Customer Reviews

Sharpe's Sword (Richard Sharpe's Adventure Series #14)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Why did I like this book?
*Excellent adventure
*Thrilling intrigue
*Exciting military strategies
*Extraordinary camaraderie
*Vicious villains

I don't know pick one...I enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's "Sharpe's Sword". The year is 1812, the location is Salamanca Spain. It is here that General Wellington must battle the French forces for the Western portion of the peninsula. Wellington's goal is to defeat the French, Sharpe's goal is to survive and be with his men. Captain Sharpe finds himself surrounded by spies and treachery, friends become enemies and enemies become friends. Sharpe can only place his trust in his faithful chosen men or in the doughty Major Hogan. Everyone else is suspect. Unlike the other Sharpe books, "Sword" doesn't spend a lot of time with the battles. Sharpe is drawn into a different battle field... the battle field of palace intrigue. Before long Sharpe is sharing the company of the beautiful... and mysterious La Marquesa. He battles the evil Colonel Leroux. Leroux's claim to fame is his usage of torture and cruelty. Along the way Sharpe is shot, lied to and very nearly stabbed by the same sword he covets.

I started with the PBS/BBS series, graduated to the audio tapes and now have read most of the novels. I wholeheartedly endorse the Sharpe series. It's great entertainment.

This book in the Sharpe series is one of my all time favorites because it illustrates the reguard that Sgt Harper has for his commanding officer. Wounded by a sadistic enemy officer, Sharpe's only hope lays in his friend Harper and Harper's construction of a replacement sword for Sharpe. While such a relationship between an officer and sgt probably was unheard of, it still makes a facinating read. One sees a strong resemblance between the Sharpe/Harper relationship and the Frodo/Sam relationship in the Lord of the Rings Series by Tolkien. Cornwell does a good job humanizing his characters in this book and making them seem so real to the reader.

In order of publication, this is the 5th book in the Richard Sharpe series , but the 11th in a "timeline". As such , the author Bernard Cornwell has smoothed out his writing style to give Sharpe a lot more depth of character and a three dimensional aspect lacking in some of the earlier adventures.

In addition to Richard Sharpe ,Major Hogan , Wellington , and Patrick Harper , there are many interesting new characters introduced--La Marquesa (Helena) , Lord Jack Spears , "El Mirador" , and of course a vile villian , Colonel Laroux. All of these characters are artfully blended to achieve an exciting military adventure in which our hero Sharpe is gravely wounded ,and is rescued by his friend Patrick Harper. After being nursed back to health , Sharpe seeks his vengance against the man who wounded him.

The plot of this story involves a possible comprimise of the intelligence network of Major Michael Hogan and the possible exposure of his top agent , the mysterious El Mirador. Colonel Laroux , sent by Napoleon Bonaparte himself to destroy El Mirador , proves to be a ruthless enemy devoid of any honor. To reveal any more than this would indeed compromise the book's enjoyment for the reader , so I'll stop right here.

This volume seems to have it all--excitement,intrigue,romance,and of course the inevitable battle action! Of the 11 volumes I have read in timeline order , this one is right at the top of "my list" along with "Sharpe's Tiger" and "Sharpe's Triumph" for sheer entertainment value and excitement! Five stars and highly recommended.

I have been reading the Sharpe series "mostly in order". Sharpe's Sword, to my taste, was the best so far. Cornwell had really matured as a writer by this time. I would not have expected a description of a near-fatal wound and its effects on a character we absolutely KNOW is going to survive to be so riveting and stirring. As always, Cornwell's closing historical note is like dessert after a fine meal, or perhaps more correctly like the moment where a magician steps back to reveal his secrets -- and you're left more in awe than ever, wondering, "How does he do it?"

I keep lists of the 20 to 40 books I read each year (anal, eh?), and this is the first in years I've given a full 5 stars. (I even forgive Mr. Cornwell now for the only regrettable book in the series so far, "Sharpe's Battle".) Highly recommended.

I always thought this one of the better Sharpe novels. After reading it again after seeing both the battlefield and city of Salamanca I was confirmed in this belief. The descriptions of the city of Salamanca are accurate. This is a lovely place, and Cornwell no doubt was moved by its beauty to impart these feelings into the novel. Sharpe's confrontation with Leroux is your standard bit we have come to expect in these novels. The action is well paced and quite good. Even Sharpe's affair with the mysterious "Golden Whore" while predictable is nicely done. The wound that he receives from Leroux is dramatically done, although I doubt he could have recovered so well in such a short time. Sharpe's pain and suffering in the Dying Room are thoughfully done. One almost feels his delirium. The central piece in the novel is the battle of Salamanca itself, sadly lacking in the TV version of the novel unfortunatly. Here Cornwell writes what he does best, battle descriptions. The violent ebb and flow of this epic confrontation shows Cornwell at his best. This was truly the deciding battle of the Peninsular War, and probably was the most balanced in terms of forces and troop qaulity on both sides. After having visited the battlefield, Cornwell's description falls nicely into place. Of course Sharpe saves the day as usual, but its believeable. One of the better novels in the series.

For anyone who has seen the Sharpe series on TV, I would strongly recommend reading the books. They are very different from the TV version, but just similar enough that you can hear Sean Bean uttering Sharpe's sentences. A must-read for fans, and a great novel for people who've never seen the TV version.

This is another entry on the Sharpe series. It is fun, entertaining and very readable. Cornwell's research is as excellent as usual. He takes some licenses for the shake of the story and continuity, but this is OK. Some people are outraged by the portrait of some of the real historical characters, but historical characters are rarely depicted accurately in historical fiction, so I think this can be forgiven. Besides, usually a more serious account of these characters is given at the end of the book on the Historical Note.

Many people insist in compare this series with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. I don't think this is fair for any of the series, they are different entities. What they have in common is that once you start you may get hooked and devour one book after another...

And in the literary world today that is a rare and marvelous thing.

This entry in Corwell's Napoleonic Wars series follows the further exploits of Cpt. Sharpe during the Salamanca Campaign of June and July, 1812. It brings the same ingredients to the tale that can be found in abundance throughout the series: action, intrigue, a beautiful woman, gory battle scenes, and a lethal villain. This time, the villain is a French spymaster keen to discover the identity of England's top spy, "El Mirador," and destroy his network. Although captured at the very beginning, he later manages to escape and elude capture, almost killing Sharpe and Harper along the way. The following scenes of Sharpe's journal through the army medical corps is horrific. Cornwell follows the nastiness with some of the series most sentimental and tender moments, as he shows Harper's devotion in nursing Sharpe back to health. Interwoven is the now-married Sharpe's temptation by the lusciousness of "La Marquessa," a French/Spanish aristocrat at the top of Salamanca's social ladder. Here, Cornwell does exceedingly well at portraying the opulence of the upper crust, and Sharpe's discomfort in mixing with them. Kudos are also due for his seamless insertion of two historically based Irishmen as important supporting characters. Less successful is his sleight of hand at concealing the identity of "El Mirador," which somewhat weakens the enjoyment. The battle scenes take up somewhat less space than in some of the other books, but as always, are nicely done. Another fine entry in the series.

This book had me from the start. The plot is more imaginative than many, and the battles are just as exciting. Helene adds a bit of excitement, also.

The historical notes, as well as the way in which the facts were weaved into the novel, continue to increase my appreciation of Mr Cornwell. I hope the well is far from dry!

As always, I encourage you to read the books in this series in the order of the chronology they describe rather than by publication date. Mr. Cornwell has come back again and again to "fill in" between books with other books. You'll enjoy the series more in a logical order.

At the current time, this is the 14th book in the chronological series.

After the desperate battles to throw the French out of Portugal and to enter Spain by breaching two fortresses, the British and their Portuguese and Spanish allies are near Salamanca looking to set up a battle that they can win decisively against the larger French forces.

As the book opens, the dangerous French Colonel Laroux has extracted some important information about a British spy ring through torture. But he's made a mistake and taken too long. He's at risk to be captured. Being a capable dissembler, Laroux soon has most of the British fooled . . . but not Sharpe. Laroux soon shows his true colors and the British realize it's essential that they contain Laroux's information before their spies are killed.

In the process, Sharpe becomes fascinated by Laroux's sword and begins to wish it were his. You'll begin to wonder how that might occur.

Next, Wellington has the relatively simple task of seizing three forts against far from extreme opposition after the main French army retreats. But it proves to be more difficult than expected. Someone has tipped off the French about when and where the attack will come.

Sharpe meanwhile is drawn into the party life of the Spanish aristocracy, finding himself drawn to the alluring La Marquesa despite being a newly married man. Is she also interested?

Sharpe is now asked to solely focus on Laroux, and a fascinating sequence of unexpected events ensues.

In the second half of the book, you'll find many more surprises than most Sharpe novels contain. As the historical note at the end indicates, many of these surprises follow the facts of the real history pretty closely. Within that framework, Mr. Cornwell has added his magic touch to weave some imaginary plots involving fictional characters that work seamlessly together. It's very nice!

Although the battle writing cannot be nearly as engaging as usual because the nature of the battles here provide a less interesting factual basis for the descriptions, there are still some pretty neat touches in giving us a sense of how Wellington won the day against the crafty and determined marshal Marmont.