> > Has anyone else read _The Club Dumas_ (let's forget the movie > please) and/or > > _The Fencing Master_ by Arturo Perez-Reverte? > I don't know about them, but they sound interesting. Modern > historical fiction, or actual period fiction? Currently in print? > Hmmm, yes, I see, currently in print, and a number of other titles > too. But it only gives edition dates, not copyright, so I'm not so > clear on the first question still. Contemporary writing but _The Fending Master_ is set in the mid-19th century in Madrid. -The Club Dumas_ is the novel that the movie 'The Ninth Gate' is based on. Prior comments are correct, there is a huge plot thread that is ommited from the movie (like the concept that gives the book it's name) but the flavor remains the same. The book is still better mind you. _The Seville Communion_ also has a modern setting, and is well written. All three are short easy reads, being 250 pages or so. My prior comment to being 'Brustian' is that all are rather fast-paced, and have a sense of 'depth of undercurrent' that I enjoy in his works. David