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Summary
Summary
From acclaimed and bestselling author Arturo PA(c)rez-Reverte comes the fourth adventure of Captain Alatriste, athe brooding, charismatic hero of his wildly successful Spanish swashbuckling novelsa (The New York Times). Arturo PA(c)rez-Reverte has enthralled readers and critics around the globe with his Captain Alatriste series. Having sold four and a half million copies to date in the Spanish-speaking world, the series has made PA(c)rez-Reverte a literary superstar and his fictional seventeenth-century mercenary a national icon. The Kingas Gold picks up in Seville, 1626. After serving with honor at the bloody siege of Breda, Captain Alatriste and his protA(c)gA(c), Inigo Balboa, have returned: battle-weary, short of cash, and with few prospects for honest work. But the Spanish empire is as dangerous as ever, and itas not long before Alatriste receives an intriguing offer of short-term employment. He and Inigo must recruit a dozen swordsmen and mercenaries for a risky job involving a dazzling amount of contraband gold and a heavily guarded Spanish galleon returning from the West Indies. The offer comes from the king himself, for at stake is nothing less than the Spanish Crown, and its dominion over the wealth of the Americas. The seedy taverns, the teeming prisons of Seville, the sand dunes of Guadalquivir find Alatriste, Inigo, and their motley band of cutthroats embarking on a new adventure, one that brings them surprising new alliances and perilous encounters with old enemies.
Author Notes
Novelist and former journalist Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez was born in Cartagena, Spain on November 25, 1951. He started his journalistic career writing for the Spanish newspaper Pueblo and later for Television Espanola - the Spanish state owned television, in the role of war correspondant. He worked as a war correspondent from 1973 to1994 before becoming a full-time writer. His first novel, El húsar, which was set in the Napoleonic Wars, was published in 1986, and he is well-known internationally for his popular Captain Alatriste fiction series, which takes place in 17th-century Europe. Pérez-Reverte has been elected to the Spanish Royal Academy.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Perez-Reverte, a former war correspondent, continues his popular Captain Alatriste series with a fourth swashbuckling volume (following The Sun over Breda). Diego Alatriste, a wily veteran of many 17th-century military campaigns, and his sidekick, Inigo Balboa--who narrates--have returned to Seville after fighting in the siege of Breda. With funds short, Alatriste accepts a dangerous mission to intercept a load of smuggled gold and deposit it in the royal coffers. Trolling the criminal underworld of Seville, Alatriste recruits a band of ruffians, and disguised as pirates, they prepare to slip aboard the ship transporting the gold, surprise and subdue the crew and beach the vessel. What Alatriste doesn't expect to find on board is his old adversary Gualterio Malatesta and a large contingent of mercenaries. Fans of the series have come to expect historical authenticity, crisp prose, complex characters, exotic settings and plenty of sanguinary action. They won't be disappointed. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
The fourth in Prez-Reverte's series of five historicals about the Spanish Captain Alatriste (The Sun Over Breda, 2007, etc.) is long on ambiance but short on plot. It's 1626 and Captain Alatriste and ›¿igo Balboa are arriving back in Spain after fighting in Flanders. Alatriste is now middle-aged, still laconic and increasingly world-weary, but as deadly as ever in battle. Balboa has come of age and is a practiced swordsman himself, thanks to Alatriste's tutelage. The Captain has been his surrogate father since his own father died on the battlefield. On reaching Seville, Alatriste receives a new assignment. The treasure fleet, bringing riches from the New World, is expected very soon. One galleon is carrying gold ingots in secret; the property of the Treasury is being unlawfully diverted. The court has gotten wind of the scheme, however; Alatriste must recruit a band of ruffians to retrieve the loot. That assault on the rogue galleon does not come until the end. In the interim the author shows us a corrupt society, awash in money, on "a slow road to nowhere." Spain, heedless of its soldiers' sacrifices, is "rarely a mother and more often a wicked stepmother." Yet Alatriste and his young disciple are themselves incorruptible, believing in honor and unwavering allegiance to the king, a tension at the heart of the story. Balboa is also in love, bewitched by his contemporary Anglica, maid of honor to the Queen, a love which almost costs him his life during a dangerous nocturnal tryst. That scene, and another in which Alatriste scares a corrupt merchant half to death, constitute the only action before the climax, and it's not enough. Just as disappointing is the author's refusal to penetrate the "personal wilderness" of the brooding Alatriste, a failure that is not disguised by the quirky charm of the interpolated snatches of verse, some of them from the celebrated playwright Lope de Vega. For all the author's customary elegance, this is one of the weaker novels in the series. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This Spanish author's fourth installment in his internationally popular series of works featuring seventeenth-century Spanish swordsman-for-hire Captain Diego Alatriste now makes its American appearance, and it lives up to, or perhaps even exceeds, the intense reader enticement established by its predecessors. The Spain that is the setting is a country in decline; on paper, Spain remains the center of a vast world empire, but, in truth, it is the head of a decaying colonial system of graft and corruption. Captain Alatriste and his devoted companion, Inigo Balboa (who tells the story here and who features in a side story of young love), have just returned to Seville from fighting the Dutch and English in Flanders when the captain is approached with a new offer. A certain grandee of Spain is, so King Philip III fears, plotting against him, and a load of contraband gold from the New World will certainly aid the high-standing nobleman's efforts against regal authority. The king wants Alatriste and any group of ruffians he can muster to snatch the shipment and hand it over to His Majesty. Off and running we are adventures and swordplay abound. As always in the series, the author deftly mixes the traits of historical fiction with those of the spy thriller.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2008 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Verdict: Laced with snippets of period poetry and descriptions of cities, geography, and historical figures, Perez-Reverte's fourth swashbuckling Captain Alatriste adventure (after Captain Alatriste, Purity of Blood, and The Sun Over Breda) immerses readers in the world of 17th-century swordplay and traitorous duplicity. Suitable for public libraries where the author's books and historical adventure fiction are popular. Background: Captain Alatriste and his young squire, IOigo Balboa Aguirre, tired and broke from the war in Flanders, arrive at the Spanish port of Cadiz. Alatriste is at home in Spain's mercenary world and soon finds work, hired by the King to intercept a Spanish galleon laden with contraband gold and silver returning from the West Indies. Vivid descriptions of the voyages, the Spanish underworld, the nobility's decadence, and the misery of the poor in 1630s Spain give the story realism. Despite the book's straightforward plot, readers unfamiliar with the previous series entries may find allusions to prior events (e.g., IOigo's fateful attraction to the queen's maid of honor) baffling and characters sketchily drawn; for example, Alatriste is depicted as a man of few words, often standing in the shadows in his black hat and cape. There is nothing here that explains why he remains hidden and silent, although it is a major part of his character.--Sally Bickley, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Corpus Christi (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.