Sharpes Fury [Paperback]

In January 2007, I bought the Sharpe's DVD collection (in the wooden crate) for my husband. He has already watched them all -- at least twice. So, when Sharpe's Challenge was offered and paired with Sharpe's Fury I ordered both for him.

Before I go on, you should understand that my husband almost never reads books. In fact, he has read only one novel since we were married thirty-something years ago. You can imagine how disappointed I was that he received one DVD and one book when my order arrived. I had not read the screen that clearly indicated that Sharpe's Fury was a hard cover novel.

Well to my surprise, he started reading the book -- and he finished it before he watched the DVD -- and raved about it. He told me that he has all 15 DVD's and there are about 30 novels. He then 'suggested' the other books would make great future gifts.

(Got lemons, make lemon-aid, I guess).

Thanks Amazon.ca

I would tell you to skip this book, but you deserve to read the wonderful story of the Battle of Barrosa which the British won single-handed against horrible odds while the Spanish troops rested nearby. In the real-world history of the Peninsular Wars, this was the occasion when the British first claimed a French Eagle.

Before that, the book opens with a sequence where Sharpe is treated badly by a new foil, Brigadier Moon, who doesn't want any competition for credit from Sharpe. Naturally, it all comes apart and Sharpe has to save the day . . . but at what cost to his pride and to himself?

Eventually, Moon, Sharpe, Sergeant Harper, and a few men reach Cadiz, which is the tiny remnant of Spain that is not under French dominion. The Spanish expect Cadiz to fall soon to the surrounding French, and British influence is at a low ebb. Further problems arise when the British ambassador (Lord Wellington's younger brother, Henry Wellesley) finds himself being blackmailed and embarrassed by some letters he wrote to a woman he believed to be a Spanish lady, but who was not. Sharpe is pressed into temporary duty to pay the blackmailer. If that doesn't work, he's expected to steal the letters. The intrigue involves the future of Spanish politics as well as British-Spanish relations.

The opening sequence ends up being more interesting than it starts, but Brigadier Moon is more of an annoyance than a real threat to Sharpe . . . which undercuts the power of the story. The intrigue in Cadiz would be good if this were primarily a spy series, but it's not. So the intrigue mostly distracts from the opportunity to write more about the Battle of Barrosa, which is a far more interesting tale.

Sometimes authors can try to be too clever and hurt their books. I fear that's what Mr. Cornwell did here.

If you find your interest waning in the beginning or middle, just skip ahead to the part where the British and Spanish leave Cadiz by sea to attempt to attack the besieging French from behind.

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 including the excellent Redcoat as well as his 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 resurrected 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?