Arturo Perez-Reverte has created a wonderful swashbuckling character in Captain Alatriste.
He starts out with a bang with this description: " He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous." And the fun begins from there.
Alatriste has always been a soldier in the wars of Spain. He is struggling between the wars, and is recovering from injuries, and has a cronic lack of ready funds. When he is not drinking, he hires himself out as a swordsman, bodyguard and for other unsavory jobs that bring in the coins. He gets a secret commission to waylay some English travelers. One unknown boss says rough them up, the other man says kill them. What to do? And who are these English men? Alatriste discovers that they are sword savvy and are not typical travelers. These are gentlemen. One is the infamous Lord Buckingham and the other is the Prince Regent! Who wants to kill them? Who hired Alatriste? And how can he escape being killed because he did not complete his mission?
Lots of Spanish history, lots of swords, lots of danger and a character you want to cheer for! A fun read, and hopefully a fun series.
No comments:
Post a Comment