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El capitán Alatriste (Adventures of Captain Alatriste #1)

by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Carlota Pérez-Reverte

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 4,107 ratings · 342 reviews

From Amazon: The novels of Arturo Pérez-Reverte have captivated readers around the world and earned him a reputation as “the master of the intellectual thriller” (Chicago Tribune). His books have been published in fifty countries. Now, beginning with Captain Alatriste, comes Pérez-Reverte’s most stunning creation to date: a riveting series featuring the adventures of an ic...more

Paperback, 237 pages

Published March 28th 1997 by Santillana USA Publishing Company (first published 1996)

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Jun 08, 2008 Peter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

6/7 - 6/8

First off, I can't remember the last time I started and finished a book in one day. Yeesh. Not a lot going on today I guess.

Anyway, I have read and enjoyed several of Perez-Reverte's books and have been looking forward to this series. I was not blown away. The characters were were pretty plain, and I really didn't like the narrator at all; the classic 'I'm old now and I'm gonna tell you some stories from a long time ago' type guy. Also, The profanity he uses throughout the book doesn't...more

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Jul 09, 2007 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: swashbuckling, adventure story fans

Shelves: fiction, goth-goth-baby, owned, 20th-century-postwar-to-late

Swashbuckling. Seriously. That's all this book is about. If that's not enough of a point for you? Well. You just don't know how to have fun.

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Oct 18, 2009 Clif Hostetler rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

The story in this novel takes place in the 17th Century Spain during the reign of Philip IV, the golden age of Spanish power. The plot is based upon an actual historic occurrence in 1623 when the Prince of Wales (Charles Stuart) and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, traveled incognito to Spain to try to reach agreement on the long-pending match between Charles and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the younger sister of King Philip IV. The fictional action of this book starts with its main char...more The story in this novel takes place in the 17th Century Spain during the reign of Philip IV, the golden age of Spanish power. The plot is based upon an actual historic occurrence in 1623 when the Prince of Wales (Charles Stuart) and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, traveled incognito to Spain to try to reach agreement on the long-pending match between Charles and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the younger sister of King Philip IV. The fictional action of this book starts with its main character, Alatriste, being paid to kill a pair of unknown English visitors in Madrid who turn out to be the Prince and Villiers traveling incognito. Life becomes quite complicated for Alatriste when at the last minute he decides not to kill the two strangers, and suddenly the plotters of the scheme have every reason to want Alatriste dead because he knows about their conspiracy.

The characters in this story remind me of Dumas' Three Musketeers, but the book, Captain Alatriste, is much shorter and concise in its construction. The story takes place at about the same time as Dumas' novel, but of course Alatriste is Spanish and the Dumas characters were French. These characters are quite frankly not the sort of people I would want to be near in real life. They are professional soldiers waiting for the next war. In the meantime they have nothing better to do other than sit around in taverns waiting for the next excuse to fight a duel.

This novel is told in first person from the perspective of an old man recalling the story as it happened in his youth. He is thus able to offer some perspective and judgment based on the experience of the subsequent years. Here is a sample of how the golden age of Spain is described in the book:

"And that infamous period was called the Siglo de Oro? What Golden Age, eh? The truth is that those of us who lived and suffered through it saw little gold and barely enough silver. Sterile sacrifice, glorious defeats, corruption, rogues, misery, and shame, that we had up to the eyebrows." ... "and no one worked except the wretched peasants, exploited by the tax collectors ..."

The narration paints a vivid and gritty picture of that time in history. Details from body lice to excrement in the streets are quite jarring to a 21st Century reader. The mechanics of killing, and being killed, with a sword are presumably accurate, but I'd just as soon not have to read about it. The author spends a lot of time describing 17th Century Madrid and quoting sonnets from the period.

By the time the novel is finished you will learn about the king's favored adviser, Olivares (Gaspar de Guzmán y Acevedo, 1st Count-Duke of Olivares, 1587-1645). According to the author he was an evil person. Historians have often blamed him for the demise of the Spanish power. However, modern historians generally believe he was simply following the King's wishes, and the prevailing corruption of the time was not something for which he can be blamed.

We also meet another "bad guy" in the person of the king's secretary Luis de Alquézar, and his entrancing niece Angélica de Alquézar (c.1611–c.1640). It's hinted in the book that we'll be hearing more about Angélica and her uncle in upcoming books in the series. We know that Angélica is a historical character because she was portrayed by Diego Velázquez in 1635. I presume her uncle is a historical character also, but I'm unable to confirm that. I wish the author had included a note commenting on which of the characters are historical personages.

I selected this book to check out whether I wanted to pursue the rest of the series. The books are translated from Spanish. The following is a list of the books in the series and the year published in USA:

1. Captain Alatriste, USA 2005
2. Purity of Blood, USA 2006
3. The Sun over Breda, USA 2007
4. The King's Gold, USA 2008
5. The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet, USA 2009
6. Pirates of the Levant, USA 2010

A movie based on the series, titled Alatriste, was released in September 1, 2006, directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes and starring Viggo Mortensen. (The DVD is not yet released for North America.)

The series of books started when the author, Pérez-Reverte, decided that there was a lack of history of the Spanish Golden Age in the school textbook of his teenaged daughter Carlota. He commissioned Carlota to gather documentation for him (hence, she is billed as co-author of the first novel) and developed the stories. Pérez-Reverte is influenced by the works of many novelists, in particular 19th-century writers like Alexandre Dumas, and his D'Artagnan Romances. He also applies the dark tone of his experiences as a war reporter.

The period settings allows him to insert references to the authors (including Lope de Vega and Cervantes) and artists (including Diego Velázquez). He reflects on Spain and the Spaniards as a people united that, in spite of being at war with all the major European powers, are capable of showing bravery and honor.(less)

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Feb 19, 2008 Jessie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a big fan of Arturo Perez-Reverte, but this book was a little bit of a disappoint me for me. As usual, Perez-Reverte's writing style manages to mingle in an amazing amount of fascinating history within an otherwise simple plot. The problem this time was too much history and exposition and too little actual plot. I could tell you the whole "story" in about four sentences.
The narrator in the story is recounting tales from his youth - so it's a little like listening to my grandmother ramble o...more

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Dec 26, 2007 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who like adventure stories and historical fiction

I have read all of Perez-Reverte's other books and this was the first time I had looked into his Capt. Alatriste series. The books he is most famous are sophisticated, modern thrillers and, it is clear, that these books are meant to be an escape for Perez-Reverte and his readers from too much hard work. They are simple (I don't mean stupid just uncomplicated) adventure stories which take place in 1620's Spain. They are fun and amusing although I have learned that seventeenth century poetry doesn...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Algernon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

Short and elegant : a worthy addition to the panoply of memorable swashbucklers and a promising start of a long historical epic. The plot is simple, and the action scenes relatively few. The strong points are the recreation of the Madrid society around 1620 and the evocative language. The story alternates between first person narration by the young page Inigo Balboa and third person view. I wish I was fluent in Spanish and could read this in the original , especially the poems.

Captain Diego Ala...more

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May 25, 2011 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, books-i-own

This wasn't bad. The problem is, once you've read the likes of Captain Blood other adventure tales pale in comparison.

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Jan 15, 2009 Evan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, so I'm teaching the second in a three course sequence on world theatre history, and we've just been covering Spanish Siglo de Oro theatre (Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, etc.). So I was searching around on you-tube for some good recreation footage of a performance in a corral de comedias, and stumbled across a 2006 film called Alatriste with a very charming scene set in such a theatre. (At a certain point, I got a strange inkling of Aragorn rather than Aragon-- sure e...more

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May 07, 2013 Scott Kirkland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very nice action book with a lot of research into the arts and times. Seamlessly fits into the time of Charles' (when he was only the Prince of Wales) trip to Spain to woo the daughter of Philip IV. I really liked being opened to the Spain of the time right before the Restoration to feel the Catholic hatred of the heretics as well as the reinforcement of damage caused by 2 things: the need for gold from the America's to pay for the massive debts incurred by the 30 Years' War, and the 30 Years' W...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Edutorras rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Captain Alatriste

Before I moved to USA, My English level was really low. Teachers told me that the best way to improve my English skills was by reading. My grammar was also bad and my mother decided to buy books in English to read them. My mom bought me a lot of books and I read some of them but not all. When I moved back to Barcelona, in BFIS, we study in Spanish history about Captain Alatriste last year. My mom bought me Captain Alatriste in USA, so I thought that this summer was a good idea t...more Captain Alatriste

Before I moved to USA, My English level was really low. Teachers told me that the best way to improve my English skills was by reading. My grammar was also bad and my mother decided to buy books in English to read them. My mom bought me a lot of books and I read some of them but not all. When I moved back to Barcelona, in BFIS, we study in Spanish history about Captain Alatriste last year. My mom bought me Captain Alatriste in USA, so I thought that this summer was a good idea to read this book, because after studying it in geography, it would be easier to understand the story. Beginnings of summer I started to read the two chapters but I did not wanted to read the book because I was too lazy to do it. In Christmas time, I thought that I had to read this book and finished, and also because In this class we had to read one for Christmas. Captain Alatriste, the book, was written by Arturo Pérez Reverte, a Spanish writer born in 1951. The book it was written in Spanish but different copies were made in different languages. The book was not to long, and also the vocabulary was easy to read. Captain Alatriste is the story of a fictional seventeenth-century Spanish soldier who, after being wounded in battle during the Thirty Years' War, is forced to retire from the army. Now he lives the comparatively tame - though hardly quiet - life of a swordsman-for-hire in Madrid. Approached with an offer of work, Alatriste is told to go with another hired blade to an unfamiliar part of the city at midnight and wait. They are received by men who explain that they want Alatriste and his companion to ambush two travelers the following evening, stage a robbery, and give the men a fright. "No blood," they are told. But then a third figure enters the room. He says the job requires some clarification: he increases the pay, and tells them that, instead, they must murder the two travelers. Then he reveals his identity: Emilio Bocanegra. It is a name synonymous with the Spanish Inquisition, the bloodiest name in Europe. This is a man whose requests cannot be denied. But the following night, with the attack imminent, it becomes clear to Alatriste that these aren't ordinary travelers. And what happens next is only the first in a series of riveting twists and turns, with implications that will reverberate throughout the courts of Europe. I really liked this book because I like the adventures and this book is all about surviving without money and also about a hero who needs to defend two important persons from a bad Italian guy. I spend some time trying to remember all the characters but this was one of the biggest difficulties I had reading this book. Also there was a problem which was my mother bought this book for me In USA because I had to learn some English to enter to my book so the level of the book is not to high. I like how the author describe the situation is happening in the book, the ways he describes the characters and also because the vocabulary he used was easy to understand. I know that this book is also written in Spanish, which is the original language of this book but there is something good about it and it’s that if there are some part of the books that I don´t get, I can read the Spanish book because then I could understand what is happening in the story. The story occurs in the seventeen century in Spain. I would recommend this book to people around my age because if they are too small it might be violent and if you are older, they might wanted to read something else. For the future, I want to read more books because this will make my English improve, easier to learn other languages, improve my grammar and also easier to remember things. I want to read other books in English because apart the books that we read in English class I think I need to read more. English is my third language and I can read books with a higher level because this also will make me improve and also because I like reading and for this New Year I will try to read more because it is something that I enjoy doing.
(less)

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Jan 14, 2013 Edu Torras marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Before I moved to USA, My English level was really low. Teachers told me that the best way to improve my English skills was by reading. My grammar was also bad and my mother decided to buy books in English to read them. My mom bought me a lot of books and I read some of them but not all. When I moved back to Barcelona, in BFIS, we study in Spanish history about Captain Alatriste last year. My mom bought me Captain Alatriste in USA, so I thought that this summer was a good idea to read this book,...more Before I moved to USA, My English level was really low. Teachers told me that the best way to improve my English skills was by reading. My grammar was also bad and my mother decided to buy books in English to read them. My mom bought me a lot of books and I read some of them but not all. When I moved back to Barcelona, in BFIS, we study in Spanish history about Captain Alatriste last year. My mom bought me Captain Alatriste in USA, so I thought that this summer was a good idea to read this book, because after studying it in geography, it would be easier to understand the story. Beginnings of summer I started to read the two chapters but I did not wanted to read the book because I was too lazy to do it. In Christmas time, I thought that I had to read this book and finished, and also because In this class we had to read one for Christmas. Captain Alatriste, the book, was written by Arturo Pérez Reverte, a Spanish writer born in 1951. The book it was written in Spanish but different copies were made in different languages. The book was not to long, and also the vocabulary was easy to read. Captain Alatriste is the story of a fictional seventeenth-century Spanish soldier who, after being wounded in battle during the Thirty Years' War, is forced to retire from the army. Now he lives the comparatively tame - though hardly quiet - life of a swordsman-for-hire in Madrid. Approached with an offer of work, Alatriste is told to go with another hired blade to an unfamiliar part of the city at midnight and wait. They are received by men who explain that they want Alatriste and his companion to ambush two travelers the following evening, stage a robbery, and give the men a fright. "No blood," they are told. But then a third figure enters the room. He says the job requires some clarification: he increases the pay, and tells them that, instead, they must murder the two travelers. Then he reveals his identity: Emilio Bocanegra. It is a name synonymous with the Spanish Inquisition, the bloodiest name in Europe. This is a man whose requests cannot be denied. But the following night, with the attack imminent, it becomes clear to Alatriste that these aren't ordinary travelers. And what happens next is only the first in a series of riveting twists and turns, with implications that will reverberate throughout the courts of Europe. I really liked this book because I like the adventures and this book is all about surviving without money and also about a hero who needs to defend two important persons from a bad Italian guy. I spend some time trying to remember all the characters but this was one of the biggest difficulties I had reading this book. Also there was a problem which was my mother bought this book for me In USA because I had to learn some English to enter to my book so the level of the book is not to high. I like how the author describe the situation is happening in the book, the ways he describes the characters and also because the vocabulary he used was easy to understand. I know that this book is also written in Spanish, which is the original language of this book but there is something good about it and it’s that if there are some part of the books that I don´t get, I can read the Spanish book because then I could understand what is happening in the story. The story occurs in the seventeen century in Spain. I would recommend this book to people around my age because if they are too small it might be violent and if you are older, they might wanted to read something else. For the future, I want to read more books because this will make my English improve, easier to learn other languages, improve my grammar and also easier to remember things. I want to read other books in English because apart the books that we read in English class I think I need to read more. English is my third language and I can read books with a higher level because this also will make me improve and also because I like reading and for this New Year I will try to read more because it is something that I enjoy doing.(less)

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Jul 27, 2012 Israel Carlock rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Definitely it is good idea to give it the benefit of the doubt. I haven't read it in English but the Spanish version is great, specially this one, the first volume of the saga. I was amazed by the intrigues of the king cortisans, the prime minister (valido) and the description of the saint inquisition Father. It is full of stocades, treachery, conspiracy,passion and good intertextual references to the classic spanish writers. Quevedo himself is a great character and it is no waste to witness his...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Madeleine Decker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: espagne, roman-historique

Dans cette Espagne autrichienne du 1er tiers du 17eme siècle, exaltée et corrompue, la religion et l`immoralité marchent main dans la main.
Royaume de l`ignorance, de la stupidité et de la superstition, le St-Office et le pouvoir royal se croisent ou s`affrontent. Et dans les deux cas, il n`y a pires méchants que ceux qui se couchent la conscience tranquille.
Cette Espagne est le royaume de toutes ces classes sociales à la superbe et fierté mal placées. La haute, les coquins, les coupe-jarrets de...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Olly Cooper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My £2 copy of Captain Alatriste puffed "relaxed literary fun" from its back cover. Whether its positioning of itself as a literature lover's guilty pleasure is justified isn't really for me to say; the amount of Biggles books on my shelf disqualifies me from making that judgement I think.

However, having chomped through one and a half Dan Brown thrillers, leavened by Answer to Job by C.G. Jung, I was in dire need of something from the middle ground, and Captain Alatriste very much delivered. The...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Amanda P rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book portrayed an era I've been slightly obsessed with of late, mainly because of Velazquez's paintings and his use of lighting. It becomes very easy therefore to picture the scenes of the book in a certain way. For me, a strong sense of atmosphere in storytelling is very important, and this book just has it. I guessed the twist in the story about a third of the way through because it's so classic, and yet it kept me thoroughly entertained. The 13-year-old narrator clearly idolized Alatrist...more

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Apr 17, 2009 John rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Last year I enjoyed this author's The Club Dumas quite a lot, so had high hopes for this one. They were, alas, moderately dashed. It sets out to be a rattling Dumas-style adventure in 1620s Madrid, as the ex-soldier-now-paid-thug Alatriste accepts an assassination commission from which, at the very last minute, he pulls back, thereby finding himself in hot water as powerful forces within the Spanish court both fume that he's disobeyed their murderous instructions and realize that he's in a posit...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Patrick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some of Perez-Reverte's books are really great - Club Dumas and Seville Communion are among my favorites. Perhaps because I liked them so much, I am feeling disappointed by, and pretty critical of, this one.

In many of his novels, there is an undercurrent of misogyny, which may just be Spanish, or may be his problem. This book adds misanthropy as well, and unfortunately does not have the quality of prose to make up for it. In addition, I am still not sure whether he is fawning over the so-called...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Aries rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzo

Regalatomi da una cara amica, Capitano Alatriste, di Arturo Pérez – Reverte, è un romanzo affascinante che si pone l’obiettivo di trasportare il lettore nella Spagna del XVII secolo e di avvolgerlo in tipiche avventure di cappa e spada.
Un romanzo che rappresenta il primo volume di un ciclo ed, in quanto tale, presenta pregi e difetti cui ognuno può dare un peso diverso.
Personalmente l’ho trovato sicuramente ben scritto e scorrevole, con un protagonista più che notevole e dei personaggi di contor...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-translation, historical-fiction

Enjoyable, adventurous historical fiction. The narrator is very well done, an older and accomplished man telling the story of a man he much admired during his youth, so that the narration manages to sound both like the story told by an older man, and yet strongly contain the admiration of a boy for a hero. The adventure itself, as with the start of many series, is more the promise of things to come than a full story itself, but the promise is very strong. I look forward to reading the next.

Rever...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

If you read The Queen of the South (***1/2 Sept/Oct 2004), you already know what a sure, confident writer P_

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Mar 13, 2011 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Arturo Perez-Reverte's "Captain Alatriste" takes place in 17th century Madrid amid corruption, deceit and political intrigue. Alatriste returned from a battle in Fleurus wounded but not broken. He still considers himself a courageous soldier. He has found his only means of survival now to be his sword.

The story is narrated by "Inigo", the son of Alatriste's deceased friend Lope Balboa, who was sent to
Alatriste when he was thirteen years old by his mother. Alatriste had promised to take care of h...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Blue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Simonetta

Shelves: historic-fiction, adventure, read-in-english

I read this book in English, because I thought the Spanish of maritime adventures of a captain might be too hard for me to understand. Well, I suppose I learned my lesson to look up the plot a bit more carefully before making such conclusions. Yes, Alatriste is a "captain" of sorts, but not a ship captain. Duh! The plot is a solid, simple intrigue, the characters well-done, the storyline is neither overly adventurous, nor too academic. For me, it was the right balance between action and historic...more

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Aug 15, 2010 Mark rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started out liking this book a lot, thinking "four stars". But as I read, it gradually dwindled down to three and then two. It's not a bad book, but I think my time could have been spent better.

Unlike the Arturo Perez-Reverte novel I read most recently The Queen of the South, this one is more entertainment than literature. It focuses on a scarred and taciturn war veteran scrabbling for a living in 17th-Century Madrid by hiring out his sword. The story is told, primarily, from the POV of a 13-...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Simon Acland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Captain Alatriste is the first of a series of books featuring the eponymous hero, an ex-soldier from the Spanish army of Philip IV. Set in the Madrid of the 1620's it is told through the eyes of Alatriste's page/servant, the orphan of a former comrade-at-arms, aged, in this book, 13. One could quibble about some of the technical issues around the narrator (there are many scenes in which the narrator is not present, for example, and it is a little hard to believe that the taciturn Alatriste would...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Moonglum rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

This book will buckle the swash of the most daring caballero.

Favorite quotes:

"In fact, the next day I found a fine dagger on my pillow, recently purchased on Calle de los Espaderos: damascened handle, steel cross guard, and a long, finely tempered blade, slim and double edged. It was one of those daggers our grandfathers called misericordia, for it was used to put caballeros fallen in battle out of their misery. That was the first weapon I ever possessed, and I kept it, with great fondness, for...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, spanish

It is interesting how we come to read certain books - we like the cover, the bumf on the back sounds interesting, people are talking about it... In this case I saw the film - "The Spanish Musketeer". I thought the film was brilliant with one or two moments (especially the battle of Rocroi) which were an epiphany for me. I looked up Arturo Pérez-Reverte and became interested in the fact that he had decided to write the Captain Alatriste series because he was disgusted at the poor level of knowled...more It is interesting how we come to read certain books - we like the cover, the bumf on the back sounds interesting, people are talking about it... In this case I saw the film - "The Spanish Musketeer". I thought the film was brilliant with one or two moments (especially the battle of Rocroi) which were an epiphany for me. I looked up Arturo Pérez-Reverte and became interested in the fact that he had decided to write the Captain Alatriste series because he was disgusted at the poor level of knowledge of Spanish History, especially of the "Golden Era" that Spanish youth had; it was his equivalent of Dumas (or Sienkiewicz... or the Flashman series). I was hooked - I had to read the first in the series.
I realised that my reading experience would be very different to the film (it is, I feel, obvious when you watch it that it is a "compilation" of all the books), and part of me initially said I wish I hadn't watched the film, but that feeling soon passed away as I became involved in this very well written story.
Perez-Reverte is a very good writer. The story is written in a very casual manner, as though you are sat with the narrator, in a bar, as he chats about this character, Alatriste. The book sucks you in in a very relaxed way and before you know it you want to know what happens next. The storyline is simple but the plot is complicated and the society that
Perez-Reverte depicts is verging on the psychotic. Murder and assassination seem to be everyday and a man has to be able to handle a sword whether he's a soldier home from the wars in Flanders or a poet.
Like Dumas and co, Perez-Reverte's story is based on historical facts that can be researched and validated separately. "Captain Alatriste" is a simple introduction to his character - quiet, thoughtful, slightly scurrilous, loyal yet no flunky - and to the world he lives in. He becomes pulled into a political and religious intrigue and partly extricates himself as a result of his quick wits... as if that were all there were to it...
I thoroughly recommend this book to lovers of Historical Fiction and shall certainly be reading the rest of the series over the months to come.(less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Pondering Pig Newton rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-miscellaneous

Sort of a hodge podge - part adventure story, part court gossip from the early 17th century. I found the court gossip to be mildly entertaining, the adventure pretty routine. Alatriste is an out-of-work soldier taking on professional sword-fighting assignments for some bucks, but is too honorable to make a good assassin and ends up getting in trouble with some power brokers at court. The characters are over-the-top, especially the head of the local Inquisition who is written like the villain fro...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Chuck rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Antes que nada, debo decir que creo que la narración de El capitán Alatriste es excelente. De eso no tengo queja.

Pero, por otra parte, puedo concentrar en cuatro las razones por las que quedé insatisfecho con este libro:

1. Lo leí inmediatamente después de terminar la lectura de El Club Dumas, libro que me fascinó y que me emocionó grandemente, y que dejó la vara muy alta. Comparando ambos libros salió perdiendo El capitán Alatriste.

2. Se me hizo que tiene demasiada historia secundaria alrededor

...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Penny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-adventure

ooohhh, Richard Sharpe meets Jack Aubrey in 17th Century Spain....

Swashbucking entertainment with a dark side.

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Oct 24, 2011 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really want to give it a four, but I found myself bored too often. For me, I think there were too many instances of poetry thrown in, allusions to events that happen in possible future books, and meandering into asides about one character or another. On their own and not done quite as often, these things would be fine, but the truly engaging parts of the book contained Captain Alatriste and all these other things kept interrupting. I think my major problem is that this book focused too much on...more

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Historical Fictio...: Potboilers in the vein of Alatriste?	13	101	Sep 27, 2012 10:35pm

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Trivia About El capitán Alatriste

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“No era el hombre más honesto ni el más piadoso, pero era un hombre valiente.” — 8 people liked it

“It was one of Diego Alatriste's virtues that he could make friends in Hell.” — 3 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/785479.El_capit_n_Alatriste?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345115737l/785479.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/785479.El_capit_n_Alatriste?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]El capitán Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte[/url]

El capitán Alatriste (Adventures of Captain Alatriste #1)

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Trivia About El capitán Alatriste

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