Captain Alatriste

Pérez-Reverte invented here the modern Spanish swashbuckling genre: well-researched, nimble, with a protagonist who is neither hero nor villain but a professional survivor. Alatriste has the seediness of Habsburg Madrid and the energy of a good comic book. It is intelligent entertainment fiction in the best sense: well-written, addictive and leaving a historical residue. Ideal for teenagers who do not read and for adults who want to read without effort.