Captain Alatriste it is, without a doubt, one of Pérez-Reverte's best books. This is asserted without underestimating his wide repertoire of novels, more than 40 copies and translated into dozens of languages. The impact of these works on the reading public and critics has led the writer to belong to the "best sellers" list. In addition to this, several of his works have been successfully adapted for both film and television.
Pérez-Reverte is a Spanish writer and journalist highly recognized for his prolific and flawless career. At present, it is dedicated exclusively to literature, especially to the historical novel. His work has allowed him to win a considerable number of national and international awards and recognitions, which means that he cannot go unnoticed.
Biography of Pérez-Reverte
Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez was born on November 25, 1951, in Cartagena, an autonomous city of the Region of Murcia, in Spain. He studied professional studies at the Complutense University of Madrid. There, he developed two careers simultaneously during the first 3 years: journalism and political science. However, he eventually leaned towards the former, thus becoming a journalism graduate.
Pérez-Reverte, the journalist
He exercised his career as a reporter for 21 consecutive years, from 1973 to 1994. For 12 years at the newspaper Pueblo and the last 9 years in TVE as an expert in armed conflict. In his journalistic career, he covered major conflicts around the world, among which we can mention:
- The falklands war
- The gulf war
- The Bosnian War
- The coup in Tunisia.
Also, from the year 91 he made famous opinion articles XLweekly (Vocento group annex). Similarly, in 1990 Pérez-Reverte had a presence on the radio, in the program The street law de RNE (Spanish National Radio). Ending his career in TVE, was host of the program Code one, whose theme was the black chronicle.
Pérez-Reverte and literature
Pérez-Reverte ventured into literature in 1986, when he published The hussar, his first book, set in the XNUMXth century. Two years later he presented the work Fencing master, developed in Madrid. Despite the weight of these works, the writer began to be recognized after the launch of The Flanders table (1990) and The Dumas club (1993)
After retiring from journalism (in 1994), Pérez-Reverte devoted himself entirely to literature, which inspired him to create great novels. These include the set of books that make up the adventures of Captain Alatriste, and that appeared as of 1996. It can be said that it was this saga that gave the writer international success, so much so that it has been published in more than 40 countries.
Since 2003, Pérez-Reverte has been part of the enlightened members of the Royal Spanish Academy, occupying the T armchair. in 2016 he founded the book site zenda, of which he is also the main editor. In that same year he released another of his greatest hits, the Lorenzo Falcó trilogy. In this last year the author presented his two books: Fire line y The cave of the cyclops.
Sagas by Pérez-Reverte
The writer Pérez-Reverte has important and recognized novels in his report, and in them two magnificent characters stand out: Alatriste and Falcó. Both star in two books that were so resoundingly successful in their first edition that they merited the continuation of their stories. From there the following sagas were born:
Captain Alatriste Saga
Alatriste's book collection began in 1996 and is made up of 7 novels. These start with The capital Alatriste, prepared by Pérez-Reverte and his daughter Carlota Pérez-Reverte. The rest of the works were continued by the writer alone. They are based on the story of Diego Alatriste and Tenorio, a retired soldier of the Flanders thirds.
The books are full of action, recounting the captain's adventures as a swordsman in Madrid during the XNUMXth century. This compendium has meant a before and after for Pérez-Reverte, which is reflected in the million sales worldwide. In addition, there have been several adaptations of the work, both in film, television, comics, and even a role-playing game. In 2016, the author made a compilation of all the works, which he called: All Alatriste. The books that make up the collection are:
- Captain Alatriste (1996)
- Blood cleansing (1997)
- The sun of Breda (1998)
- The king's gold (2000)
- The Knight in the Yellow Doublet (2003)
- Raising Corsairs (2006)
- The Bridge of Assassins (2011)
Falcó trilogy
In 2016, Pérez-Reverte begins a series of three novels starring Lorenzo Falcó. They are works full of mystery, violence, passion and loyalty that have as their protagonist a spy and arms smuggler without moderation. The development of the stories occurs in Europe, in the years 1936 and 1937, at the time of the Civil War. The adventures quickly catch the reader and lead him to feel the emotion of each action.
Falcó is accompanied by two women and a man, the brothers Monteros and Eva Rengel; these are his friends, and, at the same time, his victims. The series has great journeys, full of conspiracies, where you can see the continuous confrontation of the main characters to get what they want. The protagonist is characterized because despite having a considerable number of virtues that can help him achieve his objectives, he uses unconventional methods to carry them out. The formula used by Pérez-Reverte has earned him excellent reviews and millions of readers.
Falcó's trilogy is made up of:
- Falco (2016)
- Eva (2017)
- Sabotage (2018)
Pérez-Reverte books
One of the best things that could happen to the world of Spanish letters is that Pérez-Reverte decided to dedicate himself entirely to literature. Undeniably, his pen has considerably enriched the gallery of works of the Castilian library. Some of the most outstanding novels of the author are:
Captain Alatriste (1996)
This historical-fiction work recounts the beginnings of the adventures of the vigorous swordsman and retired war soldier: Diego Alatriste and Tenorio. The story is set in seventeenth-century Madrid, in a corrupt and declining Spain. The story is narrated by Iñigo Balboa, son of a former war partner of the captain in the Flanders thirds.
The plot begins with Diego Alatriste in prison, because he could not pay his tax debts. After being released from prison, Alatriste's adventures begin. In them, the battles with steel flashing in the darkness of the night are the main protagonists. Gualterio Malatesta —sword and murderer—, Fernando de Quevedo —poet and friend of Alatriste— and Fray Emilio Bocanegra —a cruel inquisitor— are just some of the characters that give life to these pages.
The Queen of the South (2002)
This novel focuses on the life of Teresa Mendoza Chávez (aka La mejicana), a young woman from Sinaloa (Mexico). After the death of her boyfriend “El güero” —aviation pilot closely linked to the Juárez cartel— Teresa is forced to travel to Spain, where she will have a new beginning, but as a drug trafficker.
The plot takes place between settings in Mexico, Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. There, Teresa will try to impose herself in a business characterized by betrayal, love, ambition and greed. Many argue that it is based on real events, although Pérez-Reverte insists that it is a fictitious story. This novel was adapted for television in 2011 and broadcast on the Telemundo channel. It should be noted that the writer did not like the adaptation.
Falco (2016)
The first book of the Falcó trilogy, of the fiction-historical genre, begins the adventures of the espionage expert and intelligence agent: Lorenzo Falcó. The story places the reader in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, in an environment marked by corruption and where mercenaries are the best paid.
Falcó is tasked with infiltrating and rescuing an important revolutionary from the Alicante prison. It is a practically suicidal mission that can change the course of Spanish history. The brothers Montero and Eva Rengel are in charge of accompanying the protagonist in an environment full of suspense, action, betrayal and lust.
The cave of the cyclops (2020)
It is one of the last books by Pérez-Reverte, in which more than 45.000 messages written since 2010 are collected on Twitter - a network that the author calls the "cave of the cyclops" (and you already know where the Name)-. The work contains 10 years of short, but valuable thoughts, mostly from literature. His lines are recreated in the so-called Lola's bar, a virtual place where the author meets his followers and gives way to valuable conversations.
For those interested, The cave of the cyclops is available in format eBook
Other books by Pérez-Reverte
- Hussar (1986)
- Fencing master (1988)
- The Flanders table (1990)
- The Dumas club (1993)
- The shadow of the eagle (1993)
- Comanche territory (1994)
- A matter of honor (Little) (1995)
- Short work (1995)
- Drum skin (1995)
- The spherical letter (2000)
- With the intention of offending (2001)
- The Queen of the South (2002)
- Cape Trafalgar (2004)
- Don't catch me alive (2005)
- The painter of battles (2006)
- A day of anger (2007)
- Blue eyes (2009)
- When we were honored mercenary (2009)
- The siege (2010)
- Little Hoplite (2010)
- Ships get lost ashore (2011)
- The tango of the old guard (2012)
- The patient sniper (2013)
- Dogs and sons of bitches (2014)
- Good men (2015)
- The civil war told to the young (2015)
- Tough dogs don't dance (2018)
- A history of Spain (2019)
- Sidi (2019)
- Line of fire (2020)