{"id":199,"date":"2006-02-20T20:34:45","date_gmt":"2006-02-21T03:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=199"},"modified":"2021-06-04T12:41:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T16:41:51","slug":"captain-alatriste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/199","title":{"rendered":"Captain Alatriste"},"content":{"rendered":"

Captain Alatriste<\/a><\/em> (1996) Arturo Perez-Reverte<\/a> translated by Margaret Sayers Peden<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My mistake came in reading this after reading Steven Brust<\/a>. Following one swashbuckling adventure with another is bound to lead to comparisons, and as there are few whose writing I love more than Steven Brust, anything else is going to come across as weak by comparison.<\/p>\n

Which is not to say that this is a weak book, because it isn’t. It is, in fact, an excellent book. It’s only failing was in not being another Steven Brust book, for which it can hardly be blamed.<\/p>\n

Inigo Balboa’s father was killed in battle, and Diego Alatriste y Tenorio–better known as Captain Alatriste– said he would care for Balboa’s young son, perhaps not realizing that Inigo’s mother would take him up on the offer. And so Inigo ends up a page of sorts to Captain Alatriste, who is residing in Madrid because the last injury he took is not healing well.<\/p>\n

As an ex-soldier, Captain Alatriste does not have a large number of job possibilities, and so he works as he can, when he can, living by the sword.<\/p>\n

My earlier comparison to Steven Brust’s The Phoenix Guards<\/em> would not be amiss, nor would a comparison to The Three Musketeers<\/em>, as Captain Alatriste<\/em> is a swashbuckling adventure, with plenty of fencing and a large dose of intrigue.<\/p>\n

What is interesting is that while I expected this book to be more like The Fencing Master<\/em>, I would have been hard pressed to recognize this as by the same author. The tone is very different, as is the style. The narrator is Inigo, who is relating the events years after they occurred, although he does relate Captain Aritriste’s thoughts and impressions, stating that these things were told to him later.<\/p>\n

What remains the same, however, is excellent storytelling, with a tale that immediately draws you in. And the writing was good as well. The following passage particularly struck me:<\/p>\n

I, at my tender age, still did not know that it is possible to speak harshly about what we love, precisely because of that love, and with the moral authority that love bestows upon us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although I did not enjoy this translation nearly as much as the translations of The Fencing Master<\/em> and The Flanders Panel<\/em>, the writing was still good–especially the poems. <\/p>\n

One thing I find curious, however, is the use of profanity. I loaned The Fencing Master<\/em> and The Flanders Panel<\/em> to my grandmother without hesitation, however, I am not sure about Captain Alatriste. Though I probably will loan her book, with a warning about the language, so she knows what to expect. I suppose, however, that as Captain Alatriste was a career soldier, a certain amount of vulgarity is to be expected. I suppose I simply was not expecting that much profanity in a swashbuckling adventure, and don’t know enough about the language spoken at the time to know which would be more valid.<\/p>\n

If you like adventure–especially with lots of fencing-then you’re going to like Captain Alatriste<\/em>. And I am looking forward to the next book, Purity of the Blood<\/em>.
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Captain Alatriste (1996) Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Sayers Peden My mistake came in reading this after reading Steven Brust. Following one swashbuckling adventure with another is bound to lead to comparisons, and as there are few whose writing I love more than Steven Brust, anything else is going to come across as weak by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,33,291,38],"tags":[98,405,99],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-historical","category-paper","category-translated","tag-arturo-perez-reverte","tag-margaret-sayers-peden","tag-spanish"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":338,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/338","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":0},"title":"Purity of the Blood","author":"Michelle","date":"January 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Purity of the Blood (1997) Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Sayers Peden Purity of the Blood is the second Captain Alatriste book. Inigo continues the story of Captain Alatriste, who remains in Madrid, still talking of returning to war, but still looking after Inigo, and still taking commissions to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fiction"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Purity-of-the-Blood.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":277,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/277","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":1},"title":"Zorro","author":"Michelle","date":"June 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Zorro (2005) Isabel Allende translated by Margaret Sayers Peden As I've mentioned before, I love swashbuckling adventures, and as swashbuckling adventurers go, Zorro is one of my favorites. Last summer, when \"The Legend of Zorro\" was out, I saw this book, but assumed it was related to the movie, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/Zorro-Allende.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/183","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":2},"title":"The Nautical Chart","author":"Michelle","date":"January 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nautical Chart (2000) Arturo Perez-Reverte Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden It took me awhile to get into The Nautical Chart. The other books I have read by Arturo Perez-Reverte have drawn me in immediately, but not so for this book. I started reading the book back in December, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fiction"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/Nautical-Chart.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1535,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1535","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":3},"title":"The Painter of Battles","author":"Michelle","date":"December 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Painter of Battles (2009) Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Sayers Peden Andres Faluques was a renowned war photographer, but after he retired, he decided to again take up painting, which he'd given up in his youth for photography, because although he was a proficient painter, he wasn't a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fiction"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/Painter-Battles.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3967,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3967","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":4},"title":"The Fencing Master","author":"Michelle","date":"August 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Fencing Master (1988) Arturo P\u00e9rez-Reverte translated by Margaret Jull Costa (1998) Don Jaime Astarloa is the fencing master of Madrid. He has a fencing school, and has private clients, including Luis de Ayala, the Marques de los Alumbres, but Don Jaime is getting old. His world is disappearing into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/07\/Fencing-Master.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":157,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/157","url_meta":{"origin":199,"position":5},"title":"The Flanders Panel","author":"Michelle","date":"November 8, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Flanders Panel (1990) Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Jull Costa I enjoyed The Fencing Master so much that I picked up The Flanders Panel and two other of Arturo Perez-Reverte's books to read, in the hopes that I would like them just as well. While restoring the painting \"The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Historical"","block_context":{"text":"Historical","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/historical"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/11\/Flanders-Panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}