El Capitan Alatriste (Las Aventuras Del Capitan Alatriste) (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Arturo Pérez-Reverte (Author)

Book Description

Series: Las Aventuras Del Capitan Alatriste | Publication Date: March 1997

Diego Alatriste is a swordsman in a dangerous and corrupt seventeenth-century Spain, where his services are requested to settle debts or restore a family's reputation. When he is hired by the Holy Inquisition to kill two mysterious travelers, guests of the British ambassador, he knows he is in serious trouble. A hard-to-put-down story.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: Spanish

Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: Alfaguara; 27 edition (March 1997)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 8420483532
• ISBN-13: 978-8420483535
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,467,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars El Capitan Alatriste, March 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: El Capitan Alatriste (Las Aventuras Del Capitan Alatriste) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Este es el primero de tres libros escritos por Pérez Reverte sobre el mismo personaje, Diego Alatriste, soldado español retirado. Pertenece al género que podría llamarse como de "el folletín resucitado", cuyo propósito parece ser únicamente entretener y divertir. El tema, aventuras de espadachines en el Madrid de Velázquez y Quevedo, es tratado hábilmente por Pérez Reverte, provocando una lectura ligera, rápida, pero nunca superficial. El retrato del Madrid "capital del mundo" es muy atractivo para todos aquellos que pertenecemos a la cultura hispana y ojalá despierte interés en los lectores por saber más de nosotros. Lo más interesante,en mi opinión, es la manera como se presentan los valores y los vicios netamente hispanos en un marco de aventuras de golpes y porrazos (o higadillos ensartados en hojas de acero de Toledo). Probablemente el autor se muera de risa si supiera que alguien opina ésto, pero leer este libro es casi como almorzarse una ensalada ligera de Unamuno, Octavio Paz, y La Guerra de las Galaxias. Una recomendación: incluir un glosario para aquellos que no estamos familiarizados con los el vocabulario de hace tres siglos, y, una felicitación a Pérez Reverte por haber conservado los términos correctos y no darnos "atole con el dedo".Ideal para pasarse un buen rato.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swashbuckling Adventure during Spain's Golden Age, December 1, 2004

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: El Capitan Alatriste (Las Aventuras Del Capitan Alatriste) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Home from the Wars in the Flanders, Diego Alatriste y Tenorio makes his living as a hired swordsman. His clients include irate husbands and lenders who have problems collecting their debts. Capitan Alatriste is the archetypal veteran warrior home from the wars. He is skilled in his craft and he lives quietly by his warrior's code. We have all seen this character played in numerous movies by Toshiro Mifune, Clint Eastwood and Gary Cooper.

What makes the Diego Alatriste character interesting and sets him apart, is that he is an active participant in Spain's Golden Age. His friends include the poet Miguel de Quevedo, the dramatist Lope de Vega and the young painter Diego Velasquez. With this novel, the reader gets both a good swashbuckling adventure and a history lesson. This is one of those novels where the atmosphere is as good as the action.

At 237 pages, this is a very accessable novel for non native speakers of Spanish. One needs only a few years of college Spanish and access to a good dictionary to look up the more archaic Spanish terms. For those interested in reading the whole Alatriste series, I would recommend reading Marcelin Defourneaux's "Daily Life in Spain during the Golden Age". This will help put the series in its proper context.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Acción, historia y aventura, February 14, 2001

By 

Eduardo J. Tellez A (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: El capitán Alatriste (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

En esta primera aventura, Diego Alatriste deberá cumplir un misterioso encargo entre conspiraciones, azares y emboscadas en estrechos callejones, entre el brillo de los aceros, en las tabernas donde Francisco de Quevedo compone sonetos entre pendencias y botellas de vino, y en los corrales de comedias donde las representaciones de Lope de Vega terminan a cuchilladas. Acción, historia y aventura se dan cita en estas páginas inolvidables. Si te gusto y quedastes facinado y no pudistes saciar tu hambre por mas aventuras del Capitan Diego A. puedes seguir sus historias en los siguientes libros del mismo autor LIMPIEZA DE SANGRE y EL SOL DE BREDA.