Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte has generated an eager international readership for his erudite thrillers which include Club Dumas (my favorite novel in the last ten years) and the recent Queen of the South. Alatriste is based on an earlier five-novel sequence (though each title was a phenomenal best-seller in Spain, only the first has been translated and released stateside) featuring swordsman-for-hire Diego Alatriste and set in Spain's quickly tarnishing seventeenth-century Golden Age. Captain Alatriste, a veteran of Spain's Flemish wars, deploys his sword for anyone who will pay, which inevitably leads him into some dicey situations. Featuring Viggo Mortensen (speaking Spanish) as the swashbuckling title character, Alatriste was released abroad in late 2006 to rave reviews and box office success, but has yet to find US distribution. Again, all Raconteur in-store events are FREE! (unless otherwise noted) and include complimentary wine (provided by Silver Decoy, recently selected as the finest winery in NJ). Films are projected onto a 6' X 6' screen with a high end digital projector (courtesy of Leah Kane <a href="www.exhibitAdigital.com">www.exhibitAdigital.com</a>) and piped through the shop's eight built-in, surround sound speakers. <em>Please contact/RSVP Raconteur if you plan to attend. If you know of someone who might be interested in the above event, please forward this notice.</em>