Perez-Reverte, Arturo Books - Page 2

The Club Dumas

Arturo Perez-Reverte, Sonia Soto

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 219 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Interesting, but oddly disappointing 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book came to my attention only after I saw the movie The Ninth Gate, and I was immediately interested. The movie seemed to leave several questions unanswered, and I believed that a book would be a better medium for a mystery about books than film. Well, it was, but I was still left with unanswered questions.

The book follows the expolits of Lucas Corso, an alcoholic anti-hero, as he tracks down the source of exceedingly rare occult literature as a mercenary book trader. The best parts of the book center around his relationship with a strange girl with green eyes, who joins him for unexplained reasons on his quest. However, loosely connected to this intriguing investigation is a manuscript chapter from The Three Musketeers, which takes on strange dimensions as character parallels from the Musketeers oppose him on his journey. The background is peopled with unique characters, and various asides are devoted to describing the murky world of the rare book black market, the biography of Alexandre Dumas, or the nature of the devil and medieval occult practices.

These excerpts answered many of the questions posed by the film, fleshing out my understanding of plenty of side-issues. Several illustrations in the book also made these chapters more enjoyable. It was only at the end that I despaired of an explanation that united the two detective stories of Dumas and the devil. Instead of everything "coming together" as in a Sherlock Holmes story, the motivation for the entire quest comes unravelled into two distinct threads which are only coincidentally united. I admit that the movie had spoiled the final twist for me, which is perhaps the reason I found it unsatisfying. However, the author seems to have made some effort to assert the unity of the two strands of plot via Corso himself, who reflects to himself that he is caught in a literary twilight zone and refuses to be surprised by events which refer to literature. During the pursuit, I was pleased by all of this, but only on the condition of an eventual rationale. The rationale, once revealed, left me unimpressed.

Not that the book is without its charm; in fact, much in the style of Umberto Eco, the answer to the mystery is not the fanciful one the main character supposes- or rather, not the whole answer. The Club Dumas reminded me of Eco's book Foucault's Pendulum in particular, although this one is much more digestable to a leisurely fan. I will continue to suspect that the movie for The Ninth Gate spoiled the book for me; therefore, I would recommend anyone interested in this subject to read the book prior to the movie. The aftertaste may be more palatable.

Editorial Review:

As Lucas Corso investigates the authenticity of a manuscript by Alexander Dumas--received from a man later found hanged--he becomes embroiled in a search for a rare book of satanic lore, pursued by a sinister stalker and a mysterious woman. By the author of The Flanders Panel.

The Nautical Chart

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 75 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A novel that deserves more than five stars. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Forget the sunken ship, the treasure, the literary allusions, and all the rest. What is left is the description of an intense obsession and fierce longing for the unobtainable. And it is beautifully written. If you have ever fallen for someone so hard you built a pedestal that kept him or her just out of your grasp, this brilliant novel will bring those memories home in a wonderful way. I cannot say enough about this powerful, evocative novel. Far and away Perez-Reverte's best writing (certainly the translator must take some of the credit for this as well). Don't worry about the well-worn story and cliché; read this novel to bask in the glow of the pursuit of the unattainable.

had to give it a star to review it 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

one word:
garbage

but if that doesn't help here are a few more words:
this book is full of cheesy cliché, poor metaphor, and useless filler. not to mention technical jargon that does nothing for the storyline. i picked it up because i figured it had to be a best seller for a good reason. save your time and money. the surprise ending is not much of a surprise at all. the characters are flat and his attempt at spicing them up are quite unsuccessful. i'm really shocked that this author has achieved such a level of commercial success.

if you want to read a good mystery that takes place on the high seas i recommend "Star of the Sea" by Joseph O'Connor.

Editorial Review:

Coy is a sailor without a ship.Tánger Soto is a woman with an obsession to find the Dei Gloria, a ship sunk during the seventeenth century, and El Piloto is an old man with the sailboat on which all three set out to seek their fortune together. Or do they?

El Sol de Breda (Aventuras del Capitan Alatriste) (Spanish Edition)

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Just read it! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

El Sol de Breda es el tercer libro de la saga del Capitán Alatriste. Si no has leído los anteriores dos (Las Aventuras del Capitán Alatriste, y Limpieza de Sangre) entonces no leas éste...claro lo puedes leer pero te vas a perder una serie de detalles necesarios para entender a los personajes que ya son recurrentes en este seriado. Si eres atento a los pormenores podrás comenzar a sospechar cuál es La Venganza de Alquézar (uno de los libros que sigue en la serie, y aún no publicado)...si te gusta la lectura que mezcla con precisión matemática la historia con la aventura, entonces adéntrate en esta España de soldados obligados y monarcas decadentes, inquisidores y espadachines, damiselas y bibliotecas en llamas, nombres conocidos y hombres borrados de los libros. Extraordinario.

Editorial Review:

Enlisted as aide of Capitan Alatriste in the Spanish regiments, Inigo de Balboa tries to survive in a world where he needs to get very close to his enemy in order to kill him with his sword. He witnesses a historic moment, the surrender of Breda, that he would retell later to his friend Velazquez for famous painting.

La tabla de Flandes (Spanish Edition)

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

El Alejandro Dumas del Siglo XXI 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Considero a Arturo Perez-Reverte como el Alejandro Dumas del siglo XXI. Sus novelas, para mi gusto, van más allá de lo espectacular y cautivante. Desde la primera oración te quedas prisionero de este narrador maestro. Cuando empiezo a leer, pocas cosas hay en el mundo capaces de hacerme soltar el libro. Leí la Tabla de Flandes de principio a fin, sin parar. Literalmente. Las historias de este genio español son tales que es como comer un manjar tan exquisito que quisieras que nunca acabe. No voy a contar aquí de qué se trata el libro. Baste decir que es una lectura maravillosa, sorpresiva y que lleva el arte de la narración a un nivel de éxtasis y suspenso para el lector que sólo puedes encontrar en autores sobrehumanos como Dumas, Julio Verne, Victor Hugo y Mark Twain. Aparte de La Tabla de Flandes, recomiendo intensamente la lectura de La Carta Esférica, La Piel del Tambor, El Club Dumas, El Maestro de Esgrima y la "atípica" (dentro del universo Perez-Revertiano) trilogía del Capitán Alatriste. Recomiendo este libro (y todas las novelas del autor) sin absolutamente ninguna reserva.

Editorial Review:

A secret that could have changed the history of Europe is hidden in the chess game depicted in a fifteenth-century painting. Five centuries later, a young art expert, a gay antiquarian, and a peculiar chess player team up to unveil the mystery. They are all pieces in a diabolic chess game in which pieces are taken and players are murdered. "Paradoxes and puzzles abound. A sleek, sophisticated, madly clever, chamber mystery about chess, life, and art."—The New York Times Book Review

Limpieza De Sangre (Spanish Edition)

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sentirse espadachín 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Cuando termié de leer esta libro descubrí que era el segundo de una serie. Sin perder tiempo busqué el primero (Las aventuras del Capitán Alatriste) y me lo devoré en cuestión de horas. Si bien es cierto que se puede leer sin haber leído el primero, es mucho más sabroso leerlo con la información entregada en la primera parte. Iñigo Balboa,un jovencito que llegará a ser escudero de Alatriste, será quien nos narre lo que pasa: con su óptica de niño que se hace hombre, de cómplice de un extraordinario soldado que no tiene pares con la espada, pero que por honor desafía a un hombre de poder, a inquisidores. Iñigo se verá en un fuerte aprieto del cual sólo Alatriste es capaz de salvarlo.

Editorial Review:

In this second part, a woman has been found strangled in front of a local church. On her lap, a bag full of coins and a note “For masses for her soul” is found. In a nearby convent for young society ladies, the chaplain is having “unconventional” encounters with his novices. Captain Alatriste will soon discover how these two facts are connected by an entangled net of power, faith, and death. Description in Spanish: A punto de incorporarse a su antiguo tercio en Flandes, Diego Alatriste se ve envuelto por mediación de su amigo don Francisco de Quevedo en otra peligrosa aventura. Una mujer ha aparecido estrangulada en una silla de manos frente a ala iglesia de San Ginés, con una bolsa de dinero y una nota manuscrita: "Para misas por su alma". El enigma se complica con los sucesos misteriosos que ocurren tras las paredes de un convento, cuando Alatriste es contratado para rescatar de allí a una joven novicia.

La Carta Esferica / The Nautical Chart (Spanish edition)

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A nautical chart can be much more than an indispensable instrument to navigate from one place to another; it is an etching, a page from history, and sometimes even an adventure novel.

Just published by Alfaguara, La carta esférica by Arturo Pérez-Reverte is the story of a sailor without a ship, exiled from the ocean, who meets a woman who returns to him the adventure of the sea.

Never have the ocean and its history, the science of navigation, adventure and mystery, been combined in such an extraordinary manner as is done in this novel. Only Arturo Pérez-Reverte could have accomplished this.

Blurb in Spanish:
Un marino sin barco, desterrado del mar, conoce a una extraña mujer que posee, tal sin saberlo, respuestas a preguntas que ciertos hombres se hacen desde hace siglos.

Nunca el mar y la Historia, la ciencia de la navegación, la aventura y el misterio, se habían combinado de modo tan extraodinario en una novela, como en La carta esférica. De Melville a Stevenson y Conrad, de Homero a Patrick O'Brian, toda la gran literatura escrita sobre el mar late en las páginas de esta historia fascinante, e inolvidable.

El Caballero Del Jubon Amarillo

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This long awaited fifth installment of the famous adventures of Capitan Alatriste is set in an aristocratic love affair between Alatriste and María de Castro, the most beautiful and famous actress of the Golden Era who is also being courted by Felipe IV. Action, history and adventure come together in these unforgettable pages of danger and excitement. Description in Spanish: “Don Francisco de Quevedo me dirigió una mirada que interpreté como era debido, pues fui detrás del capitán Alatriste. Avísame si hay problemas, habían dicho sus ojos tras los lentes quevedescos. Dos aceros hacen más papel que uno. Y así, consciente de mi responsabilidad, acomodé la daga de misericordia que llevaba atravesada al cinto y fui en pos de mi amo, discreto como un ratón, confiando en que esta vez pudiéramos terminar la comedia sin estocadas y en paz, pues habría sido bellaca afrenta estropearle el estreno a Tirso de Molina. Yo estaba lejos de imaginar hasta qué punto la bellísima actriz María de Castro iba a complicar mi vida y la del capitán, poniéndonos a ambos en gravísimo peligro…”.

La Piel del Tambor (Biblioteca) (Spanish Edition)

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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The Club Dumas

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Editorial Review:

When a well-known bibliophile is found hanged, Lucas Corso is brought in to authenticate a fragment of a manuscript purported to be "The Three Musketeers." He is soon drawn into a swirling plot involving devil worship, occult practices, and a swashbuckling cast that bears a suspicious resemblance to those in the famous work.

Dumas Club: The Ninth Gate

Arturo Perez-Reverte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

The devil made me read it... 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 10 people found this review helpful.

My first thought when setting out to write this review was, 'Hmmm, I wonder how many irrelevant and obscure titles I can work into the review, that may or may not shed some light on the subject matter at hand?'

I am a fairly well-read person (I am told I am too modest, and that I qualify as a very well read person, but I don't want to claim too much, lest some diabolic force leap forward to claim me back for my sin of pride, a particularly bad thing for those of holy orders, as every guide and advice to the priestly states since the days of Irenaeus). But I digress.

But this is in keeping with the flavour of the novel. Unless you like digression, stay far away (run, don't walk!) from this novel. But, if you go in for the seemingly endless, barely understandable and eventually irrelevant, then by all means, this is the book for you.

I would not have read this book but for the urgings of friends who were similarly reading this, and wanted to compare notes. Thanks, guys!

Now, I must hasten to add at this point, I did find myself enjoying the book several times. I don't mind the digressions, but I found the attempts (subtle but there) to equate Corso with a Holmesian character unconvincing (and the attempts were subtle enough that Perez-Reverte could claim they aren't actually there). Apart from Holmes, he ignores most of English literature--when he talks of those who wrote in serial form, i.e, Stendahl et alia, he neglects those such as Dickens.

I would love to have the card catalogue Perez-Reverte was sitting next to as he wrote this; perhaps he used Amazon.com and other internet searching to add that final irrelevant entry in each of the listings of books.

I am a bibliophile. I sit in a room, such as Perez-Reverte describes in several places, where shelves sag on walls groaning from the strain of heavy books, heavy in content as well as mass weight. I have several such rooms in my home. But I couldn't quite find the same love of books in this book, where sometimes bibliophilia was a fetish, and other times a useless detail.

Basic plot--is it a murder or is it a suicide? What does the manuscript have to do with it? Dumas (who wrote, among other things, the stories involving the Musketeers) is seemingly at the centre of things, along with a possibly-phoney book of occult forbidden knowledge, for which men will die (obviously) or kill. There is diabolic force at work, maybe. Corso is the rare-books expert called in to investigate the case, who doesn't always like the role of policeman.

Perez-Reverte seems intent on impressing us with his erudition in the field of literature and continental travel. It would be impressive if it were consistent and organised along better lines, and woven into a story where such details made a contribution. This book, as a mystery, fails to deliver because it both gives more information than is necessary (which can be an effective device, forcing the reader to separate 'the wheat from the chaff', or figure out which strands to follow; sadly, that is not the case here) and insufficient information in the strands which count to allow the reader to 'figure it out' (another sin, often difficult to avoid when one is trying for a 'complex' novel; even Conan Doyle frequently failed on this point).

In all, this is an inventive idea, with interesting character formation; for some reason, neither the story nor the characters get developed sufficiently (either in size or direction) to make this a first-class novel.

The New York Daily News described this book as 'A cross between Umberto Eco and Anne Rice' (Eco is very prominent here, as Perez-Reverte is obviously trying to emulate and cash in on Eco's prominence in the richer-and-book-purchasing English-speaking world). The New Yorker gets even more, well, New-Yorker-ish: 'A noir metafiction [please someone, tell me just what that means, in English??] Even a reader armed with a Latin dictionary and a copy of The Three Musketeers cannot anticipate the thrilling twists of this stylish, Escher-like mystery.'

Perhaps one of the reasons one cannot anticipate 'the thrilling twists' is the inconsistency in the novel? Just a thought.

Escher-like...well, yes, you read one thing and it turns out to be another (for instance, I thought I was reading a great novel, and it turned out to be...)

No, that is unfair. It is worth reading, but not devoting much time toward. Use as a diversion, not a devotional. I won't spoil the ending for you. I don't like it when others do that for me. You'll have to suffer as I and my fellow readers did to find out. You may love it! You may despise it! Yes, it is one of those books.

Editorial Review:

Obsessional book hunter, Lucas Corso, is asked to authenticate a Dumas manuscript. Persuaded that there may be an occult link between this and another text owned by a wealthy Spanish dealer, which purports to instruct on invoking the Devil, he sets out on a hunt that becomes a dangerous drama.