2.5 starsWhat can I say? I find myself constantly underwhelmed by this series despite loving other books by Perez-Reverte. I guess I just want a really good historical swashbuckler with a bit of meat on it and despite having been generally underwhelmed by each book in the series so far I keep hoping that Perez-Reverte warms up in the next one. So far in my mind this hasn't happened.There's nothing terrible about this story: we get to see Captain Alatriste through the eyes of our narrator Inigo (aside from those infuriating portions of the story where Inigo is not present but we are somehow still given a first person view of events...a nit pick perhaps, but if your whole conceit is that this is a first person memoir then you ought to figure out how to handle this kind of situation without contradicting the whole support structure of your text - you're a writer, it's your job isn't it?!) Okay with that off my chest: Inigo is now a bit older (he's the ripe old age of fifteen here) and is following Alatriste to the war in Flanders, specifically around the city of Breda. Inigo's role as a mochilero (basically a boy who follows the army around and does odd jobs for the soldiers) means he gets to see a lot of the action up close and personal, but isn't technically a combatant (not a paid one anyway). He is starting to see Alatriste in a somewhat more complicated way, it's not all just hero-worship anymore, but he is still devoted to his mentor and the squad of veterans of which Alatriste is the de facto commander. In a nutshell the story is about Alatriste and Inigo as they struggle with the difficulties of war: not just the enemy, but hunger, boredom and even insurrection and I don't know if there's really much more for me to say. Not much of the story left a lasting impression on me. There really didn't seem to be much plot going on here aside from: this is what war in the era of Spain's fading glory was like and I'm going to insert Alatriste and Inigo into the middle of it. If the characters really jumped off the page then perhaps that by itself would be worth it, but I'm starting to think that Alatriste is perhaps a bit *too* laconic. We see him from a remove as it is given that almost everything is coming from Inigo's point of view, but when you add to that the taciturnity of Alatriste which sometimes borders on the ridiculous then it's really hard to identify with the titular 'hero' of the series. It's almost like getting all of the melancholy taciturnity of Athos from The Three Musketeers without any of Dumas' excellent dialogue to bolster it. A mention is made of Alatriste's past, when he was apparently more adventurous and outgoing, and I found myself wishing Perez-Reverte had written a story about *that* epsiode which would have had the virtue of being more exciting and not having to filter everything through the eyes and mouth of Inigo. As for Inigo: I must admit to not being much of a fan...he's a pretty boring character as far as I can tell and his main character traits seems to be devotion to Alatriste, courage in the face of adversity, and undying devotion to a girl he knows wants to kill him.Anyway...not sure I will muster the strength to continue with this series. Every new book still seems like set-up to some overarching story arc that never ultimately materializes.
In this, third installment of the Captain Alatriste series, the Spanish are in Flanders. It opens with the taking and looting of Oudkerk, leads to a potential mutiny, and ends with a bloody battle at the siege of Breda. It sounds like a soldier’s chronicle, and that’s just what it is.I was disappointed with this novel. Gone is the swashbuckling element from the first book (and to a lesser degree the second). There’s very little personal element and no character development, just ruminations on Spain’s declining glory and the gritty realities of being a soldier in a seventeenth-century war of religion and territory. There are good scenes, just as the desultory execution of a wounded prisoner, or the meeting with Diego Velasquez in the epilogue, but no plot to speak of. The events are largely disjointed as Captain Alatriste participates as a simple soldier, led by his "betters," in a number of engagements and a duel. Balboa gets himself into a scrape and Alatriste gets him out. Alatriste gets offered an opportunity to undertake a duel for the honor of Spain and demurs, and the Spanish press their siege of Breda while despoiling the country as only an army can. We see battles up close, but Captain Alatriste’s personal story – his loves, his enemies – is seemingly on hiatus. Perhaps the next book will bring him back to court and its life-or-death intrigues.
I am reading this in Spanish, "El sol de Breda," the second volume in the Capitan Alatriste series by Perez-Reverte. The historical backdrop is the invasion of the town of Breda in the Netherlands, owned by Spain, whose surrender to Spinola is depicted in "La rendicion de Breda" by Diego Velazquez in the Prado Museum. Perez-Reverte refers to paintings frequently in his novels; in the first volume, the young hero, Inigo Balboa, falls in love with the princess depicted in "Las Meninas." Readers familiar with the history and art of Spain are more likely to appreciate the story and its references to famous figures, like Quevedo, Gongora, Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Garcilaso de la Vega. The author's cynicism about power, influence, war and injustice ring just as true today.
—Jane
The third installment in Pérez-Reverte “Captain Alatriste” series of short novels is so far the best IMHO. Unlike previous episodes this one is not set in Spain but in the damp, war-ravaged Flanders countryside surrounding the fortified city of Breda, under siege by Spanish and allied forces. Iñigo Balboa, the narrator is now fifteen year old has his first taste of love and war. We follow him and his master as they engage in sneaky covert operations to take towns or destroy enemy works with minimal cost for the attacker; pitched battles against all odds; terrifying trench warfare between lice-infested and half-starved soldiers (three centuries before names like Mons, Ypres and Passchendaele became synonyms with senseless slaughter) on which besieged and besiegers alike are equally miserable. The author doesn’t shy away from describing in minute detail the carnage and suffering caused in no small measure by the megalomania and religious fanaticism of a warlike and decadent king. Part historical novel, part young-adult adventure tale, part reflection on the glorious and terrible past of Spain, “The Sun over Breda” will satisfy both the history buff and the casual reader alike.
—Ernesto
Dentro de la serie " Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste " encontramos la tercera de la serie, la cual trata sobre las penurias de la guerra de insurrección de Breda, y la batalla que Diego de Velázques inmortalizará en un cuadro muy famoso. Ahora, Íñigo Balboa, el fiel acompañante del Capitán Alatriste, no es más un chiquillo, ya es mayor y se alcanza a percatar de los horrores de la guerra. Gracias a Pérez-Reverte, somos capaces de conocer el otro lado de esas batallas tan hermosamente pintadas por los grandes artistas de lás épocas, desde el renacimiento, hasta el neoclásico... y más. Pero aquí podemos der el otro lado, el hambre, el enojo de los soldados por la mala paga de la corona española o de quienes estén al mando, y sin embargo, en la batalla, el honor, el coraje y las ganas de salir triunfantes. Pero no todo es heroísmo y valentía, también hay dolor, heridas, mugre, olor a sangre, pesadumbre, muerte. Léanla!
—Giovaennchen Lozano
