Captain Alatriste

Description: A fictional 17th-century Spanish swordsman's instruction to frighten two travelers becomes a murder-for-hire. 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.

Review Quotes: Praise for Captain Alatriste

"Equipped with a quick-witted, charismatic hero and much to provoke and goad him, Mr. Pérez-Reverte has the makings of a flamboyantly entertaining series. Captain Alatriste ends with a wicked flourish, an evil laugh, and a strong likelihood that the best is yet to come."--The New York Times

"Pérez-Reverte's moody, wounded semi-hero--part cantankerous mercenary, part man of honor in a roiling society of pomp, pistols, and provocation--is a whole-cloth invention out ofa17th-century Madrid that has led to a 21st-century literary phenomenon....The clash and dash are thrilling; the swordplay is a bonus."--Entertainment Weekly

"High-level intrigue and double-dealing in the tradition of Alexandre Dumas."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Though Pérez-Reverte fills the swashbuckling story with nonstop action, Captain Alatriste is also a contemplation of life and death, which adds depth to the good, unclean fun."--The Miami Herald

"Pérez-Reverte's pacing is swift and suspenseful, the narrative voice both crisply cinematic and true to the setting of seventeenth-century Spain...a feast of dark historical detail and believable danger."--The Denver Post