Beforehand I was not convinced about the idea of this book being a war story rather than an adventure swashbuckling story. However I am a convert now. I complained in my review of the previous book that Reverte did not completely get into the story, that he was perhaps a bit too interested in the didactic part of these books to truly do the story justice. That problem does not exist here. Reverte gets into the story all right and as a result the pace is better, without losing the distinctive style of the series.

The only problem is that the ending is a bit rushed, almost anticlimatic, but the novel remains very enjoyable. ( )

Tercera entrega de Las aventuras del capitán Alatriste, El sol de Breda escenifica las batallas y el asedio de la ciudad de Breda en 1625 por los Tercios españoles en Flandes. El joven vasco Íñigo de Balboa es el narrador, como siempre, pero ahora adquiere en este relato un papel más protagonista: es mochilero del tercio viejo de Cartagena, donde sirve de ayudante a su amo el capitán Alatriste, y empuña por primera vez las armas en el combate. Íñigo será, en esta aventura, testigo del sometimiento de la ciudad por las tropas españolas, y describirá años más tarde al pintor Diego Velázquez, para que los inmortalice en un famoso cuadro, los rostros de los participantes en la batalla: el general Ambrosio Spínola, un respetado guerrero con dotes de político, que abortará el conato de un motín de las tropas, hartas de pelear sin que vean recompensados sus esfuerzos con una paga que nunca llega, y que el general les adelantará de sus acaudaladas arcas o el maestre de campo Pedro de la Daga, despreciativo con sus tropas hasta la crueldad, o el dubitativo capitán Carmelo Bragado y el valiente soldado Sebastián Copons, veteranos todos de las pasadas guerras en Nápoles y camaradas del capitán Alatriste.

Mientras Reverte siga publicando, yo te seguiré regalando. Felices Reyes 6-I-99 ( )

Nota de Pamen en 1ª pág.: Reyes 1999. Solo 9 meses, y no es un embarazo... ( )

The black sheep of the Alatriste novels, The Sun Over Breda sees author Arturo Pérez-Reverte abandon his usual Dumas-lite adventure tendencies in favour of a rather pedestrian war story. Captain Alatriste and our narrator Íñigo are bogged down in the mud of the siege of Breda, in a war against the Dutch, and unfortunately the narrative is bogged down too. There's no adventure developing, no plot, just a succession of (occasionally interesting) battle scenes.

It's well-written (there's a good scene in the aftermath of the main battle, as the young and introspective Íñigo explores his after-battle emotions) and as a war tale/historical novel it's sort of good. The problem is it's not so good you can recommend it on that basis alone, and it falls far short of slaking the adventure thirst that readers of the series will be expecting. Captain Alatriste himself is a peripheral figure in the story, but no one else steps up to fill his shoes. ( )