“If you are stout of heart, you can be as dangerous as anyone who
crosses your path. Or more.”
This 1997 novel by
Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte is the first in a series of swashbucklers. While
it never leaves the shores of Spain Western fans with a soft-spot for Zorro will
find much to admire and enjoy here.
The derring-do, the élan,
the swords flash fast and fierce. The intrigue and courageous bon mots in the midst of battle
perfectly capture the feeling of Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, or Antonio Banderas
as the Spanish don who fights for justice.
To be honest, Captain Alatriste is far better written
than Johnston McCulley’s Zorro, but I am grateful to McCulley all the same, for
if he had not written Zorro I’m not sure I would have picked up the exploits of
Captain Alatriste.
I am glad I did.
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