In the cosmopolitan world of seventeenth-century Madrid, Captain Alatriste and his protégé Íñigo are fish out of water. But the king is determined to keep Alatriste on retainer--regardless of whether his "employment" brings the captain uncomfortably close to old enemies. Alatriste begins an affair with the famous and beautiful actress, María Castro, but soon discovers that the cost of her favors may be more than he bargained for--especially when he and Íñigo become unwilling participants in a court conspiracy that could lead them both to the gallows.
"Pérez-Reverte's moody, wounded semi-hero--part cantankerous mercenary, part man of honor in a roiling society of pomp, pistols, and provocation--is a whole-cloth invention out ofa17th-century Madrid that has led to a 21st-century literary phenomenon....The clash and dash are thrilling; the swordplay is a bonus."--Entertainment Weekly
"High-level intrigue and double-dealing in the tradition of Alexandre Dumas."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Though Pérez-Reverte fills the swashbuckling story with nonstop action, Captain Alatriste is also a contemplation of life and death, which adds depth to the good, unclean fun."--The Miami Herald
"Pérez-Reverte's pacing is swift and suspenseful, the narrative voice both crisply cinematic and true to the setting of seventeenth-century Spain...a feast of dark historical detail and believable danger."--The Denver Post