Sharpe's Story Review

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Sharpe's Story Review"SHARPE'S EAGLE wasn't written in a hurry. I had never written a book before and really had no idea how to go about it. Of course, I knew I needed a hero, but I never once sat down and tried to delineate him in my mind; instead I let him develop as I wrote the book."
- Bernard Cornwell (SHARPE'S STORY)
In this small book, Mr. Cornwell tells about his starting with only an idea for one book, his emigration from Belfast, Ireland to America with little money, and his decision to follow the love of his life, Judy, to live and write in a small apartment in New Jersey. What he wanted to write was one novel about a British soldier in Wellington's Army similar to C. S. Forester's sailor, Horatio Hornblower, in Nelson's Navy during the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
In SHARPE'S STORY, Cornwell gives the reader explanations of how he came to choose the names of his characters, which ones he liked the most (Obadiah Hakeswill, if you can believe that!), the ones he named after acquaintances and their children, information about the books' settings in Spain and Portugal, and why he continued to write about Wellington's Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon winding up with 21 novels and three books of shortstories about Rifleman Richard Sharpe. We also learn some tidbits of info about the TV series starring Sean Bean as Sharpe and Daragh O'Malley as sidekick Sgt. Patrick Harper. Finally, the last short segment concerns Cornwell's unhappy childhood growing up one of five adopted children in a very religious home. In this piece, entitled "Cakes and Ale," Cornwell informs us he included the essay "because [it] explains some of the murkier wellsprings from which Sharpe emerged."
This little book is not recommended for those who are unfamiliar with the Sharpe series. We who are fans of these books will enjoy reading about how Sharpe came to be and where the other main characters, both good and bad, entered into the novels. We can only hope that more of Sharpe's adventures will be forthcoming from the pen of Bernard Cornwell.Sharpe's Story Overview

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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 Tiger (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #1) Review

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Sharpe's Tiger (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #1) ReviewChronologically, this is the first adventure of the war-loving soldier, Richard Sharpe. I am new to the series, but if the first three books are any indication (The India Trilogy), I will read them all.
The author, Cornwell, is a perfect blend of great storyteller and excellent writer. Cornwell's discription of the siege of Seringapatum is beautifully rendered. The reader can feel the heat and exaustion, hear the swish of saber and whine of bullets. Often, in books that deal with military history, the reader may find himself slightly confused as to troops movements and tactics, but not here. Cornell is such a fantastic action writer, that it is all crystal clear. The reader can sense the flow of action, picture the battlefield perfectly, and understand the reasons behind the decisions; and all without hampering the surge of action.
The characters in the novel are particularily well drawn. This is a story with great villians and enemies. Especially enjoyable is Sharpe's nemisis in the novel, the horrid Obadiah Hakewill, Sharpe's sadistic sargent. I also like the author's portrait of The Tippoo Sultan. while it would be hard to call it a sympathetic portrait, Cornwell takes pains to write this enemy in truthful, fascinating strokes.
Just a great piece of work and one of the few books I have read lately that have kept me up all night reading. Onward, Mister Sharpe!Sharpe's Tiger (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #1) 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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