Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) Review

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Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) ReviewThis is the odd man out in the series (so far), which is a nice change. For much of the novel, Sharpe is out of the army, without Harper or Hogan, and on the run, trying to clear his name and win back his officer's commission.
The scene where Sharpe rescues his lover, a onetime French spy, from a nunnery is the funniest writing in the series so far (eight books and counting). And when a fortuitous explosion frees him from the French, the description of Sharpe wandering away, drunken and dazed, from the burning castle is surreal.
For anyone who thinks Sharpe is a one-dimensional hero character, Sharpe's Honor shows Sharpe's many weaknesses: his inability to sidestep a ruinous challenge to his honor; his blind obsession with a woman who is at best, fickle, at worst, treacherous; his destructive self-pity.
This novel concentrates on the interior worlds of Sharpe and other characters more than earlier books have. It's illuminating to see the battle of Vittoria from so many viewpoints. And Cornwell continues to show that truth is stranger than fiction by taking incidents that really happened, such as the bizarre looting of the French baggage train, and weaving them into the story.
Sharpe's Honor is another strong entry in the series.Sharpe's Honor (Richard Sharpe's Adventures, No. 7) OverviewAn unfinished duel, a midnight murder, and the treachery of a beautiful prostitute lead to the imprisonment of Sharpe. Caught in a web of political intrigue for which his military experience has left him fatally unprepared, Sharpe becomes a fugitive-a man hunted by both ally and enemy alike. REVIEW: Consistently exciting... these are wonderful novels. (Stephen King)

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Sharpe's Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #2) Review

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Sharpe's Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #2) ReviewCornwell takes us back to India in this book and the action is as intense as the novels set in Spain and France. These novels focusing on Sharpe's early career are especially interesting because the show him without the support of his Riflemen and without the officer's rank that is the source of much of his pride and many of his problems.
But this is the novel where Sergeant Sharpe suddenly realizes that his ambitions go far beyond his non-commissioned rank. And in making the decision to try to rise to officer he knows that he is consigning himself to an almost certain death, because his only chance to become an officer is through an act of suicidal bravery on the battlefield that is noticed by a senior officer.
The decision to attack at Assaye by Sir Arthur Wellesley gives Sharpe his opportunity. Longtime readers of the Sharpe novels know what he did to get himself promoted at Assaye, and Cornwell does his usual masterful job in describing this horrific, heroic deed.
This book has everything Sharpe fans have come to love, and anyone who has never read this series should gather up their pennies and carve out a few weekends to devour them all. You'll find yourself addicted.Sharpe's Triumph: Richard Sharpe and the Battle of Assaye, September 1803 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #2) Overview

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Sharpe's Devil: Richard Sharpe & the Emperor, 1820-1821 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #21) Review

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Sharpe's Devil: Richard Sharpe & the Emperor, 1820-1821 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #21) ReviewThe plot assumes that ships could land passengers at St. Helena in 1820 to interview Napoleon. Such was not the case. The British fired on any unauthorized ship attempting to approach the island including, in one case, a ship in distress. Other than that, it is an interesting tale.
This is the last novel, chronologically, in the Richard Sharpe series. Sharpe is separated from his wife and living in France with his latest mistress and their two children. His shortage of money indicates his wife in England has everything he stole in Spain. When the Countess of Mouromorto shows up to hire Sharpe to find her missing husband in Chile, his mistress is very receptive to the sight of the money (needed to improve her farm). Sharpe finds himself on his way to Chile with his old friend Patrick Harper, and makes the aforementioned stop at St. Helena to see Napoleon.
Sharpe and Harper become involved, unwillingly, in the civil war raging in Chile between the Spanish royalists and the rebels under O'Higgins (supported by Lord Cochrane). Sharpe's fortunes take some twists and turns, as does the plot. The involvement of Lord Cochrane in Chile is described fairly accurately, including the action at Valdivia. Sharpe, of course, gets his share of the spoils. One can hope that Sharpe will fare better with his latest mistress than he has with earlier women in his life. Having Sharpe acquire bags full of loot always creates the possibility of further action (after all, Lord Cochrane did invite him to go along, and we know from history that Lord Cochrane later served in Brazil and Greece).Sharpe's Devil: Richard Sharpe & the Emperor, 1820-1821 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #21) Overview

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Sharpe's Skirmish: Short Short (Richard Sharpe Adventure Series) Review

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Sharpe's Skirmish: Short Short (Richard Sharpe Adventure Series) ReviewOK....a word to the wise. Only buy this story if you've read a bunch of the other books in the series. This is certainly no place to start. This book presupposes a good knowledge of the Sharpe saga. The characters are given little background or fleshing out. As Sharpe says himself, this is a skirmish, not a battle.
For all that, it is a rousing good read. Everything you would want from a Cornwell book only in ultra-condensed form. There is the hero and his loyal friends, the incompetent superior officer, a beautiful damsel (not at all distressed), and a bunch of French to kill. These French are not too evil, but I always found Cornwell made the villains a bit too cartoonish. Isn't the fact that they're French reason enough to hate 'em? Only kidding!
So the only question is, is the book worth the price of admission? In any other case I would probably say no, but Cornwell has basically had this one published for charity. So go ahead, splurge.Sharpe's Skirmish: Short Short (Richard Sharpe Adventure Series) Overview

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Sharpe's Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe & the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #4) Review

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Sharpe's Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe & the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #4) ReviewIn the hands of a lesser author, I'd be irritated with Richard Sharpe's ability to play a key role in seemingly every key British military action in the early 1800s. But thanks to Bernard Cornwell, I can dismiss petty contrivances and just enjoy the blasted books - and enjoy them I do.
(And I'm also reminded of the two soldiers in Ken Burns' magnificent Civil War TV history who kept journals and managed to be in over twenty critical battles . . . sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.)
Cornwell has written so many books that he does not feel the need for poetic titles. "Sharpe's Trafalgar" unsurprisingly puts Sharpe at, well, the Battle of Trafalgar. I know only a couple of Brits well, but from talking to them it's easy to see that Trafalgar is to Britain what Yorktown, Gettysburg, or D-Day are for the United States. There is nothing more stirring to national pride than a magnificent, critical military victory. So Cornwell can be forgiven if he jumps through a few odd hoops to have his favorite Army Ensign play a key role in the purely naval clash at Trafalgar.
Sharpe needs to get home from India to join his new regiment, the 95th Rifles. Obviously, Sharpe can't walk back to England from India, and this allows Cornwell to "play Patrick O'Brian." Sharpe learns the ins and outs of life on board a British naval vessel, including the close proximity of your fellow passengers, the problems of sailing with an uncooperative wind, and the perils at sea if your captain sells you out.
Sharpe also spends a lot of time romancing the glamorous Lady Grace, inconveniently married to a British lord, a general in the Army who is more politician than soldier. (This, by the way, means "villain" in Cornwell's universe, and he's a good foil for Sharpe.)
But the whole novel is really an excuse to get Sharpe to Trafalgar, where he meets Admiral Nelson and gets to wreak his unusual brand of havoc against the French navy. These latter chapters is where "Sharpe's Trafalgar" really soars, and it does so in both expected and surprising ways.
First, the obvious - Trafalgar's a battle, and nobody writes a better real-world battle scene than Cornwell. Sure, it's at sea, but that doesn't slow down an author of Cornwell's talent.
But what really makes the battle scenes at Trafalgar powerful is Cornwell's decision to give up portions of the narrative to Captain Chase, Sharpe's friend. I read and re-read several passages where Chase walks the decks of his beloved ship, hands clasped behind his back, as French muskets and cannon fire all around him. While keeping an air of nonchalance, Chase is terrified inside . . . and as such epitomizes the 19th-century British soldier. These are some of the best lines Cornwell has ever written.
I am early into the Sharpe series, and I expect I may find a later book that I enjoy more than "Sharpe's Trafalgar." If I do, that will be a happy day indeed.Sharpe's Trafalgar: Richard Sharpe & the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805 (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #4) Overview

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