Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by otterno11
The King's Gold by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
3.0
The fourth of Perez-Reverte's "Captain Alatriste" series, all of which I have enjoyed so far, "The King's Gold" brings the Captain and his protege back to a corrupt and gritty seventeenth century Spain from the battlefields of Flanders. The last of Alatriste's adventures was a bit of a departure from the swashbuckling first two novels, focusing more on the terrors of war, but this returns to those earlier themes. Alatriste, the reluctant yet deadly swordsman and well read soldier of Spain and his young accomplice Inigo find themselves involved in a conspiracy involving, oddly enough, the king's gold.
Told, once again, through the eyes of Inigo, writing his memoirs years after the events of the book, the framing narrative detracts a bit from the novel's action, particularly when Inigo refers or mentions events that have not happened yet. On the other hand, this allows Perez Reverte even more ability to really bring to life the world of a declining Seville, complete with the literature, history, and daily life of the time and it can become difficult to sort out the history from the fiction in the tale (this is especially true with the poem by Francisco de Quevedo at the conclusion which mentions Alatriste. I am looking forward to the next one.
Told, once again, through the eyes of Inigo, writing his memoirs years after the events of the book, the framing narrative detracts a bit from the novel's action, particularly when Inigo refers or mentions events that have not happened yet. On the other hand, this allows Perez Reverte even more ability to really bring to life the world of a declining Seville, complete with the literature, history, and daily life of the time and it can become difficult to sort out the history from the fiction in the tale (this is especially true with the poem by Francisco de Quevedo at the conclusion which mentions Alatriste. I am looking forward to the next one.