Is there any more romantic a hero than the lone swordsman? He stands silhouetted against the rays of the setting sun, his wide-brimmed plumed hat set at a rakish angle and his cloak decoratively draped over one shoulder.
From the Three Musketeers to Errol Flynn and Zorro, we have been seduced by their daring deeds and their manly mien. Ready at a moment's notice to risk all for God, King, justice, and a fair lady's blessing, the swordsman will leap into the fray. Pure of heart and noble of purpose, he is chivalry personified and an example for us all.
Now there is a new star to shine amongst the pantheon of heroic figures: Captain Diego Alatriste. Alatriste is the creation of Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte and his English-language debut is the book simply titled Captain Alatriste. How much this long overdue appearance owes thanks to the forthcoming movie starring Viggo Mortensen, as the good Captain, is doubtless just idle speculation.
Whatever the reasoning behind the appearance of book one last year, and number two (Purity Of Blood) this year, fans of a thinking person's adventure story have reason to be grateful. Arturo Perez-Reverte has created a character who goes far beyond the one-dimensional hero of the past, and takes the whole notion of the heroic swordsman and stands it on its ear.
Diego (the Captain is an honorific, he never was an officer in the army) Alatriste is a survivor of the first round of the Spanish wars in what we now know as the Netherlands. He has come home to Madrid to recover from a wound that has left him in pain, but has not disabled his abilities with a knife and a rapier.
In order to make ends meet he, like so many ex-soldiers he has become a sword for hire. For the right amount of money he will provoke a duel with anyone you want and dispatch them to greet their maker. Were you insulted at court? Has your wife been sleeping with someone you don't approve of? Diego will act as your means to reclaim honour.
Our hero is a hired killer, no more, no less. If the price is right, he will ensure that a person receives half a foot of good Toledo steel through their throat. He's a far cry from those gallants who never seem to have to earn money to make ends meet while they rescue damsels in distress or save the honour of the King.
Article comments
1 - Deano
Damn your nefarious ways Gypsyman!
Have you and the NSA been tapping my keyboard!
My planned Captain Alatriste review has now been skewered by your rapier-like wordy elegance! Curse you, you vocubulary-challenged fop and all your clumsy nouns and verbs...and those pointy little adverbs that are sprinkled across your prose like so much whimsy...
The gauntlet has now been thrown. You shall pay dearly for your literary transgressions, my friend.... I'll just have to pick up a copy of his next excellent book and review it ahead of you!
2 - me
Nice review. You have a way with words. I'm reading the second book now and really enjoyed the first. IMDb says movie comes out Dec. 06. Viggo Mortensen speaking Spanish for an hour and a half... oh my, how will I suffer through it? ;o)
3 - Raul Duran
Beautiful review, I completely agree with the points expressed as I am also a big fan of Alatriste and Reverte.
Reverte, being a great fan himself since his childhood, of swashbuckling adventures, admirer of Dumas and now, an avid book collector of any antique, strange and unique edition of "The Three
Musketeers" he can put his hands on, has finally made his dream come true and written a saga that will honor and delight his and each one of our inner children. And it is my humble opinion that he has done a wonderful job.
The only drawback I see in all this it is the translation. Being as accurate as it seems (from the little paragraph transcribed above, which I remember well in spanish) still there is so much you are losing in it.
The thing is that being an spanish author and this story based in the Spain of the XVIII century, Reverte has taken a great effort in replicate the mannerisms, grammar and slang of that "epoque" giving to the series a rich and colorful experience that have no alikeness in any other language.
Anyhow it is wonderful that many fellow readers as yourselves are being finally delighted with these editions which seem to have capture well the tone and rhythm of the story, so you fine gentlemen might not lose all the brilliance Reverte is capable of deliver. My kudos to the translators!.
I have the 4 books that have been published so far and I sincerely recommend each one of them. Also i recommend the "Fencing Master" which is in the same vein and which already has been adapted into a film by spanish director, Pedro Olea.
P.S. To my fellow readers which expressed concern about the book adaptation into the film called "Alatriste" I want to ease its worries.
The film has been adapted by Agustin Diaz-Yanes and fully aproved by Reverte himself and it is an Spanish production of 20 million of euros which make it the most costly cinematic experience ever done in the spanish filmography. It is to be released on September 2006 and it has generated great expectations.
Also one thing that not many know is that Viggo Mortensen lived for a long time in Argentina and the man speaks a wonderful spanish I can assure you.
As aparting gift here is a small "aperitif" for you to enjoy and, "On guard, hideputa!"
4 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
5 - gypsyman
Raul,
One of the things I didn't mention in the review, was the language. The translator did her best to maintain the feel of the 17th century with her use of English, in the mannerisms and turns of phrase. Obviously she didn't use Jacobean or Elizabethean language, because that would have made it inaccesible to most of the english speaking world, but I believe her attempt was highly successful.
Obviously English lacks the ability for elaboration and flow that any of the Romance languages are capable of, but the spirit was there.
Thanks for your kind words, about the review and I'm eagerly awaiting translations of books 3 & 4, and am hopeful of seeing a review copy of book Purity of Blood cross my desk some time in the near future.
The only thing that worries me about the movie is what we end up with here in North America. I'd much rather see a subtitled movie than something dubbed, but I fear it will be treated as a "foriegn" movie and get limited distribution, especially here in Canada where we do not have the Spanish speaking market of the States. Oh well there's always DVD.
gypsyman
6 - thadious
the book, so far is ok, im not very far into the book and it's gradually getting better at grabbing my attention,i think i might look into the movie to see how well it is. your review was most helpful in understanding the book.
-thanks