Отличная книга, посвященная Трафальгарскому сражению, написанная испанским автором, про испанцев и немного о французах. Удивительно(или нет:)), но не существует издания этой книги на английском языке. This is an excellent book dedicated to the Battle of Trafalgar, written by a Spanish author, about the Spaniards and a little about the French. Surprisingly (or not :)), but there is no English edition of this book.

Есть неточности, но в целом хорошо, сражение описывается со стороны испанского флагмана Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad (Святой Троицы), а также хорошо описаны причины, которые привели к такому исходу сражения. There are inaccuracies, but overall it is good. The battle is described from the side of the Spanish flagship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad (Holy Trinity), and the reasons that led to such an outcome of the battle are also well described.

Небольшой шарм чтению добавил тот факт, что удалось побывать в Портсмуте на флагмане Нельсона HMS Victory. Как 850 человек экипажа помещались на линейных кораблях того времени сложно представить. A small charm was added to the reading by the fact that it was possible to visit Portsmouth on Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. It is difficult to imagine how 850 crew members were accommodated on the line ships of that time.

PS. Из Arturo Perez-Reverte стоит почитать цикл "Капитан Аллатристе" и "Клуб Дюма", по последнему снят Фильм Роман Полански "Девятые врата". P.S. From Arturo Perez-Reverte, it is worth reading the cycle "Captain Alatriste" and "The Dumas Club". Based on the latter, the film "The Ninth Gate" by Roman Polanski was shot.

I don't think it's Pérez Reverte's usual book. Especially because it seems that it's a book he has written in part for himself, writing in a comfortable way. I think this because of the abundant use of nautical jargon words that anyone gets lost in, and also because of the number of times the protagonists shit on someone. It is particularly this that makes me think that the author enjoyed writing it because he lets flow on the pages, almost without filters, his way of seeing life, that fucked-up and even villainous people but in whom a value that redeems everything can be seen.

Beyond this consideration, I quite liked the book because Pérez Reverte knows how to show the multiple faces that a battle presents. The debate that he shows throughout the book about what the homeland is on that ship that is fighting or what the flag means at that moment. Proposals that I think are the most accurate of the little I have read about battle novels, fundamentally because what the author points out the most is that this is about saving one's skin and if it can't be, then selling it dearly.

In short, it has left me a bit confused perhaps, but if this review has not been understood, I want it to be known that I really liked the book. I was really looking forward to reading it and I have enjoyed it.

I think the author's way of seeing life is very evident, of fucked-up but brave people and... He names the cowards several times but they deserve very little attention. Anyway, that he enjoyed writing it, which I assume he did.

A very entertaining description of the terrible Battle of Trafalgar, in the style of Pérez-Reverte, with his usual strengths. It is extremely well-documented, and as real as life itself in describing the conditions of the "sailors", many of whom were completely inexperienced, recruited by force to serve a country that had never done anything but mistreat them, for the greater glory of the lords of the court who played at sharing honors over the blood of those unhappy ones. Pérez-Reverte also shows his superb mastery of nautical jargon (although for those of us on land, terms like obenque, driza, and flechaste mean nothing, and in the end one skims over all that vocabulary, picking up what one can from the context and ignoring the rest).

As the only negative point, I find the use of overly cute expressions excessive. This is something I have already seen in previous works of the author, but in this book he has gone a bit overboard. And it is a bit jarring that some of them are extremely anachronistic, like the expression "por un tubo", which I don't think was used by sailors in the early 19th century.

**Title: Normalito, del estilo de Reverte**

Normalito, that ordinary and unassuming little thing. It has a charm all its own, just like the works of Reverte.

It may not stand out at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one can discover its hidden qualities.

It is like a quiet corner in a bustling city, offering a moment of tranquility and reflection.

Normalito has a simplicity that is both refreshing and endearing. It doesn't try to be something it's not, but rather embraces its ordinariness with pride.

Just as Reverte's writing takes us on ordinary yet extraordinary journeys, Normalito invites us to see the beauty in the everyday.

It reminds us that sometimes, the simplest things in life are the most precious.

Whether it's a cup of coffee in the morning or a walk in the park, Normalito shows us that there is magic to be found in the ordinary.

So, let's not overlook the Normalitos in our lives. Let's take the time to appreciate their unique charm and the joy they bring.

For in their ordinariness, lies a world of wonder waiting to be discovered.

I don't fully understand it yet, but this book has really hooked me. Even though I knew from the beginning how it ends, it still manages to fully immerse you in the battle, get to know its people, rejoice in the small victories, and feel sad for the deaths. I'm a big fan of the colloquial language used, but not so much a fan of the amount of nautical technical terms it employs. However, they are by no means limiting in the reading.

As I continue to read, I find myself more and more engaged with the story. The author does an excellent job of creating a vivid and exciting world. The descriptions of the battles are intense and thrilling, making you feel as if you are right there in the thick of it. The characters are well-developed and interesting, each with their own unique personalities and motives.

Despite my slight reservation about the nautical technical terms, I still highly recommend this book. It's a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Whether you're a fan of historical fiction or just looking for a good adventure story, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Mientras nosotros, insensatos y estúpidos, derramamos el oro sin medida en los bolsillos más indignos, se lo regateamos todo a aquellos que trabajan y sufren. Además, damos al olvido el decoro, la humanidad y la conveniencia, obstinados en hacerlo todo a costa de sudores y sangre que nunca se pagan.

No he leído casi nada de novelas marineras, pero he disfrutado enormemente la relectura de estas páginas de Reverte. Estas te sumergen completamente en un combate naval del siglo XIX. Francia y España sucumben ante la armada inglesa junto al cabo de Trafalgar. Aunque la historia se cuenta desde los perdedores, es la sensación de estar a bordo de uno de esos navíos lo que me fascina y me atrapa. Las astillas saltan por todas partes y se clavan en la carne, los cañones explotan, las maniobras dependen del mar y de un viento que no se somete a tus necesidades. Los hombres están borrachos de pólvora, el sudor y la sangre cubren la cubierta y los mástiles se rompen bajo los cañonazos y la metralla, caen y arrastran a decenas de infelices hacia la muerte.

Respeto y defiendo (a pesar de que pueda dificultar la lectura) la enorme jerga marinera, que a mí me ayuda a imaginarme en medio de esa tripulación. Disfruto mucho de este Reverte, el de las historias cortas, el mismo de "la Sombra del Águila", el que consigue emocionarme en la tragedia, en el sinsentido de la guerra. "Derechos al Trinidad, añade. Y que dios reconozca a los suyos".

Certainly, the author's writing style is very good. However, it is still not magnificent enough for me to fall in love with the stories of pirates. Unfortunately, I have them in my less graceful literary lines.

The author's way of writing does have its charm. The words seem to flow smoothly, creating a certain atmosphere. But when it comes to the tales of pirates, something is lacking. Maybe it's the excitement, the adventure, or the vivid portrayal of the characters.

I have always been interested in pirate stories, imagining the thrilling sea voyages, the hidden treasures, and the daring deeds of the pirates. But in these literary works, I don't quite feel that same passion. It's as if the author is holding back, not fully unleashing the potential of the pirate theme.

Nevertheless, I still appreciate the author's effort. Writing is not an easy task, and everyone has their own style and approach. Maybe with more practice and exploration, the author will be able to create more captivating pirate stories that will truly enamor the readers.

Amo a Arturo Perez-Reverte. I love his direct prose, without frills, hard and unmitigated, like a punch in the stomach. I love his sharpness and bitter sense of humor that oozes from his newspaper columns and sometimes stealthily slips through his characters. I love his mysterious plots that make any Dan Brownesque bestseller look ridiculous. I love the Perez-Reverte of The Club Dumas and The Fencing Master, and I say all this without any kind of shame: I consider Perez-Reverte an excellent writer, critic, and creator.

However, I extremely hate all of his current production. The Skin of the Drum seemed to me a crappy thriller, The Spherical Letter a bad joke, and The Siege... let's draw a stupid veil over it.

Cabo Trafalgar is, within Perez-Reverte's production, a minor novel, a seafaring tale centered on the naval battle that opposed the Spanish and French armies to the English army in 1805. And this naval work, in particular, commits the same sin as Jules Verne or Patrick O'Brian in Master and Commander (and I write it in English because pronouncing it pumps testosterone through every capillary of my body), and that is of saturating everything with such recherche and detailed nautical jargon that it overwhelms the reader. I know that this resource is necessary to place the characters on the ship, the place where the action takes place; knowing their maneuvers is important to know how the battle develops and to orient oneself precisely, and the book even includes at the beginning a map of a ship with all its parts; but this does not stop making the reading tedious and difficult. There were moments while reading that I thought of playing a drinking game: every time the words yardarm, tackle, or stay were said, take a swig. As I advanced in the reading, I realized that the comma would kill me on page 20. And, moreover, making your sailors talk like wooden marionettes does nothing to get into the story. Many of them only lack being called Richy or Joshua to be the dogs of my neighborhood.

However, ignoring this, we have a short and moderately agile work; the battle scenes are especially intense, to the point of submerging you in the middle of the battle and feeling that a splinter could tear off an arm at any moment. It is in these moments where Perez-Reverte excels incredibly well, making the reader participate in the frenzy and confusion of a naval battle. When the novel finally ends and everything returns to calm, the reader can finally release all the pent-up air and relax.

Sincerely, I would not recommend this novel to anyone who is not already moderately initiated in high-seas novels of the style of Patrick O'Brian or Robert Louis Stevenson, and much less would I recommend it to anyone who does not have enough patience to go back pages and look for where in the ship such a rigging or sail is located. If this does not seem difficult to you, you will have a good adventure novel that you will surely enjoy even more than I did. For my part, I do not plan to read it, and I still wait, in my innocence, for the return of the old Perez-Reverte.

Well, at least we will always have his articles.

In anticipation of the bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar, Alfaguara asked Arturo Pérez-Reverte for a narrative about his particular vision of the most famous naval battle in history.

This battle pitted the combined Spanish-French fleet against the British fleet, led by Admiral Nelson, in the Spanish waters off Cape Trafalgar.

The combination of historical rigor and spectacular action, along with the author's narrative skill, turns these pages into a fascinating and crucial piece for understanding the tragic day of October 21, 1805 that changed the history of Europe and the world.

Official website of Arturo Pérez-Reverte

This is a good novel that allows you to get closer to the human side of this battle. Pérez-Reverte manages to blend his war experiences and adapt them to this event. It is a great job detailing the technical details of the navy of that era.

It is a recommended light reading. You will be able to immerse yourself in the story and feel the emotions of the characters. The author's writing style is engaging and makes it easy to follow the plot. Whether you are a fan of historical fiction or just looking for an interesting read, this novel is definitely worth checking out.

You will gain a better understanding of the naval battles of the past and the people who fought in them. So, pick up this book and let Pérez-Reverte take you on a journey through history.

The author employs an archaic and recherché language, which makes this book a complex reading.

This old-fashioned and overly elaborate way of writing presents challenges to the readers. They may struggle to understand the meaning and context of the words and sentences. The use of such language can create a sense of distance between the readers and the text, making it difficult for them to engage fully with the story or ideas presented in the book.

However, it is important to note that some readers may appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of this archaic language. It can add a certain charm and authenticity to the work, transporting the readers to a different time and place. Nevertheless, for the majority of readers, the complex language may pose a significant barrier to enjoying and understanding the book.

It is the second time that I read it.

This time, after reading the translation of "Master and Commander", in order to take advantage of the fresh nautical terms in my mind