Customer Reviews

Sharpe's Havoc (Windsor Selection)

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For long-time fans like me who found "Sharpe's Prey" below par, I'm pleased to say that this one returns to first principles, frog-bashing in the Peninsula; and the author is back on form. If you wondered what happened to Sharpe, Harper & Co. after they joined forces on the retreat to Vigo (Sharpe's Rifles, Jan. 1809) and before Talavera (Sharpe's Eagle, July 1809), here's the answer. The Greenjackets are in the wilds of Portugal where the best Sharpe stories are set. Richard Sharpe is a disgruntled rifle lieutenant not long promoted from sergeant (not as unheard of in the British army as people think, especially when there was fighting to be done). Marshal Soult, 'Duke of Damnation' and aspiring King of Portugal, is closing in. Is all lost? Wait! an obscure sepoy general called Wellesley has landed at Lisbon ...

I'll leave the plot there except to say that it's a ripping yarn (and I've been reading them for twenty years). We meet an upper-class villain fit to take on Sir Henry Simmerson; a beautiful, runaway heiress; and a young Portuguese officer of character and education who has a thing or two to learn from Sharpe. Deja vu? Well, some of the best vus are deja. There have been better ones than this but not many. The atmosphere is as thick as Dan Hagman's tea. There are passages of real sardonic humor, which comes as a relief after the last outing. The action sequences are many and unsurpassed. My only regret is that an old favorite, Sweet William the one-eyed architecture fancier, hasn't shown up yet.

This isn't the best, but the time slots are filling up and Cornwell makes good use of them. Sharpe and Harper march again. What are you waiting for? And if you didn't understand any of the above, still read the book.

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.

This book was, perhaps, inspired by Forester's "Rifleman Dodd."
In this case, a large group of riflemen are cut off behind French Lines instead of a single rifleman. As in Forester's novel, they take decisive action to turn the tide.
Like other novels in the series, it is based on real events.

After having Sharpe settle in France with his mistress, the author steps back in time to fill in a part of Sharpe's career, in this case in northern Portugal in 1809. It is based on the French capture of Oporto, and Marshal Soult's defeat by General Wellesley and his retreat back out of Portugal.

The novel has a significant amount of blood and gore, including details of pillage, rape, and murder of civilians (based on content, I would give it a PG-13 rating). It illustrates the pig-headed type of military commander who expends men by assaulting enemy strongpoints rather than relying on strategy, bypassing strongpoints, and cutting off enemy supply lines. Perhaps it illustrates the historic problem of officers rising to general through influence rather than ability. There is also the double dealing Christopher from the Foreign Office, who tries to play both sides of the game.

Sharpe again meets Lord Pumphrey of the Foreign Office, a somewhat shady individual who eliminates people who might know too much. Lord Pumphrey considers Christoper a problem, and sends Sharpe to deal with the problem. As in Denmark, it is convenient for the Foreign Office to have a murderous rogue like Sharpe available. There are some tasks that could not be assigned to a well-bred gentleman.

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.

The Sharpe series is 19 books long now, I think. Cornwell wrote several books in the original series and now goes back on occasion and adds episodes. It's a difficult task to write new chapters into a book already written. The chronology may suffer or the hero's past might not be acknowledged in his future. These problems don't bother me so much. This book, however, was a disappointment and I'm not sure why. Everything one would expect in a book by Cornwell is here: a remorseless villain, a damsel in distress, small skirmishes and a major battle. Maybe it's the fact we've travelled these roads so many times already and there's nothing new down there anyway. There can be no doubt of the outcome; we've already seen the far future of Sharpe.
Patrick O'Brien suffered this same sort of malaise in his Aubrey/Maturin series too. Maybe authors get bored with their own creations and cannot think of ways to inject new excitement and experiences in these set pieces. Perhaps Richard Sharpe needs a vacation in Bermuda or someplace. I can see the pirates and the women of easy virtue now...

If you have never heard of Sharpe or read a book by Bernard Cornwell then this isn't the book for you, this book is a long awaited installment of a great series of books.

The thing I like most about this book is not the great adventure Sharpe is unwittingly participating in, you get that with every sharpe book. Its not even the great accounts of true, historic battles that seem to put you in the heart of the action, you get that with every Sharpe book.

This book is my new favourite simply because of the way its written. The style is still the same just it fits the book better, you just fall right into the book. The Sharpe series has developed as much as Cornwell has developed as a writer. The newer books seem to have a 'worn in' feel to them, they fit like an old boot, its a comfortable, fitting read for the Sharpe fan, you won't be disappointed.

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!

What Sharpe does is to give us a good story, and then makes it a good history lesson also. You either like them or do not not. After reading this one I then went back and reread all of the other ones just to make sure they were as good as I remember them to be. They give you an excellant idea of the French/British wars, and then for good measure they go back into India also. Sharpe and Wellington, along with Napolean are the constant characters. As those who know, Sharpe comes up from the ranks, from Private to an officer, which did not happen in England in a class society where everyone knew their place. Good war stories, good character studies, and good history. I just think that the series is wonderful, and this one is as good as any of them.

Read it, and then do your self a favor and order all of these series, and enjoy yourself.

The surprising thing about SHARPE'S HAVOC has nothing to do with its content. The content of the Richard Sharpe books --- this is the nineteenth --- is generally the same. There is a mission, a woman and an enemy for Richard Sharpe --- and usually a lot of hard fighting along the way. SHARPE'S HAVOC is no different, which is not surprising. There is a mission; Lieutenant Richard Sharpe must keep his rag-tag band of Riflemen safe as they rejoin Lord Wellington's army fighting the French in Portugal in 1809. There is a woman; Kate Savage, the beautiful young daughter of an English wine merchant, who Sharpe must protect from the ravages of war. And there is an enemy; one Colonel Christopher of the Foreign Office, who is busy sneaking around behind enemy lines, trying to arrange for the surrender of British troops to the perfidious French and makes the mistake of stealing Richard Sharpe's telescope.

But it is the setting that is surprising. The first twelve Richard Sharpe books were all set during the Napoleonic conflict, taking Sharpe from an anonymous quartermaster in northern Spain to a battalion commander at Waterloo. The next volume, SHARPE'S DEVIL, moved the action to Chile (which is where Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series also winds up). After that, Cornwell authored three books about Sharpe's early career in India and the two most recent books dealt primarily with naval battles, of all things.

SHARPE'S HAVOC takes us back to the Peninsular Campaign, filling in a gap between the first and second of the Sharpe books. It takes place in Portugal, right at the time that Sir Arthur Wellesley (later Lord Wellington) takes over His Majesty's army on the Peninsula and uses it to beat the living daylights out of the French. The French invasion of Portugal has shattered British morale and left Sharpe the leader of a small platoon of green-jacketed regulars separated from the rest of the army. With the help of stalwart sergeant Patrick Harper and an alliance with an idealistic Portuguese lawyer-turned-soldier, Sharpe must protect the girl, defeat the enemy and complete the mission, just as he has done so many times before.

The challenge for Bernard Cornwell here is to return to the scene of his greatest triumph and produce another book about the Peninsular Campaign to stand with his earlier works (that, and to keep his fingers from falling off from typing too much; there's a second book in his new series about the Holy Grail coming out this year as well). It's a challenge that he more than meets. Even though the characters, setting and plot are familiar, Cornwell manages to put them into new and tense situations. Sharpe and Harper witness a horrific bridge collapse, defend a remote mountaintop fort and lead the way for a daring British invasion of a Portuguese seminary. The action scenes crackle with intensity and excitement. There's even a heroic French officer leading the charge against Sharpe --- Cornwell describes him as "Sharpe-like", a high compliment indeed --- who emerges as a brave opponent, for once.

Where SHARPE'S HAVOC falls short, compared to its predecessors, is in its other two elements. The villain, Colonel Christopher, is a weak, backstabbing little man, no real match for Sharpe. And the woman, Kate Savage, is a little slip of a girl, caught up in Christopher's cowardly embrace but saved by her sense of patriotism and duty.

But all of this is subordinated to the pleasure that fans of the series will take in seeing Sharpe and Harper together again, marching against the French and fighting against terrible odds. And for people who aren't yet fans of Richard Sharpe, SHARPE'S HAVOC is as good a place as any to introduce yourself to a scarred English Rifleman and his band of thieves, poachers and outcasts. Because SHARPE'S HAVOC is a good read --- and that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

--- Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds

Sharpe's Havoc is another in Sharpe's Rifles series, this one taking place after the first one, but before the 2nd. In this book, Mr. Sharpe is dealing with the French invasion of Portugal in 1809.

In this tale, Mr. Sharpe and his men are tasked to find Ms. Savage (a British lady who lives in Portugal) before the French seize the area and bring her back to Lisbon. However this is interrupted by Colonel Christopher's orders that Mr. Sharpe and his men to stay in Vila Real de Zedes (a small town in the foothill above Oporto, a major city) with Ms. Savage and to not both the French. However, not everything is as it would seem. I don't want to go into anymore details because it'll spoil the story.

As usual, Mr. Cornwell does an outstanding job of following what occurred and inserting his character at the critical moment. Mr. Cornwell has crafted the book very nicely, the story is interesting and makes you look forward to reading more in the series. A solid 4.5 star book in my opinion, however our friends at Amazon don't let me rate them that way and I can't I give it 5 stars. Sorry for those that follow the Sharpe's series!