by Arturo Perez - Reverte (Author)
Flanders, 1625. After his tussles with the Inquisition and the intrigue of the Spanish court, Captain Alatriste has returned to the mud and desperation of the long war in Flanders. This is Inigo's first experience of war and the realities of hand to hand combat. It is on the battlefield that he will finally have the chance to become a man and prove his worth. The troops are weary and ill-nourished and the winter has been long. As Spain sinks ever further into depravity and corruption, the soldiers have not been paid and must survive by whatever ways they can. Mutiny is in the air, on the lips of every Spaniard but they are strong and their famous iron discipline has brought them many victories against the Calvinist forces of the heretics. Reputation, honour, and the glory of Spain will keep them in the fight, but for how long? Meanwhile, the Captain's trusted friend Quevedo's star is rising at court and he keeps Alatriste appraised of the machinations of his arch-enemy Luis de Alquezar and the notorious assassin with the black heart, Gualterio Malatesta.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Edition: First UK Edition
Publisher: W&N
Published: 08 Mar 2007
ISBN 10: 029784864X
ISBN 13: 9780297848646
Book Overview: The Captain Alatriste series goes from strength to strength. It is gaining fans throughout the trade. The film starring Viggo Mortensen has just come out in Spain and has broken all box office records for first week takings there. It also premiered at the Venice and Toronto festivals. Alatriste novels have now sold 5 million copies in Spanish language alone Sales in the UK are building, with over 30,000 of the paperback of Captain Alatriste sold so far. 'In his hard-boiled, mordantly funny, unapologetically entertaining Captain Alatriste series, Perez-Reverte firmly buckles his swash and swaggers into the muddy, bloody streets of 17th Century Madrid' Time 'This is fiction that can be enjoyed on several levels: as a poignant evocation of doomed imperial splendour; as a clever literary game; as a parable about racism past and present; or as a simple tale of swashbuckling derring-do' Sunday Times