The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet is book 5 in the Adventures of Captain Alatriste. The story, like others in this series, is interesting, fun, and meandering, often making it easier to remember the witty quips than what actually happened, although the plot in this one was a bit more straightforward.

The characters in this story are all characters. Every one of them has a sword or dagger on their hip, an attitude, and a strong opinion about who writes the best poetry. Of course, they have flaws. I feel like Íñigo would say, "What self-respecting soldier of Spain wouldn't have flaws?" And then, he would probably make a statement about Spain's own flaws. Like in The Maltese Falcon, all these crazy characters and their bad decisions are less stressful for me than they would be in a book about rational people, because I go in knowing that they are going to make terrible choices. That is just who they are.

The setting is very richly described and gives you an excellent impression of the locations, the clothing, and life in general. As a warning, I will say that Íñigo has opinions about all kinds of things, and the story is most definitely from his point of view. I would hope that people would know not to believe everything they read in fiction, but I thought I would toss that out there. He is constantly talking about how no one in Spain wants to work, because they want to be aristocracy. I don't think this can be taken as some kind of slight against people from Spain, though, as it would make sense for a teenager who has been raised by soldiers in the field to have an opinion about the luxury of the big city, true or not.

The plots in these stories are always very dramatic but also sometimes so convoluted that it can be hard to remember exactly what happened. I felt like this book, though, was straightforward enough that I didn't have a huge gap in my memory at the end. Of course, the meandering nature of the writing isn't doing me any favors. It isn't bad by any means. It is just that the witty digressions about one character's opinion of Don Quixote are followed by another about some other element that is totally relevant to the characters but takes you even further from the plot until finally the digressions lead you back where the author wanted you to go.

Will I read the next (and final) book? Yes. Will I reread this series? Probably not. It isn't that it isn't good, but I just don't know if I need to. I'll probably reread other books by this author, though, since it has been quite a while. (And reread The Three Musketeers, since it has the same feel.)

Should you read this book? Are you willing to just jump in with both feet to a world full of crazy Spaniards who are constantly drawing swords on each other and stroking their mustaches? If yes, this series is for you, although you should start at the beginning. If no, go read The Three Musketeers. Like I said, it has a similar feel, but might be a bit more straightforward.