"No era el hombre más honesto ni el más piadoso, pero era un hombre valiente"... Con estas palabras empieza El capitán Alatriste, la historia de un...
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reviews
Jun 08, 2008
Peter
rated it: 
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 thro More...
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 thro More...
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Feb 19, 2008
Jessie
rated it: 
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 gran More...
The narrator in the story is recounting tales from his youth - so it's a little like listening to my gran More...
Dec 26, 2007
Sarah
rated it:
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 do
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Dec 10, 2011
Algernon
rated it: 
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.
Capta More...
Capta More...
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May 25, 2011
Dirk
rated it:
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:
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
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Aug 13, 2011
Madeleine
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
Jun 15, 2011
Olly
rated it:
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 ver More...
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 ver More...
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Aug 19, 2010
Amanda
rated it:
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
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Apr 17, 2009
John
rated it:
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 More...
Dec 04, 2008
Patrick
rated it:
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 t More...
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 t More...
Feb 05, 2009
If you read The Queen of the South (***1/2 Sept/Oct 2004), you already know what a sure, confident writer P_rez-Reverte is. In fact he is one of the few authors about whom the appellation "international best-seller" actually means something. Captain Alatriste, which has sold over a million copies in Spain, is just now being released across the ocean. Reviewers seem confident that American readers will gobble it up as well. The historical detail is engaging, but never heavy-handed. The
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Mar 13, 2011
Linda
rated it:
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. More...
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. More...
Sep 06, 2011
Blue
rated it:
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 an
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Aug 15, 2010
Mark
rated it:
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, More...
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, More...
Mar 06, 2009
Mic
rated it:
Audiobook; narrated by Scott Brick
First off: I normally don't read historical fiction books. I have nothing against them, but sometimes they just don't attract my attention or hold it long enough for me to care about the characters. I blame this on having to read too much "great literature" during my years as an English Lit major. Most of that great literature sucked and was boring beyond reprieve.
Secondly, This book is written in the first person and the narrator, More...
First off: I normally don't read historical fiction books. I have nothing against them, but sometimes they just don't attract my attention or hold it long enough for me to care about the characters. I blame this on having to read too much "great literature" during my years as an English Lit major. Most of that great literature sucked and was boring beyond reprieve.
Secondly, This book is written in the first person and the narrator, More...
Feb 03, 2010
Simon
rated it:
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
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Jan 12, 2012
Mieczyslaw
rated it:
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
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Oct 03, 2011
Pondering Pig
rated it:
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
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Oct 18, 2009
Clif
rated it:
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 ch
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Oct 24, 2011
Kim
rated it:
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
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Nov 19, 2010
Matthew
rated it:
Thoroughly enjoyable. Perez-Reverte's books have always skirted the line between genre mystery and literature. This is not a work of exhaustively researched and exhaustively detailed historical fiction, and yet, so skillful and subtle is the author that the environment is completely convincing and enthralling. He manages to do this while telling a mystery, albeit a small one, in the same amount of space it takes many of the more long-winded historical fiction writers to clear their throats in
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Mar 23, 2011
Justin
rated it:
This is the first novel I have read by Perez-Reverte. I picked it up for a couple of bucks at a local discount store about 6 months ago and I finally decided to read it.
The story takes place in 17th century Madrid, Spain shortly after the 80-Years War and during the close of the "Spanish Golden Age". The story is told in retrospect by Inigo, who lived with the title character during his early adolescent years. The plot is very simple and mixed in with a lot of Spanish More...
The story takes place in 17th century Madrid, Spain shortly after the 80-Years War and during the close of the "Spanish Golden Age". The story is told in retrospect by Inigo, who lived with the title character during his early adolescent years. The plot is very simple and mixed in with a lot of Spanish More...
Feb 08, 2010
Spencer
rated it:
The first adventure of Captain Alatriste was enjoyable. It is a quick read through a pretty short book. Perez-Reverte's tone is pitch-perfect, his narrative voice is right-on, and his characters are real and well-written. The sword fights are great, and the sense of adventure is high.
However, I felt myself a little bogged down as Perez-Reverte keeps quoting poetry and explaining the attitudes and mores of the Spanish (capital P) People to the audience. I wanted more swash-buckl More...
However, I felt myself a little bogged down as Perez-Reverte keeps quoting poetry and explaining the attitudes and mores of the Spanish (capital P) People to the audience. I wanted more swash-buckl More...
Aug 06, 2011
Giovaennchen
rated it:
Durante muchos años fui aficionada a los libros sobre espadachines y piratas, con historias románticas al rededor, pero cuando leí el Capitán Alatriste quedé impactada. Es el comienzo de una serie de aventuras descritas desde una perspecitva un poco diferente, más realista, menos romántica, sobre un espadachín a sueldo, quien sin embargo tiene su propia filosofía y moral, que lo llevan a tomar decisiones poco diplomáticas pero justas, las que a su vez desencadenarán en problemitas. Las descripci
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Sep 17, 2009
Bruce
rated it: 
This slight volume did not do it for me, as historical fiction or as an adventure story. Although there were many loving descriptions of 17th century Madrid, there were neither sufficient details nor atmosphere to make the era, the place, or the book come alive. Perhaps it works better in the original Spanish. There are also POV problems, as the book is narrated by Captain Alatriste's friend, looking back over the years. However, this friend was not present for the book's central events, so the
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Mar 22, 2011
Jonah
rated it:
I found this to be a fun story, but it seemed more like the preamble to the real story, which follows in subsequent books, or so I am guessing. As with other books by Arturo Pérez-Reverte that I have read, I sometimes find myself tuning out when his prose becomes more flowery than expositional. I was also a bit turned off by frequent foreshadowing (sometimes to seemingly irrelevant Spanish history, sometimes to the characters themselves), but again, hopefully this mainly occurs in this first int
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Feb 25, 2011
Mike
rated it:
I have to say that I was very disappointed in this book. I had read the Flanders Pane by Perez-Reverte and thought I had found a new favorite author. This book s was a big let down from my first impressions. It seems as if this book was the first part of a story that needed to continue on. The action was too infrequent, and there were way too many digressions that talk about Spanish history or Spanish life that really were not that interesting. I think that if I was a Spanish citizen, I may
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Oct 24, 2009
Tom
rated it:
Captain Alatriste is the story of a fictional seventeenth-century Spanish soldier who lives as a swordsman-for-hire in Madrid. Needing gold to pay off his debts, Alatriste and another hired blade are paid to ambush two travelers, stage a robbery, and give the travelers a fright. “No blood,” they are told.
Then a mysterious stranger enters to clarify the job: he increases the pay, and tells Alatriste that, instead, he must murder the two travelers. When the attack unfolds, Alatriste r More...
Then a mysterious stranger enters to clarify the job: he increases the pay, and tells Alatriste that, instead, he must murder the two travelers. When the attack unfolds, Alatriste r More...
Feb 06, 2011
Carl
rated it:
I remember liking the Flanders Panel (and couldn't seem to get going with the Club Dumas), so picked this up at a discount for a trip.
"Fast paced...swashbuckling" Seriously??
The plot was very thin, very slow, and there really wasn't a lot of action.
This was more a historical period-piece fiction, describing (complete with quotes of poetry and theater) Madrid in the the early 1600's, along with general philosophical commentary from the narrator, who is writing many years More...
"Fast paced...swashbuckling" Seriously??
The plot was very thin, very slow, and there really wasn't a lot of action.
This was more a historical period-piece fiction, describing (complete with quotes of poetry and theater) Madrid in the the early 1600's, along with general philosophical commentary from the narrator, who is writing many years More...
