Rapiers & Rogues — Terry Kroenung

Captain Treville, the commander of the famed Three Musketeers, was young once. So was d'Artagnan's father. This is the action-packed story of how they met.March, 1605. When Jean Treville, ace spy for King Henri IV, is ambushed by mysterious assailants in the Spanish Netherlands, a young Gascon named Bertrand d'Artagnan comes from nowhere to rescue him. They disguise themselves to infiltrate the shadowy terrorist group that attacked Treville. The Manqué is an unholy alliance of radical Catholics and Protestants intending to upend the European balance of power through a spectacularly violent demonstration. If they are not stopped, an apocalyptic war will enflame Europe.Treville and d'Artagnan must overcome silver-nosed assassins, gunpowder bombs, mass sword battles, and the spy in King Henri's court who seems to always be a step ahead of them.Rapiers & Rogues is an old-fashioned swashbuckler in the mold of Rafael Sabatini and Arturo Pérez-Reverte, full of exciting sword duels, royal intrigue, and witty banter.