- Paperback: 284 pages
- Publisher: Plume Books; Tra edition (27 Dec 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0452287111
- ISBN-13: 978-0452287112
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.8 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,844,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'The arrival of a new Alatriste book is always a joy... it's one to be devoured with passion... Highly recommended.' (HAM & HIGH (30/6/06) )
'The cult of the renegade swordsman seems poised to increase... Ought to tickle the fancy of anyone who enjoys having their swashes buckled.' (GUARDIAN (8/7/06) ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
'The cult of the renegade swordsman seems poised to increase... Ought to tickle the fancy of anyone who enjoys having their swashes buckled.' (GUARDIAN (8/7/06) ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
HAM & HIGH (30/6/06)
'The arrival of a new Alatriste book is always a joy... it's one to be devoured with passion... Highly recommended.'
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Captain Alatriste,
This review is from: Captain Alatriste (W&N Fiction 2005) (Hardcover)
If you like swashbucklers, then you will love this offering from Arturo Perez-Reverte. Published almost 10 years ago in Spain, Perez-Reverte's Alatriste series is finally coming into English translation - no doubt because of the big budget film being made at the moment, but it is a romping good read in its own right. As usual, Perez-Reverte's writing is fluid and elegant and the character of Alatriste is an attractive one. It would be impossible not to make a direct comparison with Dumas' Three Musketeers, considering that the Duke of Buckingham makes an appearance in this book (he certainly got around) and that fact that Captain Alatriste is quiet, brooding and deadly - just like Athos - and seems to be hiding a secret sorrow which, no doubt, will be revealed in future installments. That said, Perez-Reverte holds his own in the swashbuckling tradition and this series should be as popular in English as it has been in Spanish.
51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Monsieur D'Artagnan, meet Capitan Alatriste,
By Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Captain Alatriste (Hardcover)
I picked up Arturo Perez-Reverte's "Captain Alatriste" recently. I put another recent book down while I read the first couple of chapters, just to get a feel for the book. I ended up reading "Captain Alatriste" in virtually one sitting. The other book was placed on hold. I consider that high praise. Captain Alatriste is set in Madrid, Spain in the early 17th-century. The Spanish Armada had already been defeated but Spain was still the world's greatest superpower. The Captain is recently home from fighting in Flanders in the Dutch war for independence from Spain. He has come home because of a serious wound that has left him unfit for the military. However, and like many of veterans of Spain's wars, he is fit enough to eke out a meager living as something of a gun, or sword, or knife for hire. He collects debts, avenges the honor of cuckolded husbands, and even kills for the right price. He is very good at his job. The story is narrated by Inigo, the son of one of Alatriste's friends who died in combat while fighting alongside Alatriste. Inigo is sent to Madrid by his impoverished mother, to work for Alatriste. As Inigo notes with some irony, if the mother did not know how the Captain earned a living. The style of the narration is reminiscent of Watson's narratives in Sherlock Holmes. The plot is rather simple and evokes memories of the plot lines of the swashbuckling books of yesteryear. Alatriste is summoned to meet with some mysterious, yet clearly influential people. He is hired to waylay two young British civilians on their way to Madrid. He receives conflicting information about the extent of the damage he is to inflict on the young men. Partnered up with a sinister accomplice the assault does not go according to plan. Alatriste is swiftly embroiled in the political intrigues that swirl around the Spanish royal court. Danger lurks everywhere. It would reveal too much of the plot to say much more but events careen rapidly until they reach the inevitable climax. I think it fair to say that Reverte has not invented a new genre. Reverte honors the basic outlines of the romantic swashbuckling novel. A man of honor (and yes there is honor amongst hired guns) gets swept up, and almost swept awa in a sea of political intrigue. The corruption of the court and its courtiers is a given. In essence, the individual takes on a society that is morally bankrupt or rapidly on its way there. So although there is nothing uniquely new here, I think it also fair to say that Reverte does justice to the genre. The story is well written and fresh even if it follows a tried and true formula. Reverte does an excellent job making the streets, and street-life of 17th-century Madrid seem realistic. Reverte also has a flair for describing the changing status of Spain as a world power. He writes with clarity, of Spain's status (even after the Armada) or image to the world as the world's great superpower while conveying with great skills the internal corruption and decay that would soon topple Spain from those exalted heights. Margaret Sayers Peden's translation seems very skillful. Captain Alatriste is filled with bits of poetry from Alatriste's group of friends. Poetry may be the most difficult work to translate while retaining the power of the words used in the original language. Yet the poems as translated by Pedens retain a certain gracefulness that is often lost in translation. This makes the book that much more satisfying to someone reading Reverte in English. Captain Alatriste is a fast-paced enjoyable romp that can trace its literary heritage back to the likes Scaramouche, Captain Blood, and the Three Musketeers. It is a perfect book to read on a summer afternoon (or a winter evening for that matter).
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good fun,
By
This review is from: Captain Alatriste (Adventures of Capt Alatriste 1) (Paperback)
It's obvious what has happened here: the author has read a lot of D'Artagnan and Scarlet Pimpernel and found himself wondering "Why doesn't Spain has a swashbuckling hero?" Fortunately, this thought has led to the writing of the Captain Alatriste series which neatly continues the legacy of the classic swashbuckers.
Set in Spain at the start of the reign of Philip the fourth, the series revolves around the titular captain, a veteran of the Spanish/Dutch wars reduced to selling his sword in order to get by. Despite his reduced circumstances the Captain struggles to retain his honour and dignity which, when he gets caught up in the machinations of royal politics, proves very difficult indeed. Alexandre Dumas once said that history was the canvas upon which he painted his pictures, and Perez-Reverte has taken this lesson to heart with the betrothal of Prince (later King) Charles of England and the Infanta of Spain providing a backdrop for sword-fights in darkened alleys, quiet heroism, murder and political double-dealing. Captain Alatriste embodies the serious yet passionate character which the Spanish pride themselves upon, and couples this with the loyalty, honour and skill with a blade required of a period hero. It's quite good fun for a reader used to the French/English perspective in literature depicting the time to see a different view of the period - the European rivalries of the time being cast in a new light by the Spanish perspective. Every nation deserves it's own swashbucking heroes in the D'Artagnan mold, and in Captain Alatriste Spain has got one for herself - and not before time.
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