Just what this new Inigo Balboa had become you will find out in this adventure in which I propose to describe how Captain Alatriste and I fought shoulder to shoulder, no longer as master and page, but as equals and comrades. I will tell of skirmishes and pirates, of blithe youth and boarding ships, of killing and of pillaging. I will also explain precisely what it was that made Spain's name respected, feared and hated throughout the Levant. Ah, but how long ago it all seems, now that even my scars are old and my hair grey! I will show that the devil has no colour, no nation and no flag. I will show, too, that all it took back then to create a hell both on sea and on land was a Spaniard and his sword. Inigo Balboa has grown a lot since we first met him as a 14 year old Basque page coming to Madrid to apprentice under rogue swordman Diego Alatriste. Six books later he is more actor than spectator in the bloody battles that pitch the fearsome Spanish infantry against most of the other countries of Europe in the early XVII century. It is kind of fitting that I read this right after a Sharpe book by Bernard Cornwell. Both authors are quite effusive in cheering for the home team: nothing can stand up to the British Redcoats in Cornwell's version of the Napoleonic Wars and similarly no other soldier can quite match the skill, the endurance and the courage of the Spanish foot soldier in the opinion of mr. Reverte. Both authors write excellent action scenes and take historical research seriously, even as they feel free to fiddle around the facts in order to make their point. The main difference between the two series is in the more highbrow, poetry infused and culturally conscious prose of Reverte, as usual marked every other page with quotes from Cervantes, Quevedo, Lope de Vega and other luminaries of the Spanish Golden Age. A soldier's time, so full of strife,Of war and weapons, fire and blood,May yet still teach us — by all that's good —To make the best we can of life.Coming back to the present volume, I must confess it is my least favorite so far in the series, but still a very good and informative story. My issues are mostly with the lack of a central plot line and very little going on in terms of character development. After getting mixed in a romantic triangle with an actress and the King of Spain in Madrid and running afoul of the Inquisition, Inigo and Alatriste feel the need to put some distance between themselves and the capital. They choose the life of the Mediterranean corsairs, licensed pirates in fact ruthlessly plundering every ship they meet, puting captives at the oars or selling them as slaves on the Berber coast. In a telling incident on a North African garrison town still in Spanish hands, the soldiers attack at night a nomad camp without checking first if they are allies or enemis: Regardless of whether they were peaceful or hostile, he concluded, the Moors would still fetch a good price in Oran. They were certainly hostile now, and there was no more to be said. The galley carrying Inigo and Alatriste moves around almost aimlessly from Tunis to Malta, to Naples for a few weeks of shore leave, then into the Aegeean for a couple of major sea battles that involve more sword wielding than cannonades, a thing that didn't sit very well with me, used as I am with later tactics relying almost exclusively on broadsides and less on boarding the enemy ship. Another element that is used to underline Spanish pride taken to extremes is the refusal of soldiers to participate in the rowing of the galleys, even when their lives depended on it, preferring to die by the sword rather than humiliate themselves with manual labor.( Better dead or rich, we thought, but at least gentlemen, than poor and wretched, bowing the knee to the latest bishop or marquis.)A single new character is introduced in this episode, a Moor from Oran who chooses to follow Alatriste in his perilous journeys, recognizing in him a man who lives by his own code of honour and a man who is aware every moment of his life of the presence of Death walking in his shadow. Gurriato is providing a welcome alternate perspective from a foreign culture: Life is written in each thing and each word, and the wise man tries to read and listen in silence. I hope he will be present and play a larger role in future books in the series.Coming back to Alatriste, he is his usual taciturn and gloomy self, preferring action to words, yet carrying in his backpack a volume of verse by Quevedo: What dogged him was the chilling certainty that every step he took in life, every sword-thrust to left or right, every scrap of money he earned, every drop of blood that spattered his clothes, all formed a kind of damp mist, a smell that clung to his skin like the scent of a fire or a war. The smell of life, of the passing years with no turning back, of the uncertain, hesitant, or resolute steps he took, each one of which determined the steps that would follow. It was the smell of resignation and impotence before an irrevocable destiny. Some men tried to disguise that smell with fantastical perfumes or to ignore it by averting their gaze, while others steadfastly breathed it in, facing it head on, aware that every game, even life and death, had its rules. Alatriste is once again here a tragic figure, aware of his cursed vocation, unable to escape the fate waiting for him in a future muddy battlefield instead of a cosy bed. Bonus points then for not trying to glorify or whitewash the brutality of his personality. I seemed to remember an interview Reverte has given where he mentions he got tired of foreign books presenting Spain as the archenemy and of school books that were lacklustre in the presentation of the said Golden Age. Alatriste is his attempt to rewrite these histories in such a way that could instill passion and pride in younger Spanish readers, while keeping close to the truth of the times. A difficult balancing act, that needs to acknowledge atrocities and political mistakes, corruption and misery, yet remind us of the victories and the poems that are an integral part of the times.I think I will continue with this series.
¿Y qué les puedo contar de Reverte que no les haya contado ya? Este libro es el sexto de las andanzas del Capitán Alatriste y de su fiel Íñigo Balboa, y es una auténtica maravilla. Me tuvo absolutamente enganchado desde la primera página. No me puedo resistir a la tentación de citarles el principio del libro, que sólo mejora y mejora. La caza por popa es caza larga, y voto a Cristo que ésa lo había sido en exceso: una tarde, una noche de luna y una mañana entera corriendo tras la presa por una mar incómoda, que a trechos estemecía con sus golpes el frágil costillar de la galera, estaban lejos de templarnos el humor. Con las dos velas arriba tensas como alfanjes, los remos trincados y los galeotes, la gente de mar y la de guerra resguardándose como podían del viento y los rociones, la Mulata, galera de veinticuatro bancos, había recorrido casi treinta leguas persiguiendo a aquella galeota berberisca que al fin teníamos a tiro; y que, si no rompíamos un palo –los marineros viejos miraban arriba con preocupación–, sería nuestra antes de la hora del avemaría.Me encanta Reverte, los lectores veteranos ya lo saben. Y me encanta la serie folletinesca de Alatriste. Reverte tiene pocos personajes tipo, cierto es. Casi todos sus protagonistas masculinos responden, con leves variaciones, a la figura de Alatriste (Lucas Corso, en El Club Dumas. Lorenzo Quart en La piel del tambor. Coy en La carta esférica.) Cada uno tiene sus fantasmas particulares, pero Alatriste es la esencia de todos ellos. Podríamos decir que Reverte crea a sus protas masculinos seleccionando partes de Alatriste. Alatriste es tha man. Ante ciertos autores uno no puede ponerse a hacer crítica. Cada uno tiene su lista de héroes literarios, y en la mía Reverte tiene el sillón H (H de Héroe). Hay mucha gente que no comparte esto, y puedo entender sus razones. Pero las querencias literarias saben muy poco de lógica. Reverte es uno de mis favoritos desde que hace muchos años leí La sombra del águila, para mi gusto uno de los mejores relatos cortos de la historia moderna. Cabo Trafalgar revive el espíritu de aquélla, en versión novela larga. En esta entrega, Alatriste e Íñigo están embarcados en una galera, haciéndole la puñeta al Turco. Como dice Íñigo en la novela, aunque pueden dstinguirlos, en general a todos los moros les llaman turcos, para abreviar. Correrán varias aventuras, incluida un última y espectacular lucha desigual de tres barcos contra ocho, frente a la Anatolia, en las bocas de Escanderlu. A Reverte le han hecho una entrevista (muy recomendable) los de El País.com, y sobre esta batalla cuenta: … “Esa batalla ocurrió. Y el episodio real es aún más increíble: un bajel y dos galeras contra treinta. Lo dicho, hay mucho material, mucha documentación, el siglo XVII es muy rico en ella, pero es un tema poco trabajado, en buena parte desconocido.”…La novela me ha encantado. Y se la recomiendo. Yo siempre recomiendo mis filias. Mi nota: Imprescindible.
What do You think about Corsarios De Levante (2006)?
The sixth book in the series of Captain Alatriste, a Spanish soldier/sword for hire struggling to make a living. In this book, Alatriste and Iñigo seek to advance their careers by joining the crew of a pirate hunting ship. This book is not as strong as the others in the series, as it does not really have much of a plot or intrigue, and rather, tells us the different unrelated adventures the characters experience while hunting pirates. It still is very entertaining, has plenty of action, and the characters keep developing - Iñigo is growing up!A new interesting character is introduced, and seems he is going to be fairly relevant in upcoming adventures.Oh, and a nautical terms dictionary might have been helpful to me while reading this.
—Ale
This is the last* of the Captain Alatriste novels, and it was really exciting. This time Alatriste and Inigo are serving as soldiers on a Spanish galley sailing out of Naples and tasked with both defending Spanish ships and taking out Turkish and Barbary pirates when the opportunity arises. There is a lot of wonderful swashbuckling action, and lovely, warm descriptions of 17th century Spanish life. This book also sees some shifts in the relationship between Alatriste and Inigo, as the latter enters manhood and independence. It's a bit rocky going between the two of them, but there is, fortunately, no lasting quarrel or break. The plot of Pirates of the Levant is a little less direct than several of the previous books - there is no one mission, job, or mystery that unites and drives events. Mostly, the galley sails around, visiting ports and encountering pirates. The book does end with a spectacularly climactic naval battle, however. It makes an exciting end to the series.*I have heard that Perez-Reverte may write an additional three Alatriste novels, but this is the final volume of the original six book series. I would be quite happy if he got around to writing three more.
—Carol
Es una lástima que "Corsarios de Levante" prometa tanto y al final decepcione bastante. La historia del Capitán Alatriste y el joven Íñigo Balboa a bordo de la galera "La Mulata" prometía más aventuras que las anteriores entregas, y desafortunadamente se ven desperdiciadas por el tedio que resulta tener una constancia en la lectura.¿Por qué lo digo? Con las anteriores entregas se tenía un fuerte conflicto que atrapaba al lector y lo llevaba hasta el final, bien contado y formulado; en el caso de esta novela, los personajes deambulan de ciudad en ciudad por el Mar Mediterráneo, y la historia no termina de cuajar completamente, siendo los episodios de lucha bastante aislados y el último abordaje el más espectacular de todos, pero hasta llegar a él uno puede perder el entusiasmo fácilmente.El aspecto más sobresaliente de todos es la relación entre el capitán e Íñigo, cuya interacción es la parte más jugosa de todas. Ahora un muchacho de 17 años, se enfrenta verbalmente con Alatriste, que le responde brillantemente que ya está en edad de morir según como se conduzca frente a él. Otra cosa que me gustó fue los primeros asaltos que tuvo Íñigo en los bares, poniendo el pecho a al situación de que ya no es más el niño protegido de Alatriste sino un hombre hecho y derecho.Las batallas como siempre están muy bien desarrolladas, aunque en algunas no se sabe perfectamente que está pasando y en otra situación, que me molestó bastante, cuando los españoles deben contrarrestar un tremendo ataque contra los moros, el autor se despacha con una frase tan lastimera como "Sólo Dios sabe lo que les hicimos a esos pobres" para evitar narrar una escena que tenía un potencial absolutamente increíble (y morboso desde otro punto de vista, que de eso no le falta a la lectura)."Corsarios de Levante" fue el libro que más me costó leer de la saga, por lo tedioso que resulta, y es una pena ya que Reverte ha fascinado bastante con las anteriores entregas. Esperemos que el próximo episodio del Capitán Alatriste mejore con respecto a este.
—Lucas Rodriguez
