridged version of Monte Cristo. It is one book that cannot stand to be abridged, I am afraid. It is entirely narrative driven with an intricate plot without any contemplative moments. Cut one branch of the tree and part of its flowers would be gone forever. Other books may be abridged. I have in mind War and Peace and Les Miserables. I would not read them in an abridged version for all the gold in the world, but I understand that some people are bored by Tolstoi's repetitive historical comments and by Hugo's endless digressions (and those who gave up don't know what they have been missing: some of the most powerful moments in literature). But in Monte Cristo, there is no generous flesh that can be cut, only the skin of poor Edmond Dantes who lost everything, spent 14 years in a prison for a crime he did not commit and vowed to have his revenge.
dhspgt, it is great to be able to read you again. Your style is inimitable. I would dispute the inclusion in your list of Quichotte, Moby Dick and Heart of Darkness. Not because I disliked them. I loved them all (although I've been slightly disappointed by Heart of Darkness). But I find them to be contemplative books. Contemplative books turn you into an action man, while adventure books such as Monte Cristo turn you into a contemplative and meditative man, a dreaming man. When I read Monte Cristo, I dream that I am all powerful like him. When I read Quichotte or Moby Dick, I ponder about art and the meaning of life and decide that life has to be lived at a human level and so I stop dreaming. Oops, sorry, you did not want me to define an "adventure novel".