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A review by xoshea
Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
3.0
Last month, I read Isabella: The Warrior Queen in preparation for our trip to Spain.
I picked up this book because I wanted to get a historical glimpse into the period AFTER Isabella. I went with a novel because, well, why not? This was enjoyable. Swordplay, back-stabbing (literally), and conniving manipulations by all involved, from royalty, to aristocracy, to clergy!
That said, I have since discovered that it would have been BETTER if I'd read about The Spanish Golden Age (1520-ish to 1680-ish) before I started reading this book. Because, hello: the author references REAL people! Who knew!
Anyway, I am now back-filling on historical details, and will THEN continue through the Alatriste series, better armed (!) with a smidge more knowledge on the Hapsburgs, the Inquisition, the Reformation, and so forth.
All in all, a fun diversion and a nice way to see history through a different lens.
I picked up this book because I wanted to get a historical glimpse into the period AFTER Isabella. I went with a novel because, well, why not? This was enjoyable. Swordplay, back-stabbing (literally), and conniving manipulations by all involved, from royalty, to aristocracy, to clergy!
That said, I have since discovered that it would have been BETTER if I'd read about The Spanish Golden Age (1520-ish to 1680-ish) before I started reading this book. Because, hello: the author references REAL people! Who knew!
Anyway, I am now back-filling on historical details, and will THEN continue through the Alatriste series, better armed (!) with a smidge more knowledge on the Hapsburgs, the Inquisition, the Reformation, and so forth.
All in all, a fun diversion and a nice way to see history through a different lens.