THE NEW NOVEL BY ARTURO PÉREZ-REVERTE

A novel of the sea, love, and adventures in the Aegean during the years of the Spanish Civil War.

She sought the man's mouth with hers, salty and wet.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, I’m not afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of when you’re gone and this is erased from my memory.”
She pressed her dripping body against him; and Jordán, his clothes soaked, held her tightly in his arms.
“Damn you, Captain Mihalis,” she suddenly whispered.
It took him a moment to understand.
“Yes,” he finally said.
He raised his face to contemplate the vault of stars, which seemed to have descended to surround the two of them and their embrace, enveloping them until the end of time. As if they were alone on the last night of the world.

April 1937. While the Spanish Civil War unfolds, the merchant marine Miguel Jordán Kyriazis is sent by the rebel side to clandestinely attack naval traffic transporting military aid from the Soviet Union to the Republic. At the operations base, a small island in the Aegean Sea, the life of the Spanish corsair will intersect in a murky triangle with the owners, Baron Katelios and his wife: a seductive mature woman who seeks, with cold desperation, a way to escape her fate.

Critics have said:

“Masterpiece. [...] In every work of the genre Pérez-Reverte (one could say his literary style has created a genre only he can write) imposes subtle variations where much is at stake. [However], he has never gone so deep into depicting the end of love nor reached such superb phrases.”
José María Pozuelo Yvancos, ABC

“An extremely moving novel of adventure, love, and war.”
Jacinto Antón, El País

“A true story of modern corsairs, where good and bad are relative, containing all the ingredients typical of adventure.”
Javier Ors, La Razón

“A profound and vibrant novel where little-known twists of our Civil War overlap with the bitter story of an impossible love and the most complex depths of the human soul.”
Andrés Seoane, El Mundo - La Lectura

“A masterpiece.”
ABC Cultural

“The new ports that readers reach on their journey through the Territorio Reverte remain full of a mix of familiar (and expected) flavors and unprecedented surprises.”
Zenda

“La isla de la mujer dormida advances through passages of action and reflective pauses. The sparse descriptions adhere to an impressionistic notation of colors and smells. Creative landscape images color the narrative. The suspense never slackens. Arturo Pérez-Reverte skillfully handles these classic narrative resources with technical wisdom and artistic intuition to offer a penetrating and free-of-moralism view of the complex human condition.”
Santos Sanz Villanueva, El Cultural

“We return to adventure, action, war, heroes, and villains. Once again, it works: impeccable pace, notable intuition for showing the most suggestive details, attractive characters.”
Ángel Peña, The Objective

“A harsh sea tale. [...] A narrative where essential matters come to light.”
Irene Adler, La Región

About the author they have said:

“I like Pérez-Reverte; he reminds me of Dumas and Salgari.”
Umberto Eco

“Pérez-Reverte knows how to keep the reader hooked at every page turn.”
The New York Times Book Review