Time to learn Spanish

There are six books in the Captain Alatriste series by Arturo Perez-Reverte that have been translated into English editions.

In Spanish, there are now eight books in the series.

15 years ago, The Bridge of Assassins was released and never received an English edition.

Last year, Perez-Reverte returned to the good Captain in light of fan demand and the thirtieth anniversary of the series.

The latest entry is Mission in Paris. Also, currently not available in English.

Such a wonderful series. Maybe with two titles out there, some publishing house will pick up the translation and marketing.

Or maybe I'll be fluent in Spanish by the time that happens. 

*sigh*

(Some previous posts on the series [not all of the books]:

Sun Over Breda

The King's Gold

Pirates of the Levant)

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

I finished reading THE THREE MUSKETEERS by Alexandre Dumas last night. Thick book. A post-worthy accomplishment, I feel.

I liked it a lot. More than imagined I would. I don’t know about earlier English editions. I read the 2018 Lawrence Ellsworth translation. 788 pages or so. The story itself (minus prefaces and appendices) comes in at 760 pages in hardcover with a font none too large. The edition also includes lovely reprinted old illustrations.

Despite Ellsworth’s warning that the middle might sag, I only felt drag towards the end where Dumas focuses too long on Milady’s escape from England. Otherwise, the story had me solidly engaged throughout.

4/5 stars. Not too shabby as a book from the 1840s under the eyes of a modern reader.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

 

Introduced my son to THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992.) One of the finest historical adventure movies ever made.

I own the blu ray. I re-watched last night with Michael Mann's commentary (not sure what year) and it is excellent. Highly recommended. Lots of history and background for the story. Well worth your time.

The "Making of" documentary is also stellar. Daniel-Day Lewis' immersion into Hawkeye is fascinating.

Worth acquiring, or borrowing from your local library.

recent read; THE CHAINS OF ARES by Frank Schildiner

Frank Schildiner has created a unique character with Marcus Fabius Maximus and his occult adventures in ancient Rome. The historical setting is full of touches that elicit veracity. The club & sword slinging Germanic gladiatrix Kara adds an element of sword-&-sorcery as the duo take on mythic monsters and navigate the turbulent waters of Roman politics.

So, are these stories historical dark fantasy? Occult detective? Sword-&-sorcery?

YES!

Highly recommended! (and looking forward to more of these and other tales from the Schildiner's Worlds!)

recent read; AT THE MERCY OF BEASTS

AT THE MERCY OF BEASTS by Ed Kurtz

AT THE MERCY OF BEASTS is a themed collection of horror novellas. The theme is the past--each story has a historical setting.

"Black's Red Gold" - post World War I, the Texas oil boom leads men to avarice and murder. Deep in the bowels of the earth, Peter Black and his field crew find something potentially more valuable than oil--and far more costly to attain.

"Kennon Road" - during the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 20th century, a madman is viciously murdering people along the new island thoroughfare, Kennon Road. The natives claim it is the work of a demonic Manananggal. The Americans know better. Or, do they? Disillusioned corporal Charles Houghton finds himself drawn into the mystic, horrific world of the dark side of the islands.

"Deadheader" - Fast forwarding to the groovy 1970s, we find trucker Pearlie Pearce, hauling a "no questions asked" cargo. After she picks up a haunted, hitchhiking Vietnam veteran, the haul gets weird and dangerous as the duo are beset by strange attacking creatures and mystery men with their own agenda for Pearlie's cargo.

These are excellent novellas, blending setting, characters, monsters, the evil of men and the evil of monsters, and horror into just the right mix. I enjoyed all of these tales.

If you like horror and you like history, this collection is a must-read.

recent read: Pirates of the Levant

Pirates of the Levant by Arturo Perez-Reverte

It is 1627. Captain Alatriste and his young protege, Inigo Balboa--now both soldiers of Spain--find themselves assigned to the Spanish naval infantry, serving on privateer vessels based out of Naples. The Spanish ships prowl the Mediterranean, competing with the other political powers of the region. Of course, they are privateers, operating with the blessing of the Spanish King, and all the other European powers are pirates.

And then there are the Turks--the Muslims and the Catholic Spanish are eternal enemies.

There is not a straight plot through-line in this novel, other than the dramatic tension of Inigo and Alatriste being at odds with each other as the young man tries the establish his own identity. Otherwise, the story is episodic naval adventures highlighting the breadth and scope of the Mediterranean in the early 1600s.

At first I thought having Alatriste become a Marine was a forced excuse to write a pirate novel. But as usual, Perez-Reverte's historical veracity pulled me into the story in short time. PIRATES OF THE LEVANT is as fun, exciting, and historically interesting as any of the other Alatriste titles. If you're a fan of the series, you shouldn't be disappointed in this one, either.

Gratuitous UK cover, because I like them more than the photo US covers

I listened to the audiobook for this one.

If you've been following my Captain Alatriste reviews, you'll notice I've jumped over THE CAVALIER IN THE YELLOW DOUBLET. That's because it wasn't on audio, so I skipped ahead. The novels can be read out of order. I'll double-back soon enough.

Maybe by then, El puente de los asesinos, (THE BRIDGE OF ASSASSINS,) the (currently) last Alatriste novel will finally get an English translation.

recent read; The Violent Land

"From the great Brazilian author, an exotic tale of greed, madness, and a dispute between two powerful families over land on the cocoa-rich coast of Bahia

The siren song of the lush, cocoa-growing forests of Bahia lures them all—the adventurers, the assassins, the gamblers, the brave and beautiful women. It is not a gentle song, but a song of greed, madness, and blood. It is a song that promises riches untold, or death for the price of a swig of rum . . . a song most cannot resist—until it is too late..."

Not what I was expecting. I'm not saying it was bad, but I went in with different expectations. I thought I would get a rough & tumble Western set in Brazilian cocoa land.

But it reads more like a prime time soap opera like DALLAS.

Lots of players, movers. A lot of how the cocoa land corrupts the soul and the flesh.  Although the introduction hinted there might be cocoa/coco industry parallels, the cocoa production doesn't reach the US by the end of the novel.

It is more akin to stories about boom oil or gold rushes.

It's very nice writing, some good passages. Surprisingly open about sex and prostitutes. But written south-of-the-border, that's not too surprising. Though, if it reached the US when it was written (1947) I bet it would have been a firestorm.

The real bummer is how much of the gun fighting takes place off page. Far too much telling, not enough showing.

Anyway. Again - not bad - but not what I expected.

Your mileage may vary.

recent read; The King's Gold (Captain Alatriste, #4)

Someone was just discussing shorter, series novels. You know - ones you could consume in a day and enjoy.

The Captain Alatriste novels - while not quite in the ballpark - are very close. They are historical action adventure and aren't too thick. They're enjoyable, and present enough characters and history without bogging you down. Arturo Perez-Reverte writes these with a deft pen.

This time around, in The King's Gold, Diego Alatriste and his faithful protege, Inigo Balboa have returned to Spain from combat in the Netherlands. Soon Alatriste is contracted to pull together a Dirty Dozen style of Spanish rogues to save the King's gold from embezzlement. Intrigue, sword fights, dark alleys soon follow. As one man says to Alatriste, he might have been in danger fighting in Flanders, but he is in far more danger in Seville.

Looking back over my review of The Sun Over Breda, I did note the many historical asides were padding and slowing that story. In The King's Gold, such interruptions were minimal. The only bit I found padded was a journey up a river. It could have been tighter, but word counts are word counts. This is still a shorter novel read.

This one really was a fun, quick read with a hint of foreshadowed tragedy. (We are told where Alatriste will make his last stand, as Inigo - as an old man -  is the narrator of these novels.) I missed these stories, I need to get to the next one sooner.

recent read; The Wolf Sea

The Wolf Sea by Robert Low

The Oathsworn are at it again.

Orm has inherited the mantle of jarl of the Oathsworn, and has promised them treasure. Unfortunately, the treasure is the silver hoard of Attila, which Orm touched and lost in the previous novel. He has also lost his runesword, etched with instructions how to re-find the treasure. Actually, the sword is not lost, it has been stolen.

Pursuit of the sword takes the Oathsworn from Constantinople to Jerusalem, with various intrigues and adventures as the Vikings ply their mercenary trade marching through the seas of grasslands and deserts.

It was more of the same in a good way. The story plot and subplots keep it fresh from its predecessor. The Viking world view stays strong, "young" Orm struggles with his wyrd of leading the Oathsworn. History drips from the page, illuminating what a tumultuous fractured world the old Middle East was prior to the Crusades.

Lots of goodness here for historical fiction fans, action fans, and Viking fans.

It turns out that my town library and the consortium it belongs to do not have the next volumes in the series. I see yet more book purchases in my future. I need to continue following the Oathsworn.

recent read; The Whale Road

The Whale Road by Robert Low

I took my son to the town library two weeks ago. He borrowed a DVD, and he suggested I should get a book. Despite having overflowing bookcases and Kindle at home, I agreed. I was pleasantly surprised to find The Whale Road sitting on the shelf. It had been on my reading list since it came out, and I haven't yet bought a copy in any medium, so I borrowed it.

Glad I did. Wish I hadn't waited. I want more.

Orm Ruriksson, young Bear Slayer, joins the Oathsworn mercenary band of Vikings, led by Einar the Black. They are on the hunt for the fabled silver hoard of Attila the Hun. Orm's wyrd is tied to Einar, and the Oathsworn, and Hild, a witchy woman who claims to know the treasure's hiding place. Others have also gotten word of the woman and the treasure. Chase and intrigue follow. Bloody combat, narrow escapes, untrustworthy men add up to rousing adventure.

Over the course of the novel, Orm grows from a young man to a seasoned veteran of the Oathsworn.

While the novel is historical fiction, not fantasy, there is enough magic and supernatural in the Norse worldview that you can say this tale involves magical realism. The consistency of the medieval Viking worldview is a strong point of the novel. It raises it above a mere treasure hunt with Vikings.

The Whale Road is in the vein of adventure historical fiction that rings with veracity of its characters. If you like Robert E. Howard's Cormac Mac Art, I'm sure you'd enjoy this, too.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

recent read; Bless the Child

Bless the Child by David J. West

Impelled by a quest for redemption, the man known only as The Spartan finds unholy work in The Holy Land. And work is good, there is no end of service amongst kings and robber barons for a man who sells his sword so well. But blood won’t wash away blood and The Spartan finds himself compelled toward something greater than himself. Bless The Child is a romance of redemption and glory. Numerous historical personages cross paths with The Spartan, including Solon, Nebuchadnezzar, the prophets Lehi, Jeremiah and Daniel, King Zedekiah and the poetess Sappho. Come back to 586 B.C. when Jerusalem burned and the life of a prince rested in the hands of the exiled Spartan. Can a mercenary trained only for war become an instrument of peace?

David J. West again (see Heroes of the Fallen) dives into a historical Mormon framework to weave a solid historical fiction tale.

The Spartan narrator of this story is a great character. A warrior by nature, and exile by honorable choice, the mercenary life is all he knows or wants. We follow his journey to find purpose, from the depths of working for men he despises to finding reasons to fight that have greater meaning. Along the way we see some solid combat and action, learn a haunting, tragic backstory, and meet historical characters.

As a story structure, allowing time gaps between the acts of the novel worked, but it did create some moments of telling rather than showing. Certain characters appeared and disappeared off-stage, as it were.

I particularly enjoyed the third act of the novel as the tension heightened and the action kept coming. It is written in present tense, but it is one of those rare cases where the verb tense shift worked. It definitely gave the tale a sudden immediacy.

Overall Bless the Child is a good read, And I think David's ability to write a novel length tale improved over Heroes of the Fallen.

And hey - all proceeds on this one go to charity, so if you're considering it, you should go ahead and buy it.

movie; River Queen

I've been doing research on the Maori wars of the mid-1800s. These were the battles fought between Maori New Zealand natives and the British colonizing forces. It all sounds far too familiar - forcing people off their lands to appease settlers, miners and other greedy people. Maori fought Maori, too, as some tribes considered allying with the British as their best option.

Thanks to Jim Cornelius' review of River Queen, I thought it would be a good way to get some feel for the era.

You should read Jim's review, it's short and to the point.

As with many such movies, it is not about the war specifically, but about the people caught in the middle. But there are combat and battle scenes, and those alone are worth a viewing if you are a military history buff and you don't know much about these conflicts.

My take away; it had great visuals, and excellent battle scenes. It especially highlights the rugged NZ forests that made the fighting a hard slog.

On the other hand, the main narrative was all over the place and got worse near the end of the movie. It felt like scenes were strung one after another without a polish to pull them all together. I felt like some scenes were almost out of order, and quickly reworked to fit the new order. More and more characters started vying for the story's attention, too.

There was too much use of voice over. Never a good sign. On top of that, the sound was muddy. I finally turned on captions, though I am usually all right discerning accented dialog.

River Queen is a decent historical drama with some nice visuals and battles, but it's a bit of a jumble. It's one of those movies I wish I could like a bit more than I did.

movie; Northwest Passage

Growing up, more than once my mother mentioned the classic movie, Northwest Passage. At some point I finally did see it via broadcast television. I had it on VHS tape at one point. It was one of the movies I waited forever to come to DVD. It was finally released via the Warner Archive. The Archive features no-frills transfers of older, less-than-big-hits. The films aren't cleaned up, feature no or very little bonus material.

The movie follows the exploits of Rogers' Rangers during the French & Indian War. Specifically, it focuses on the Saint Francis Raid - an expedition deep into hostile French and Abenaki territory to destroy a base of operations the Abenakis used for raids deep into English colonial territory.

I finally sat down and gave it a re-watch this week.

As with many things through rosy glasses, it's not nearly as good the second time around.

Not surprisingly for 1940s Hollywood, the "Indian" portrayals are weak. The first indian we meet is drunk. The Abenaki village Roberts' Rangers assault and destroy just happens to be overpopulated by males. There is a token appearance of kids & women to be spared. And, if they don't look Mohawk, then they look Apache. There is much told of "innocent" settler folks being butchered by Natives, and nothing said of things from the Natives' viewpoint.

Speaking of the Abenaki village, that's the only combat action in the entire movie. The rest of the action centers around the Rangers arduous journey to make the attack in surprise. Boats hauled over hills, swamps, rain, creating a human chain across a fast running river, discord among the troops and their Native allies.

The screenplay was adapted from a 1930s popular novel by Kenneth Roberts. It's out-of-print, and I'm surprised it hasn't been given the ebook treatment. Part of me still wants to read it. But if the movie followed it closely, it might not be my cup of tea. It does appear to have had a longer story than the movie, going beyond the Saint Francis Raid.

If you like old Hollywood frontier movies, you should probably watch this one at least once. I don't know about repeated viewings, though.

Historical note; while Rogers and his Rangers were heroes of the French & Indian War, in the end, Rogers washed out and sold out.

recent read; "Damned Ranker"

Lately, I've taken to reading short stories for a week between novel reads. I have many collections and anthologies in the bookcases and on my Kindle.

The other night, I turned to The Mammoth Book of Sword and Honor.

Some background; I work in software. Yes, my company outsources. We have a team in Kiev, Ukraine. As you might imagine, the current turmoil in the Crimea is very real to us. Although the nastiness in Kiev itself calmed down, and the Crimean fighting isn't directly affecting the Kiev office, it's still a jumpy situation. (One of our guys is from the Crimea, though I don't know where his politics lie and I certainly am not going to ask.)

One saying my father drummed into my head and which I still abide, "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

So, I went with one of the Crimean War stories in the book, "Damned Ranker" by Paul Finch.

I really enjoyed it. It pulled me in, kept me reading longer than I meant to. It's hard-hitting, and gory with a good twist.

As for history repeating - between the story and now; I'd say no. But I did find it interesting how the Russians were described undisciplined rabble - racing forward, no concern for lines or formations, cavalry and infantry intermixed, smooth bore muskets and improvised weapons. I was strongly reminded of the opening of the movie, Enemy at the Gates, where the Soviet officers pushed the men into the carnage as so much cannon fodder. Advances in weaponry and tactics didn't seem to change that attitude much between Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union.

If you enjoy Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, you'd most likely enjoy this one.

The Twelve Children of Paris

Even though I already posted a bit about this novel, I wanted to log an official, albeit short review now that I have finished it.  To avoid too much retread,  suffice to state that what I posted while reading The Twelve Children of Paris held true right through the end of the novel.

Willocks pulled it off again. It's as good as The Religion and entirely different from it, too - which is how any truly great sequel should be - a new story, not a retread.

There are surprises plenty plot-wise, and I never knew who would survive or who would die right until the final page.

If Willocks sticks to his vision of a trilogy, he needs to outdo himself twice over. After The Twelve Children of Paris, I have utter confidence he can do that.

Truly an awe-inspiring novel.

One hard bastard; Mattias Tannhauser

I usually don't blog about a book before I've finished reading it, but for Tim Willocks and his incredible character, Mattias Tannhauser, I will make an exception.

The sequel to The Religion has arrived.  At least, it has arrived in the UK.  It's not clear if it will get North America distribution.  I ordered mine from Amazon.co.uk.  As I reported when I reviewed The Religion, I wouldn't wait for the remainder bin this time around.

The Twelve Children of Paris takes place during St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.  Tannhauser arrives in Paris to find his (very pregnant) wife, who traveled to the city to attend a wedding while Tannhauser was away.  Tannhauser quickly finds himself in the heart of the city, and in the center of a spider web of court and political intrigue and madness.  As the killings begin, Tannhauser must locate his wife and save his stepson from the spreading riots and chaos.

Here's an idea of what the reader can expect;

I don't know - does that poster count as a "spoiler"? ;)

Before you think it's all about the violence, it's not.  The violence is not gratuitous - it's brutal and unflinching, but it's true to the tale.  Tannhauser lives in a violent time, and violent world, and he is one the most dangerous men of the time.  The violence is intrinsic to his existence and integral to the story.

The Religion took place over many locales and months, making it a sweeping epic.  The Twelve Children of Paris is more condensed, staying in Paris for the 36 hours of the Massacre.  In some ways, that imparts even more intensity to the sequel than to the first novel.

I am having a blast reading this one!

(p.s. - It should be noted, that knowledge of The Religion and The Twelve Children of Paris existing at all leads back to Jim Cornelius.  If you don't already follow his wonderful, unique and informative historic blog, Frontier Partisans, you should check it out.)

Zombies of Antiquity

I guess most of you who check-in here also follow historical author, Scott Oden.  But if anyone missed it, he's thinking about pulling together an anthology of zombie tales with ancient historical settings.

Personally, I'm not huge on the zombie thing, but much to my surprise, I had an idea come to me quickly. So, I'll be drafting up a tale.

Scott has plenty of Romans, apparently, so if you want to find some other niche in the given date range, I'm sure he'd be interested.

Details here.

Recently read; The Religion

The Religion by Tim Willocks

It took me a while to read this, but that is in no way a reflection on the book.   It has been a while since, as a reader, I became fully immersed in a thick novel.

The Religion takes place mostly during the 1565 siege of Malta.  ("The Religion" are better known to history as the Knights Hospitaller. )  The protagonist, Tannhauser, is a former janisssary who managed to escape his servitude with his head intact and now operates as an opium and arms merchant.  The Religion conspire to bring him into the conflict, because his knowledge of the Turk will aide them.  But, the conspiracy to bring him to Malta might be at the cost to his own head, as a vindictive member of the Inquisition has his own reasons for keeping him from Malta.

January reads

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian.

The opening novel of O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, adventures in the Age of Sail.

I had enjoyed the movie adaptation, Master & Commander: Far Side of the World. I'd heard this series praised many times, so I thought I'd give it a read.

Maybe I'm too used to reading action but I slogged through 129 pgs before it got interesting with the first naval battle.

I was expecting more of a direct action series like Cornwell's Sharpe.

While I admire O'Brian's research and documentation of the naval life, there was so much age-of-sail naval jargon that it seemed more like reading a foreign language than elucidation.

I also feel like he dropped a bunch of sly historical jokes and puns that went right over my head. I felt at times that I was reading a "dramedy."

I guess it's just me. I didn't enjoy this novel very much. I might return to the series - perhaps skip to Far Side of the World - but it will be awhile.

Someday I'd like to read another Age of Sail novel as point of comparison; Forester's Horatio Hornblower or Kent's Bolitho novels, perhaps.

---

Meantime, I took a break from the Age of Sail and delved back into Warhammer with...


Oathbreaker by Nick Kyme.

I just wanted a quick read with violence and action, and Kyme delivered. This novel is about dwarfs (In Warhammer, the plural of "dwarf" is "dwarfs", not "dwarves". Why they insist on this affectation, I don't know.) Dwarfs bashing goblin, orc and skaven heads, and who could want more?

Taking an inspiration from Lord of the Rings, no doubt - imagine if Gimli pulled together a small army of dwarves to retake Moria and you get the plot for this novel. Some of the visuals of the dwarf halls seem to come right from some of the Moria CGI work in the movie adaptation of Fellowship of the Ring.

Uthor, an ambititous dwarf, makes an oath to retake Karak Varn, after the great dwarf hold is taken by skaven (bipedal, intelligent, evil rat men of the Warhammer universe.) Though we are introduced to other dwarf characters, I read this novel quickly and some of the characters blurred for me. This novel is the second of three that form a loose trilogy about the dwarfs as a Warhammer race. We are shown various facets of dwarf society - the merchants, the stone workers, the engineers, the slayers, etc.

In the end, it is more about the dwarfs than any single dwarf. But, that's okay.

It was a fun romp, a quick read and that's all the entertainment I was looking for.

Just an FYI; in the novel trilogy, Oathbreaker is proceeded by Grudgebearer by Gav Thorpe and followed by another Nick Kyme novel, Honourkeeper. Given that they do not feature the same characters, ordering doesn't really matter.

In Black Library fashion, all three will be collected in an omnibus later this year, simply entitled Dwarfs.