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Title: Sharpe's Havoc : Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in Northern Portugal, Spring 1809 by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0-06-053046-4 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Another winner from Cornwell!
Comment: On a time line with other Richard Sharpe books , this one would fall between Sharpe's Rifles and Sharpe's Eagle : May 1805.
This highly entertaining novel has Lieutenant Richard Sharpe and his sidekick Patrick Harper battling not only the "Frogs" but a mysterious British officer Col. James Christopher , an operative of the British foreign office , as well as a deserter from his own company of riflemen.
The novel starts with Captain Hogan , Sharpe's commanding officer by default , sending the riflemen into the mountains to find a missing young Englishwoman named Kate Savage. It seems that Miss Savage has disappeared from her home in Oporto , Portugal , just as the French army under Marshal Soult is moving in to occupy the city. Hogan also asks Sharpe to "keep an eye" on Colonel Christopher for him. We are then introduced to Christopher as an arrogant and otherwise slimy member of the aristocratic English upper class who is in romantic pursuit of Miss Savage. As it turns out , the young lady in question is the heiress to one of the major Port wine producing lodges in Oporto. It also turns out that Christopher has other things than Miss Savages' best interests in mind.
In combination , Christopher and Miss Savage lead Sharpe and his half company of riflemen on a perilous chase into the mountains of Northern Portugal , skirmishing with the French army , and their lives emperiled by Colonel Christopher's treachery. Sharpe has made common cause with a young Lieutenant of the Portuguese army , Lieutenant Jorge Vicente , and proceeds to train the young officer and his band of soldiers.
The battle scenes are classic Cornwell ; Sir Arthur Wellsley arrives in Portugal and sends Marshal Soult packing over the mountains back to Spain , with Sharpe , Harper , and Lt. Vicente in hot pursuit of the now treasonous Christopher and Miss Savage.
In summary , a very well paced and entertaining Sharpe novel. There are no dull or flat spots (unlike some of the Patrick O'Brian "Aubrey-Maturin" novels I have recently read). I just started this series a few weeks ago ; I am now a Bernard Cornwell fan! No real warts on this one--5 stars.
Rating: 4
Summary: Sharpe, Back in the Saddle Again!
Comment: Sharpe is once more back in Portugal with his friends in the 95th Rifles. This novel is intended to slip inbetween the previous "Sharpe's Rifles" and "Eagle." I suppose it does. Cornwell has cleverly crafted these novels so that each stands on its own. When he first started this series over 10 years ago he never imagined the success it would enjoy. After charging through the campaigns in Portugal and Waterloo he began to back peddle into Sharpe's earlier career to fill out more stories for the series. Thus we have the whole India novels and others which have filled in our heros earlier career.
This installment more or less ties up the whole series, but I am sure Cornwell can still get some milage out of Sharpe yet! Here we have the standard formula that has served Cornwell so well over the years. His writing is always simple, direct and exciting. He has crafted these books down to an elegant system which consistently works despite often repeating the same elements over and over. Sharpe always has to face some arrogant English fop officer, he's usually detached with his merry half company of riflemen, safely away from the 2/95th which should be back in England recruiting. And he is always on some vague mission for Hogan or Wellington behind the lines which enables him to exercise his independent judgement. If Sharpe we stuck having to fight in the skirmish line along with everyone else then these stories would not seem half so appealing. In other words if Sharpe had to perform standard duties for a Rifle or Light company officer Cornwell could never have carried the series as far as he has. It's Sharpe's independence which allows Cornwell to develope action and suspence in the series, with a little romance thrown in as well. This time there is only a hint that Sharpe will get the girl in the end!
So again we have Sharpe fighting what has become his standard alone on the mountain fort routine against impossible odds. It would seem to be the same old business as usual if Cornwell weren't so gifted in making it interesting and a little different each time. After facing off the French as usual Sharpe and co. rejoin the main action in standard fashion. In this case we have the celebrated action of Colonel Waters and the 3rd Buffs at the Seminary of Oporto. Cornwell neatly inserts Sharpe into the action, giving him credit for getting the Buffs over the river which rightfully belongs to a Portugeuse barber who actually found the boats. Cornwell appologises for this alteration of history, as well as others in order to make his story.
The French always come in for particular rancor in these novels. Its almost as if Cornwell wants to put down the hero worship of Naoplean and his marshals during this period. Soult appears like a cream-puff with his pretensions to the crown of Portugal and his concern more for cusine than military dispositions. The French themselves as always look like a bunch of pillaging rapists practicing the Napoleanic principles of living off the land. Cornwell shows us what that term often implied. The final battle itself is always well done, Cornwell provides an exciting account of the several fruitless French assaults upon the Buffs at the Seminary. His descriptions always make the action seem a lot more bloody than it actually was, but to the men involved it must have seemed that way. Once the main action is over Sharpe is back on his own to settle old scores with the current bad guy of the novel, in this case the nasty and effiminate colonel Christopher who really can't provide a decent challenge for our hero so there is no grand sword fight at the end. Sharpe coldly disposes of him in the midst of the French army's epic retreat from Oporto. There is one worthwhile French character based on reality, the heroic Major Dulong who actually did save Soult's army at the bridges in question. Such men did make the French army what it was, even if their dash and ardor could not often stand up to the murderous British platoon vollies encountered in the Peninsular. As always Cornwell does a splendid job conjuring up these images from a colorful period of warfare. Shapre marches on again.
Rating: 5
Summary: Sharpe in Portugal
Comment: It's always a cause for rejoicing to me when I have the chance to read a new novel about Richard Sharpe and his exploits in the Napoleonic era. These books are excellent reading, and you also receive a "ground-pounder's" view of the wars of that time. This isn't the elite "from the command post" view, but from the guys who actually did the fighting, up close and really dirty. The writing is first-rate, and the characters quite well drawn. The plots keep the reader moving swiftly, and the pages are turned with great anticipation. Just when it appears that the author may have exhausted the scenarios of the war years in his books, he gives all of his faithful readers hope for the future when he says at the end: "Sharpe and Harper will march again". That is fantastic news!
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Title: Sharpe's Skirmish by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0972222006 Publisher: The Sharpe Appreciation Society Pub. Date: 03 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.00 |
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Title: Sharpe's Christmas by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0972222014 Publisher: Sharpe Appreciation Society Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $8.00 |
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Title: Sharpe's Battle: Spain 1811 by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0060932287 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 16 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Sharpes Gold: Richard Sharpe and the Destruction of Almeida, August 1810 by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0140294317 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Sharpes Eagle by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0140294309 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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