The 3 best books by Luis Zueco

A louis clog I met him on a torrid and Zaragoza 23 April a few years ago. Dizzy readers passed by Paseo Independencia among so many books exhibited on that radiant Saint George's Day. Some asked for the signature of rigor while others watched from the other side in case they remembered our face. Of course, Luis's was more familiar to them, while they were left with the fact that in those days I had written a novel about Real Zaragoza whose most relevant data seemed to be that it was prefaced by Xavi Aguado and Alberto Zapater, two stars.

The point is that I met him there and there I became interested in his work. At that time, I believe that Luis had not yet embarked on his great medieval trilogy, although he had already published purely historical novels or ingenious historical fictions of great impact such as Tierra sin Rey or El escalón 33.

Years later I met him again during his presentation of the novel El Castillo in a bookstore in Logroño. And there, listening to him talk about that novel, I discovered how much passion there was in this young author. its extensive knowledge about the Middle Ages made it compatible with that anecdote that the good scholar manages to treasure as a complement to present and future narratives as well as to fascinate every listener who wants to get closer to those dark days of our past.

And of course, speaking so well about his work convinced me to read his novels. One and the other have passed through my hands and I already dare to establish my very particular ranking, waiting to conclude with his last great novel of the trilogy «The Monastery», a work that refers to Veruela (with what was always magical for me for the fruitful stay of Becker), and having spent a large part of my childhood outside the walls of that convent, I will finish by giving it a good review ...

Top 3 recommended novels by Luis Zueco

the queen board

The queen rules the chess board. The most dynamic figure cannot drop a clumsy king whose longest move is castling. A unique metaphor about life itself... perhaps. A reality about reigns and governments, without a doubt. Luis Zueco complements strategies typical of the cunning queen of the day with a mysterious plot, to make the whole into a brilliant novel.

Year 1468. Castilla is at a crucial moment in its history. Alfonso de Trastámara has died under suspicious circumstances and Henry IV rises as king, forcing his half-sister Isabel, the only one who could oppose his plans, to sign peace. She accepts, because she is destined to become Isabel the Catholic and knows that big games are not won on the first move.

While the affairs of the Court keep the kingdom in suspense, the mysterious murder of a nobleman fortuitously unites Gadea, a young woman passionate about chess who hides a dark past, and Ruy, a chronicler who loves history and books. Their dangerous race against time to discover the culprit is intertwined with the conspiracies and wars of the Court of Elizabeth, who under her command knew how to move like a master on the board and forever transformed the figure of the queen in chess.

The surgeon of souls

With a notable change of register in historical fiction, Luis Zueco moves forward several centuries in his usual narrative space to delve into a plot with more touches of fiction in a meticulously defined scenography. A jewel of the genre that delves into the conflicts of the nascent modern western world.

Barcelona, ​​1796. Bruno Urdaneta is only twelve years old when he comes to the city to work as an apprentice to his uncle Alonso, a veteran and moody surgeon who will soon realize that his disciple possesses a very special gift.

In a turbulent moment in which enlightened ideals spread throughout Europe and the shadow of Napoleon looms over Spain, the young protagonist will embody the birth of the figure of the modern doctor, one who unites the practical knowledge of surgeons with erudition of doctors to shed light on new ideas of a more universal healthcare.

The trace of an old family secret will take Bruno from Barcelona to Madrid #where he will study at the newly created College of Surgery and finally to Cádiz, whose streets, during the War of Independence, have been transformed into an immense battlefield. Death stalks a people that has become the army of an entire country.

Castle

Louis is to medieval castles what Norman Foster is to architecture. As I have read in an interview, his passion for these fortifications comes from his childhood and, what better way than to have his own castle ... Luis currently manages Grisel's castle, but that's another story ...

As far as the book is concerned, its plot takes place in the Sierra de Loarre, where the profile of the homonymous castle cuts out the sky with its imposing silhouette. And among the pages of the extensive novel we enjoy an epic about the raising of the mythical fortification that would defend the area from possible Muslim attacks.

Characters that give off life through juicy dialogues, a very particular intrahistory that, respecting historical facts, intersperses in our imagination how that castle could be built, in which it would entail for so many people who participated in the great work.

The vast knowledge of uses and customs of those days ends up rounding out a story with passions, misunderstandings, war conflicts, conspiracies and everything you need to enjoy a great novel.

Other interesting novels by Luis Zueco ...

The city

Luis Zueco's narrative origins are also immersed in historical mystery and it never hurts to recover something of that enigmatic character that History can always offer, to combine it with a proposal faithful to the events of so long ago.

When you know the daily life of the men and women of the thirteenth century, it is always easier to evoke that gloomy aspect of a medieval time surrendered to the shadows of ancient legends or of a Christianity surrendered to guilt, fear and punishment, or under the dominions of the Muslim kingdom.

And in those we immerse ourselves in this novel located in the Albarracín of 1284, a city of narrow streets in which the night is responsible for awakening sinister shadows that cause strange deaths. Sinister characters from the popular imagination, a city described in detail as if we were walking through it and the disturbing idea that a supernatural power hangs over the city.

Step 33

One of the first novels of this author and a great declaration of intentions about his creative capacity. The world of Castles with its symbols and so many details that seem inexplicable or at least disconcerting ...

Luis put together a great plot that in addition to awakening curiosity towards that great final mystery that awaits on the last page of a great novel of the genre, he knew how to redirect it, thanks to a very high narrative tension typical of a thriller, towards a scenario that captures the reader .

Old texts that offer explanations about symbols and that guide Silvia and Álex towards a fascinating resolution. Only, as often happens, there were those who were waiting for their moment, from the shadows, to appropriate an ancient secret that could turn the world's great truths around.