Having read most of the Sharpe novels and enjoyed them the only helpful review I can give potential new Sharpe readers is to start with this one!
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When I ordered this book, I thought it would be a standard sized, decently looked after book, as you would expect of a seller. However when it came, it was in an appauling state and a large print version. It was not specified that the novel would be a large print version, and nor did it say it was in poor condition. However, the book did arrive within plenty of time of it's arrival estimate. It's just a shame that it was a dissapointment when it arrived.
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I read the positive reviews of Sharpe's Triumph on Amazon as a reality check after reading the book myself. I needed a benchmark for my own low opinion of the book. I really struggled with it and couldn't get past the first hundred pages. There are plenty of summaries of the plot already provided so I won't repeat. I'll just record that I found the whole enterprise worthy only of a teenager's magazine of the Boys' Own variety. The banal dialogue, plotting-by-numbers, caricature villains and corny turns of phrase barely belong in the literature for grown-ups. I didn't get as far as the climax, which some reviewers write of with admiration and affection. But then, I had no wish to go that far based on my experience of the earlier pages. I have read and loved the whole series of Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser, a series of novels based on another epoch of British military history and infinitely superior to Sharpe. I would recommend anyone to read Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series first, because you certainly won't want to read it if you do so after Flashman.
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This is the second of Bernaard Cornwell's Sharpe novels chronologically and sees Richard Sharpe, now a sargeant still in India. It was written after the main books set in Spain and France but still fits together well as a prequel.
He is taken from his usual duties to go with Colonel McCandless on a mission to capture a renegade British officer. Along the way he gets caught up in the Battle of Assaye and saves Wellington.
Bernard Cornwell again weaves historical fact and fiction together to produce a very entertaining novel. A very enjoyable read building on Sharpe's Tiger. Well worth reading if you enjoy historical fiction of have read any other of Cornwell's books.
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This was my first experience of the Sharpe novels and although military fiction isn't usually my thing I have to confess to really enjoying it. The prose style is easy to read and the descriptions of battle (and the tension that precedes it) is breath-taking. There's just enough character development and emotional insight to keep even us girls happy! If I had more time I'd certainly be reading more of these.
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