Two Historical Fiction Novels

Captain Alatriste, by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I have been a fan of this author since Club Dumas (the book upon which the movie The Ninth Gate was based - a great book, a rotten movie). Like me, Mr. Perez-Reverte likes Alexander Dumas. The titular character in his new book is cut from the same cloth as The Three Musketeers: a competent, principled and world-weary swordsman caught up in political intrigue. In this case, our hero is in Spain during the height of its power and the machinations are devised and instigated by persons in the highest noble and clerical circles. The book is a quick read and utterly enjoyable. I look forward to reading the next installment in the series.

The Coffee Trader, by David Liss. Mr. Liss is a new find for me. He is known for writing historical novels that emphasize economic history, suspense novels set in the proto-corporate world of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Coffee Trader concerns a Portuguese Jew living in Amsterdam in the 17th century who attempts to establish a monopoly in the nascent coffee trade. The book is thick with plots and counter-plots and spiced with glimpses of life in the Netherlands and details of Jewish life among the relatively free-wheeling Protestants of that time and place. Although there is no flashy swordplay, no one is a good guy in this story and the twists are unpredictable and satisfying.