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The first in a magnificent series
of historical novels from the acclaimed, bestselling author
of The Club Dumas and The Queen of the South.
Captain Alatriste is the story
of a fictional seventeenth-century Spanish soldier who, after
being wounded in battle during the Thirty Years' War, is forced
to retire from the army. Now he lives the comparatively tame-though
hardly quiet-life of a swordsman-for-hire in Madrid. Approached
with an offer of work, Alatriste is told to go with another
hired blade to an unfamiliar part of the city at midnight
and wait. They are received by men who explain that they want
Alatriste and his companion to ambush two travelers the following
evening, stage a robbery, and give the men a fright. "No
blood," they are told.
But then a third figure enters the room.
He says the job requires some clarification: he increases
the pay, and tells them that, instead, they must murder the
two travelers. Then he reveals his identity: Emilio Bocanegra.
It is a name synonymous with the Spanish Inquisition, the
bloodiest name in Europe. This is a man whose requests cannot
be denied.
But the following night, with the attack
imminent, it becomes clear to Alatriste that these aren't
ordinary travelers. And 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.
For anyone who loves the work of Arturo
Pérez-Reverte-and those who have not yet discovered
the delights of this extraordinary writer-Captain Alatriste
is one of the most stylish, singular pleasures to come along
in years.
Arturo Perez-Reverte lives
near Madrid. Originally a war correspondent, he now writes
fiction full-time. His novels include The Flanders Panel,
The Club Dumas, The Fencing Master, The
Seville Communion, The Nautical Chart, and The
Queen of the South. In 2002, he was elected to the Spanish
Royal Academy.
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