“Captain” Alatriste is an ex-soldier in 17th Century Madrid who scratches out a living via odd jobs and spends part of his time gabbing and drinking at a local bar. An old “friend” tosses him a job which is initially to scare a pair of English travelers but turns out to be a contract for murder.
All in Fiction
Shelby Foote's “SHILOH”
This novel follows several Confederate and Union solders during the two days of the 1862 battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.
Patrick O'Brian's THE MAURITIUS COMMAND
The book starts out with Jack, reduced to half pay while he awaits a command, surrounded by his family (and mother in law) in a shabby English country “estate” where he is proving unequivocally that he does not have the makings of a farmer.
One day his friend Steven visits and announces that Jack will receive orders and a command. Jack’s assignment: assume command of a small fleet and retake two islands in the Indian Ocean from the French.
Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS
I finished reading Neil Gaiman’s Hugo-winning novel AMERICAN GODS in between shoveling snow and decorating for Christmas. It’s a good but long read.
Patrick O'Brian's THE POST CAPTAIN
Writing about the writing in Patrck O’Brian’s splendid novel The Post Captain requires an act of humility. As an example of the potential glories of written English, this book is a nonpareil.
Patrick O'Brian's MASTER AND COMMANDER
What comes across in the pages of this novel is real, palpable, and authentic sounding. Reading about the friendship of Jack Aubrey and physician Maturin, with side references to music, science, medicine, Ireland, the Catalan language, courts martial, outdoor dinner parties disrupted by drunken sailors, and old Barcelona, is as vivid as history can get.
Kerri Sakomoto’s “ONE HUNDRED MILLION HEARTS”
This novel tells the story of a young Canadian woman who, following the death of her Japanese father, returns to Japan to discover the secrets of their heritage. She finds her father had trained as a Kamikaze pilot during World War II but, to his shame, did not die a glorious death. After the war he returned to Canada where he raised his crippled daughter, never revealing his past.
Arturo Pérez-Reverte's “THE FENCING MASTER”
It is 1866 in Madrid. The old regime is toppling as unrest hits the hot summer streets. Aging Don Jaime Astarloa goes about his business, teaching the children of upwardly mobile parents the ancient art of Fencing.
His students do not appreciate the rigor and nuance that Don Jaime insists upon. They treat him as the honor-bound anachronism that he admits to being. He is more interested in living up to an ascetic — and acerbic — personal code that demands honor, truth, and devotion to principle.