Captain Alatriste/Purity of Blood

Since I was a kid watching reruns of "The Mark of Zorro" with Tyrone Power, I've been a sucker for a swashbuckler.  I was a big fan of Rafael Sabatini's novels when I was ten years old - Captain Blood, Scaramouche, The Sea Hawk.  For the most part, it's a dead genre in literature, with one glorious exception: The Captain Alatriste novels of Arturo Perez-Reverte.  One of Spain's best mystery novelists, Perez-Reverte has written four novels about his enigmatic swordsman, a soldier, sword-for-hire, and man of honor in 17th-century Madrid.  Quick to take offense, loyal to a fault, and skeptical of corrupt authority (including the Church and the deadly Inquisition), Alatriste is the kind of man who is a valuable friend and a frightening enemy.  

Okay, it sounds corny. It's not.  Alatriste and his closest friends come to vivid life on the page because Perez-Reverte takes the time to reveal their histories, and describe the political and cultural turmoil of this specific time in Spain's history.  The stories are told by Inigo Balboa, the son of Alatriste's dead comrade-in-arms, as he looks back from old age at his violent and tumultuous youth.  This enables Perez-Reverte, through his narrator, to put the actions of Alatriste, with his friends and enemies, into a deeper historical - and emotional - perspective.  Think of To Kill a Mockingbird, and how Scout looks back from maturity at the events of her childhood, and how that adds to the depth of her - and our - appreciation for her father's heroism.  The same dynamic holds here (I grant, in a wildly different context).

I don't mean to makes these novels sound too serious.  They are truly literature, but that doesn't mean they aren't a lot of fun.  Swordfights, duels, massive battles, daring rescues, evil seductresses, witty comrades and one great villain - these books are packed with the kind of action that brings out the 10-year-old in guys of all ages.  Yes, I think these are guys' books.  Alatriste is what used to be called a "man's man," and I don't know many women who would be interested.  But no matter what your gender, if you stay up late because TCM is running an Errol Flynn swashbuckler that you have to see just one more time - the Captain is for you.  I've read the first two novels - can't wait to start the third.

The Aubrey/Maturin Novels (Master & Commander)

It's fascinating that the best adventure novels in the English language are formally untitled.  The novels - Patrick O'Brian's stories of British naval captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and his friend, ship's doctor and secret agent Stephen Maturin - have no umbrella name, unlike say, Lord of the Rings.  Most people who know anything about them call them the "Master and Commander" novels, probably because of the excellent film with Russell Crowe as Lucky Jack.  But for those of us who have read them and love them, it doesn't matter.  

In truth, the series of 20 novels is really one novel - an epic saga of the Napoleonic Age that begins with Jack's first command, and first of the spectacular successes that lead to his nickname, and ends decades later with his rise to admiral.  But that simple description doesn't begin to summarize the complex narrative of the rise, fall, and resurrection of one of English literature's most captivating heroes, or the story of a fascinating lifelong friendship between two very different and fascinating individuals.  

The books are brilliant in their portrayal of action at sea, and of the political intrigues of the time.  They are also compelling romances, especially the long, tragic story of Stephen and the Lady Diana, his alluring, self-destructive wife.

But O'Brian's genius is most evident in two achievements: His incredibly compelling descriptions of life at sea in the first years of the 19th century, and the creation of an unforgettable friendship between two entirely different types of hero.

As good a storyteller as O'Brian is on land, his novels really take off when the mooring lines are thrown off and his heroes take to the sea.  Life in the British Navy is brutal and harsh, a constant struggle against weather, hunger, drunkenness, and the extraordinary danger of every ordinary day at sea.  Mistakes are frequently mortal.  And yet the adventures experienced by even the most common sailor - the thrill of finding new cultures, the excitement of battle, the bonds formed between men who depend on each other for their safety and sanity - make you wonder if 20th century life can offer anything remotely as inspiring.

O'Brian's adventures are unabashedly old-fashioned - they could have been written 200 years ago - and Jack Aubrey is the perfect hero for them.  Reading these novels and getting to know Jack over a 20-year span, you realize how rare a bird is the traditional hero in modern literature.  In our age of irony and cynicism, Jack Aubrey should seem too good to be true - but he's not.  Aubrey may be one of the most sophisticated characters in 20th century fiction.  Jack is flawed - boastful, spoiled, headstrong and naive - but his flaws make his courage and audacity more believable, and more admirable.

Stephen Maturin is in many ways Jack's opposite - intellectual where Jack is instinctive, repressed, angry and suspicious where Jack is sensual and trusting.  Stephen is more of a 20th-century heroic ideal - the anti-hero, scornful of authority and traditional institutions.  A secret agent for the British government - which, as an Irish national, he loathes with a passion - he thrives in darkness, while Jack is a creature of noise and light.

And yet their friendship is what truly brings these novels to life, and the evolution of their relationship is what ties the books together into one satisfying whole.  In the first novel, Stephen first sees Jack as conservative and shallow, a happy tool of imperial power, while Jack finds his doctor to be argumentative and irritating.  By the end of the series, after numerous battles, personal failures, shared deprivation and triumph, the two men have built the kind of friendship rarely found and greatly envied.

I say "men" because I have a bias - I think these are books that few women will enjoy as much as most men.  Their emphasis on friendship and their lack of compelling women characters (Lady Diana strongly excluded) will - I think - lessen their attraction.

O'Brian's greatest asset is patience.  Knowing from the outset that he was going to tell his story over the course of 20 novels, he takes his time and goes into great detail with each.  Don't think "Moby Dick" and its lengthy discourses on whaling techniques; a better comparison is Dickens.  Both share the ability to describe situations concisely and convincingly while keeping the narrative moving like a war frigate at full sail in a howling gale.

My favorites in the series: HMS Surprise, in which Jack takes command of the ship he will love most his entire career; The Reverse of the Medal, in which Jack falls victim to poor judgment and political intrigue; and The Far Side of the World.  But the truth is, I love them all, and read them all in order, one right after the other - and when I finished, I felt empty for a week with the loss.