SHARPE’S STORM
By Bernard Cornwell
Harper
346 pgs
This being the 24th novel in the Richard Sharpe series of historical fiction by Bernard Cornwell featuring the exploits of an English soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. Though often written out of sequence, Sharpe first appeared as a private of the 33rd Regiment of Foot in “Sharpe’s Tiger.” Through his courage and fighting prowess, he constantly gets promoted up the ranks as well as becoming a personal favorite of Lord Wellington. In the end he’s a lieutenant in “Sharpe’s Waterloo.”
Most readers will know of the character via the popular British ITV televisions series starring Sean Bean in the role.
In “Sharpe’s War” we encounter a Major Sharpe caught up in the 1813 Invasion of Southern France by British forces at the same time the French army was being devastated in their Russian winter campaign. Sharpe is as ever doing his best to keep himself, and his men alive, as the troops fight across a terrain of twisted riverways. And if that wasn’t enough responsibility for him, he’s ordered by Lord Wellington to both escort and guard, a navy admirable wishing to witness the fighting up close.
As ever, Cornwell’s prose is lean and authentic. His knowledge of military ploys and maneuvers during actual combat mesmerizing. He puts his reader in the thick of things dodging musket balls and slashing razor honed bayonets. All making “Sharpe’s Storm” a welcomed new entry into this superb series.
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