Vintage Sharpe
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In the winter of 1811 all of Spain has been lost to the French, except for the coastal town of Cadiz which is being besieged by the forces of Marshal Victor. Henry Wellesly (the Duke of Wellington's older brother) is ambassador there, and hard pressed to keep the Spanish in the war because quite a few of them believe it would be best to make their peace with Napoleon. To make matters worse, Wellesley's love letters to a Spanish courtesan have fallen into the hands of the Spanish faction opposing the war. So when Sharpe finds himself stranded in Cadiz with a handful of men, Wellesley knows he's found his man. Meanwhile a joint force of English and Spanish is setting out to attack Victor in the rear, but the Spanish commander Lapena is showing little eagerness to join battle.
Before this novel culminates in the famous battle at Barossa, there's villains and action galore to keep Sharpe busy and yourself entertained. And if this isn't your first Sharpe-novel you'll know that few can rival Cornwell in writing a fast-paced story that'll keep you turning pages. Granted, there's nothing very learned about any Sharpe-novel, and all the characters are indeed either good or bad and it's all very straightforward stuff but hey, they were meant to entertain and that's what these novels do in a superb manner.
One minor annoyance: Cornwell and his publisher clearly made sure all novels are self-contained so you could read them in random order and that's all very well, but if you're reading them back to back it does get annoying to come across (in each novel, again and again and again...) the bits
- about how Sharpe got his commission
- the story behind Sharpe's telescope
- Sergeant's Harper's volleygun
- Rifleman Hagman's history as a poacher
- etc. etc.
But as I said: that's a minor detail because the remaining 99,8% of the book are as good as ever.
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Cornwell continues his betrayal
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I read all of the original Sharpe series in the eighties and thought that the series had come to it's natural conclusion with Sharpes Waterloo in 1990. I was very suprised to see Sharpes Devil a couple of years later and to my mind this was a book too far in the series. Cornwell was always writing other books at the same time including the excellent Redcoat aas well as the nautical thrillers. When he started the Starbuck chronicles I was delighted and followed Nates adventures in the same manner as I had Sharpe's. Then, after the Sharpe series had been shown on tv Cornwell abandoned "The Starbuck Chronicles" mid-series (after four books)and resurected Sharpe. Not to sound too cynical but the only reason for this betrayal of fans who had bought the new books and were following Starbuck could only have been money...Cornwell betrayed and sacrificed the Starbuck fans for a newer and more lucrutive market...the new Sharpe fans worldwide who came to the books after the tv series. In order to continue to cash in along came all the new books each one inserted in a different period of Sharpe's career. If you have read the original series you won't recognise Sharpe's description in the new books..because it's Sean Bean!...Thanks Bernard, how's the yacht?
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A true return to form!
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After reading Sharpe's Escape I was left with the strong impression that Cornwell had run out of battles to write about, but Fury proved me ecstatically wrong. For the most part the novel is in the same vein as Escape, Sharpe and his 5 riflemen out on their own fighting their own war. Entertaining but not why I got into Sharpe. The battle at the end though is a perfect example of Cornwell's finest talent, writing sprawling battles with a cast of thousands. I can now once again look forward to the next installment of Sharpe, in the hopes that he will march again. To war.
PS is it me or does nearly every chapter end with "And (noun) will/must (verb)"?!
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Sharpe sneaks into another battle
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This book slots in between Sharpe's Escape and Sharpe's Battle and describes the build-up to the Battle of Barossa. As usual the battle sequences are brilliantly told, and Sharpe and his elite Riflemen find themselves in the thick of the action. The middle section of the book is set in Cadiz, the last outpost of Spain, besieged by the French and unwillingly playing host to the British. Sharpe has to help extricate a British diplomat from a potentially diastrous scandal, which he naturally achieves in his own inimitable style. The diplomat is Wellington's younger brother and there is an excellent scene where he eloquently defends Sharpe against the accusations of a very pompous senior officer. He refers to Sharpe's action at Assaye, where he saved Arthur Wellesley's life, and later discusses his brother's character with Sharpe in a very friendly interview which immediately endears this character to the reader as well as to Sharpe, despite his indiscreet behaviour. As usual, Sharpe has a personal mission as well as one for the army, this time hunting the man who took his lieutenant prisoner in the action at the start of the novel.
This is another great addition to the Sharpe collection, which I really enjoyed reading, though I think Cornwell may now have run out of potential fill-in novels, as he seems to have covered all the major battles. Unless he writes about Rolica and Vimeiro - I think they are the only Peninsular battles left!
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Sharpe's Confusion
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For most readers Sharpe is now a well loved character who has had countless adventures over a magnitude of books. Cornwell has done a sterling job of going back over the Napoleonic Wars and adding new adventures in-between the original books, but I feel that this tactic is finally catching up with him.
After an exciting battle on a makeshift bridge Sharpe finds himself stranded in Cadiz with a few of his rifles, including the ever dependable Harper. Before he can return to the army he is asked by an ambassador to recover some letters that are being used for blackmail. This adventure will see Sharpe up against a murderous Priest and an excellent French officer. Can Sharpe unravel the murky politics of Spain whilst seeking revenge?
'Sharpe's Fury' is not a bad book and in parts is as good as any of the recent additions to the series. However, the book does feel very disjointed and more like two shorter novels pasted together as one half is in the city, the other on the battle field. Throughout the book Sharpe and Harper reflect on how they should not be there and this feels very true. Cornwell is finding it increasingly difficult to crowbar Sharpe into historic events as there are so few left. Add to this the fact that a battle commences in which Sharpe has little part giving it less character than usual.
For fans of Sharpe this book holds its own and is still a likable read. However, perhaps it is time that Cornwell put Sharpe to bed and concentrated on the other areas of history that he writes about?
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