Santiago Roncagliolo. The Fourth Sword.

After the auspicious reception of Abril rojo (2006) by the public, it is understandable to anticipate a new work by Santiago Roncagliolo, especially since it addresses the topic that earned him the Premio Alfaguara: political violence. His new book will not disappoint: it is a work that takes us to the heart of the spiral of blood and misgovernment that engulfed the country between 1980 and 2000. If in Abril rojo he delivered a thriller whose protagonist was an obscure prosecutor, in La cuarta espada. La historia de Abimael Guzmán y Sendero Luminoso (Buenos Aires, Debate, 2007, 286 pp.), Roncagliolo places himself at the very core of those who initiated the armed struggle: the leader of Sendero Luminoso (SL) and his inner circle, now in prison.