Customer Reviews

Love-at-Arms (Large Print Edition)

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This novel made me lose several hours of sleep, an experience I frequently pay good money for in an adventure story, but I got the deprivation for free in this very nice Kindle edition. This copy is flawed in a number of places, but not frustratingly so, considering the price. The adventure shines through.

Set in Italy during the the Borgia ascendance, "Love-at-Arms" explores the era well in ways that aren't presented much today, so it feels fresh over a century after it was first published. The pious fraud of Sforza, his nonpareil condottieri cousin (the hero), the bully with a loyal heart condottieri, and the tremendous self-deception of the courtier all feel much fresher today than they once did.

It is also interesting to note the differences in emphasis between this work, which was written before Sabatini's wartime service, and later works like "Captain Blood". The depiction of revolutions is a common theme in Sabatini's work, and how he approaches usurping unjust authority is worth more examination than is available in this review.

"Love-at-Arms" does touch on the price paid by people of integrity when they decide to take charge, and it is worth noting how that reflects a number of conditions today. Of course it has probably always been true that duty is heavier than mountains and unscrupulous behavior is lighter than a feather.

Even within his lifetime Sabatini was criticized by the literati for his stilted prose and melodramatic plots. The general public, however, paid little attention to the critics and soon made the author a household name. As a writer, however, Sabatini matured as he grew older; his prose grew more sophisticated and his plots more intricate. As a result he became somewhat abashed over the works of his "literary nonage."

Having been forewarned that his early novels lack both the polish and sparkle of his later works, I approached Love-at-Arms (1907) with a charitable mind. I was surprised, however, to find it much more polished and sophisticated than I imagined. His somewhat stilted prose suits well his subject matter, and even makes it a bit of a romp. The plot is tight and well-constructed, replete with those Sabatiniesque twists and turns.

In short, while it cannot be compared to later works of the author at his height, Love-at-Arms is still an enjoyable read, and fans of the author will find much to delight in.

This is another great Rafael Sabatini book. Full of romance, witty dialog, clever plot and thrilling adventure. If you've never read Sabatini before, try some of his stories.

I've tried to read this early Sabatini novel twice, but couldn't tolerate it. Sabatini is always perilously close to a parody of pompous pseudo-archaic style, but his charm is that he usually avoids it, even in his earlier works. In _Love-at-Arms_, however, he seems to be trying to be over the top; I'm afraid I had to give up at "But when presently he came nearer and looked with more intentness" in chapter five.