Captain Alatriste

Arturo Perez-Reverte

Captain Diego Alatriste y Tenorio had been a good and lucky soldier in the war between Spain and Flanders. He received a wound that forced him to retire. Now, in the early seventeenth century, he lives in Madrid and is a swordsman for hire. He could be hired as a protector or as an assassin. Inigo Balboa's father had been in the militiary with Alatriste. The elder Balboa was killed. Now, in Madrid, Inigo Balboa is the Captain's young assistant or companion.

A friend of the Captain's passes on a message about an offered job. That evening the Captain meet in secret with another assassin, an Italian, and two masked men. The masked men want two English travelers robbed on their way in to Madrid. When the more important masked man leaves the meeting, another person comes in. He offers more money to have the Englishmen ambushed.

The Captain and the Italian set the trap. But things don't go as planned. Alatriste now is embroiled in a situation much worse than he ever expected when he had walked into the meeting with the masked men. Spanish and English relations, iffy at best, are now more threatened. Alastriste's life is also in jeopardy.

Arturo Perez-Reverte tells the tale in the first person narrative by a much older Balboa looking back on the exploits of his young self and his exceptional master. Perez-Reverte hits the right amount of reminisce and older commentary along with the youthful incredulity and hero-worship a boy on the brink of manhood has. There is a lot of swashbuckling and fun.

At times the book gets a bit sluggish, but I believe that is due to a faithful translation to English by Margaret Sayers Peden. It is difficult to translate nuances to another language. Peden has done an exceptional job, especially with the poetry throughout the book.

Captain Alatriste
Purity of Blood
The Sun Over Breda
The King's Gold
The Caballero in the Yellow Doublet