Captain Alatriste


In Spain, the fictional character, Captain Alatriste, has appeared on stamps. And now, the biggest budget film ever produced by Spain is being made about the man, starring Viggo Mortensen (of Lord of the Rings fame).
So who is this man?
He’s the creation of Arturo Perez-Reverte, the Spanish writer, some of who’s books I’ve previously read and enjoyed (The Seville Communion, The Flanders Panel, and The Dumas Club). Captain Alatriste is his version of Alexander Dumas’ musketeers books.
Set in seventeenth century Spain, Alatriste is an ex-soldier, and general sword-for-hire. But he finds himself being drawn into a web of political machinations between the church and state. We learn his story through the eyes of the young Inigo, a lad he’s effectively forced to take on.
The book is a complete romp of a read, and the parallels to be drawn with The Three Musketeers are clear. There’s a Milady charater who we learn little about in this novel, but is obviously being set-up for later in the series, and a Richelieu character as well.
This is the first in a series that currently number five in Spanish, and are seemingly greeted locally in the way that we greet a new Harry Potter. A fun way to pass a couple of days’ journeys to and from work.


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