The Sun Over Breda

In this third volume of the Alatriste series, Captain Alatriste and his young ward Inigo Balboa are back in the army. Alatriste has left Madrid and its intrigues behind, to resume his life as an old soldier in the battlefields of Flanders. A stupid, meaningless, soul-sapping war that was ultimately doomed to failure. A war for the Catholic faith against the heretics (i.e. protestants). A war for king and country--but why?? Author Perez-Reverte describes the life (and death) of these soldiers in gritty, horrifying, numbing detail. The tedium, the insects, the crawling through tunnels, the battles without quarter, the explosions of merciless savagery. The author packs his work with historical details about weapons and equipment and military tactics. The sense of realism is startling. And to make things even more fascinating, he ties his fictional characters in with real figures from Spanish history and culture, particulary the great painter Velasquez. Not only can you not put this book down, you begin to wonder if it's fiction or history. I'm enjoying the series immensely and this one especially. The Spanish is not too difficult, although (as with the other volumes) he uses a number of archaic terms for weapons and articles of clothing. Never mind, you can feel the dampness and cold. You keep reading. I recommend this book very highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

I am a great admirer of Pérez-Reverte's writing in general and the Captain Alatriste series in particular. That said, I must confess to feeling a mite concerned about a third of the way into The Sun Over Breda. You see, not much was happening. This is no criticism, but for all its manifold merits, this series is, at core, swashbuckling. So as our narrator, Íñigo Balboa, gives us page after page of exposition (however historically accurate and well wrought), you too may worry. Never fear. Once Pérez-Reverte properly establishes that we're in Netherlands during the Thirty Years War as opposed to his customary Spain, he lets loose the hounds of war. One particularly chilling episode has to do with a subterranean battle between sappers taking place near a graveyard. (Keep in mind the soldiers are underground). Yet despite its bloody present, The Sun Over Breda refers so much to what has gone before and what is yet to come, it does feel a bit like a placeholder. And although Captain Alatriste plays a surprisingly small role in the matter, a magnificent Iberian placeholder it is.

Here's why I disagree with the poor reviews of this novel and why, the more I think about it, the more I consider this story very well written: 1. The pacing of the book is precisely what one might expect from a siege - periods of page-turning excitement between several pages of soldiers and characters getting used to one another, struggling to keep seeing their "enemy" as their "enemy," and trying to survive in the nasty, brutish world of the early 1600's warfare. The simple fact that all of the reviewers finished the book speaks to the ability of Perez-Reverte's writing to carry you through the non-fast action parts. 2. There are moments in the book - for instance, when Inigo receives a letter and Captain Alatriste talks to him about it - that are exquisitely captured; one can picture the scene, the sounds, the voices, the background as if you are watching a movie. Truly a master writer at work, knowing just what words to put in...and just what can be left out. 3. The action scenes that take place around the siege and in the story are unique for two aspects: one, they are very original; and two, as the action proceeds, you get a real feel for both the characters, their motivations, their fears, the confusion they find themselves in, and the tragedy of their courage and ideals. If you are expecting an Erol Flynn swashbuckling derring-do, yes, you'll be unimpressed. If you're expecting an adventure story close to what likely happened to men who lived and died 400 years ago, I cannot imagine a better author and a better book that captures this moment.

"The sun over Breda" is a well written book with a thoughtful plot and character development. I enjoy books by this author because they break away from the standard formula approach so often seen in popular fiction. The history is well researched and accurate. Arturo Perez-Reverte has a particular ability to bring the past alive. A very enjoyable addition to this series and the author's works. The translation from Spanish into English is, at times, cumbersome.

El éxito de sus novelas sobre las aventuras del capitán Alatriste, cuya publicación comenzó en 1996, constituye un acontecimiento literario sin precedentes en España. El sol de Breda es el tercer volumen de la serie. Flandes, 1625. Alistado como mochilero del capitán Alatriste en los tercios viejos que asedian Breda, Íñigo Balboa es testigo excepcional de la rendición de la ciudad, cuyos pormenores narrará diez años más tarde para un cuadro famoso de su amigo Diego Velázquez.El Capitán Alatriste abandona la villa y corte de Madrid para marchar hacía Flandes y sus sangrientas batallas. Hasta el momento muchos dicen que El Sol de Breda es el mejor de los tres libros que han sido editados yo creo que los tres son muy entretenidos. Dejando a un lado las intrigas de la corte, Don Diego Alatriste vive y hace vivir la crueldad e injusticia y realidad de la guerra en 1625. Haciendo gala de un rigor histórico, Reverte refleja un período de España del que se ha publicado muy poco y que para muchos es hoy en día desconocido. Otras obras recomendadas del mismo autor. El Husar y La sombra del Aguila ambas inspiradas en las guerras Napoleonicas.