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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Purity of Blood

Arturo Perez-Reverte continues the story of Captain Alatriste and his youthful servant Inigo Balboa in the second book of this series, Purity of Blood (#70).  Captain Alatriste is about to return to his old regiment about to see action in Flanders when a friend calls on him to assist an acquaintance in freeing his daughter from a convent with a dubious reputation.  Things do not go well and Inigo, the narrator of these tales, comes very close to an appointment with death at the hands of the Inquisition.  How this came to be, and how he is rescued to tell further tales of Alatriste's exploits is the crux of this entertaining mystery.

This book is set in a time and place in Spain's history that I have not read much about, and I find the period details and the poetry make me want to learn more.  The Church and the Inquisition are still strong, but Spain's imperial power has begun to wane.  Madrid is not the safest spot to be living.

One strong recommendation if you decide to read Perez-Reverte's swashbuckling series: begin with the first book Captain Alatriste (see my 3/25/11 post).  Most of the action in Purity of Blood hinges on events that happen in the first book.  Even though you could read and enjoy this book as a stand alone, it will really help you to connect the plot dots if you know what really happened in the incident of the two English gentlemen Inigo refers to repeatedly.

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