Book Review: The Sun Over Breda

It's a good night for a little blogging action. I had my inaugural Spring run today which went pretty well, although right now my legs feel like what I imagine they would if they were repeatedly beating by a large stick.

I finished The Sun Over Breda last week, another Perez-Reverte book. It's the third in the Captain Alatriste series, although there are six in Spanish. Captain Alatriste is a soldier in the 17th century twilight of the Spanish Empire (yes, Mindy, Spain was once a mighty empire). Like all of the books, it is narrated by Íñigo Balboa y Aguirre, the Captain's faithful squire (or mochilero if you want to get all technical on that ass). Although the first two books were based in Madrid, this time the action takes place in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years War, specifically the siege of Breda. For those not inclined to study the Siglo de Oro, Spain was nominally in control of the Netherlands but it was in the midst of a rebellion that would go on until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Anyway, the Captain Alatriste series is kind of a pulp historical fiction, sort of an homage to Dumas, kind of a Spanish The Three Musketeers. Unlike his other novels, these are more like a quick beach read although that doesn't diminish them (I like this much better than The Painter of Battles). Anyway the book is mainly a series of raids, counterattacks, trench warfare, and basically a review of how crappy life was in the 17th century. It also covers the decline of the Spanish Empire, which interestingly is a startling corollary to the decline of our own country (for example, some of the causes of the collapse of Spanish power was its concentration on fighting pointless wars, maintaining an empire, and concentrating on finances rather than actually producing goods. Plus kicking people they didn't like out of their country. Religious extremism. Blowing up Muslims. Sorry, I'll get back to the book).

In short, I would recommend this book to anyone who is into historical fiction about derring-do and gruff Spanish captains with plumed hats. Or you could just watch the movie (which is in Spanish and costs about $50, but it does star Viggo Mortenson).