Captain Alatriste
by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Captain Alatriste.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 415)
Read in October, 2007
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 do...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
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 grandmot...more
The narrator in the story is recounting tales from his youth - so it's a little like listening to my grandmot...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Yes!
I've read both the Spanish and English versions, and this translations was very good (by Margaret Sayers Peden).
Told by Inigo (no tilde available), page to the "Captain" Diego Alatriste y Tenorio, a war hero home after wounded in battle, who now hires out his sword. The period is Spain's golden age bringing to life its artists, royalty, poets and playwrights.
Though the plot that moves the story along takes place over little time, one discovers all about the page, Inigo, his ...more
Told by Inigo (no tilde available), page to the "Captain" Diego Alatriste y Tenorio, a war hero home after wounded in battle, who now hires out his sword. The period is Spain's golden age bringing to life its artists, royalty, poets and playwrights.
Though the plot that moves the story along takes place over little time, one discovers all about the page, Inigo, his ...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
Fans of Historical Thrillers, History majors, Spanish majors, Hispanic Studies majors, etc.
Through the eyes of Íñigo Balboa, page of the adventurous Captain Alatriste, a soldier for hire in 17th century Madrid, Pérez-Reverte lays out a huge history lesson, one that will not make you fall asleep. It is a time when Spain was one of the most powerful countries in the world, something that is usually skipped over in history class... The suspense filled plot and sword fighting scenes are entertaining. And Alatriste´s posy made up of Madrileños of all walks of life adds flavor to the s...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
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 ...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 throughout the book ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I first stumbled across Perez-Reverte after seeing the somewhat awkward film version of The Club Dumas. Even though I’ve been pleased with most of his books, I will admit that he frequently suffers from a tendency to get lost in his own plot intricacies. This is true to some extent with Captain Alatriste, though in all fairness, it is the first in a series and it’s likely we’ll see the stray threads tied up in future novels.
As always, Perez-Reverte is excellent at using devices to cre...more
As always, Perez-Reverte is excellent at using devices to cre...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Oh, I can so see Viggo playing Alatriste. I hope they keep the bathing scene at the beginning of the book in! The Alatriste series is, from what I understand, quite popular in Spain, but it took a movie to get them translated into English. But at least we'll have them! The story is set in 1623 Spain and Alatriste is a war veteran turned mercenary. He's hired, along with another mercenary, to kill two men whose identity are unknown to him. His new employers make it very difficult for him to refus...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I've really enjoyed Arturo Perez Reverte's other books so this one came as a real let down. While there were some interesting twists it really felt like it could have used some editing. A great deal of the book felt like it was just setting up for the sequel. Many allusions to future events were repeated over and over again and illumination took far to long to come about. Additionally the same character descriptions were repeated over and over in a way that felt almost condescending, or perh...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
this book tells a relatively simple story: a boy comes to madrid in the height of her golden age to serve as a page/helper/errand-runner to a sword-for-hire that was a buddy of his dad's back in the day; swashbuckling ensues. the story itself is rather good, but it's unnecessarily bogged down in random meanderings. apparently, the narrator is that same errand boy all grown up into an old man, and he tends to veer off the topic a good bit. i like a little embellishment for verisimilitude as mu...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
gloomy Spaniards in need of beach reading
Arturo Perez-Reverte is a good beach read, no matter how much the book jacket of Club Dumas tried to convince you he is the next Umberto Eco. I can't generally forgive anyone for being compared to Umberto Eco, because pretty much no one compares, intellectually. Even Eco frequently does not measure up to Eco.
Anyway, this book feels pretty double-spaced and thin on plot, because the plot has to last for another several books of the Alatriste series. However, in the best tradition of Sherlo...more
Anyway, this book feels pretty double-spaced and thin on plot, because the plot has to last for another several books of the Alatriste series. However, in the best tradition of Sherlo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2006
I will admit that I knew virtually nothing about Spanish history during this time period. I love reading historical fiction, but it's usually American history, with which I am fairly familiar. As a result, I didn't know which characters were historical figures (with the exception of the royalty) and which were fictional (aside from Alatriste and Íñigo, of course). This didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story, however! I love a good swashbuckling tale and Captain Alatriste certainly deli...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in May, 2008
Lean in every way. I feel he under describes the environment, gives the bare minimum character development, and the jump from beginning to middle to end is so brief, that you can't come away from the book without feeling mildly ripped off. It seems like only half of a book, like it's less of a true serial installment, and more an attempt to get the reader to buy multiple books. It's simple reading. Perhaps that has something to do with the translation. I came away from the book mildly enter...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
every Spanish reader with a pulse
I adore Pérez-Reverte's narration and his complete command of the Spanish language. Reading his books will improve your vocabulary and your appreciation of Spanish.
The characters are interesting and engaging. It's a short little book, kind of a novella with some extra meat on the bones. The plot twist happens at the end of the first third, so you are rooting for the right people for most of the book. The environment lives and breathes Siglo de Oro Madrid, warts and all.
Would recommend i...more
The characters are interesting and engaging. It's a short little book, kind of a novella with some extra meat on the bones. The plot twist happens at the end of the first third, so you are rooting for the right people for most of the book. The environment lives and breathes Siglo de Oro Madrid, warts and all.
Would recommend i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone with a taste for swashbuckling adventure!
I HEART this book and its sequels "The Purity of Blood" and "The Sun Over Breda." Perez-Reverte is a lover of the swashbucking adventures of Dumas's "The Three Muskateers" and has created his own tribute in Captain Alatriste, a lone sword-for-hire-with-a-heart trying to survive 17th century Spain. Accompanied by a motley crew from all classes and walks of life, he survives adventure after adventure with his honor intact, taking on authoritarian hyprocrites in the ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
I found this book in the bargain aisle at borders. I had actually picked up one of his earlier works "The Fencing Master" in the bargain pile years ago as well.They were definitely hidden treasures. I seem to have a particular fondness for latin authors. Particularly the Spanish Perez-Reverte and Ruiz-Zafon are two of my favorites. I need to suck it up and brush off those apanish textbooks from college, so I can read these in their original Spanish.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Good introduction to the characters and obvious that there are more books to come, but the characters are difficult to keep track of because their personalities are not clear. But an excellent evocation of time and place - you really feel, smell, and hear Spain under Philip IV and the tone is equal to Dumas. I think it is best to think of the work as the first chapter in a larger story. Also, the translation seems awkward at times.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2005
Arturo Perez-Reverte is one of my favorite authors. Captain Alatriste is cool, honorable, loves poetry and theatre, just a great swashbuckling character; and the story is narrated by his young page.
If you like AUDIO books, find Captain Alatriste! It is beautifully read by Scott Brick.
The Spanish film starring Viggo Mortensen should get to the U.S. eventually, but I don't think it could be as good as the book.
If you like AUDIO books, find Captain Alatriste! It is beautifully read by Scott Brick.
The Spanish film starring Viggo Mortensen should get to the U.S. eventually, but I don't think it could be as good as the book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I wanted to continue reading Arturo Perez-Reverte so I picked up this one. I immediately liked Alatriste. Swashbuckling adventure as well as court intrigue, history-lessons, and a study in morality. Set in 1600's when Spain was still powerful, and very catholic. If you liked the Musketeers, then you'll like this, as much is borrowed from it. I continued the series with the next two and can't wait for the new translation.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
An enjoyable, if ultimately forgettable, swashbuckler. It's major strong point is the setting of a vibrant and energetic 17th century Madrid juxtaposed with a pervasive sense of melancholy at what would eventually happen to the Spanish Empire within the narrator's lifetime.
If you're looking for historical fiction in a setting that doesn't get a lot of attention in the English speaking world, this is worth your time.
If you're looking for historical fiction in a setting that doesn't get a lot of attention in the English speaking world, this is worth your time.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Another solid thriller from Perez-Reverte, a deft storyteller who knows how to spin a yarn. A bestseller in Spain, it's a ripping swashbuckler set in Madrid of the 1600s, with plenty of court intrigue, Inquisition-fu, and literary rivalries to go with all that clanging steel and breathless bloodletting. Very diverting - I believe I may read the other two books in this series, featuring the same sword-for-hire hero.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
