JasonKoivu

This is not exactly a prototypical Sharpe novel in that there is no pitched battle to be had against Napoleon's forces. Instead, Major Richard Sharpe is back on English soil and his enemy is the British army itself. The wheres and the whos matter little in a Bernard Cornwell book, because you're going to get pretty much the same thing every time, and if you like/love it once, you'll like/love it again and again. Cornwell knows his winning formula inside and out. He excels at action sequences. He knows how to pile the pain on his main character. He can draw up a super bad baddy with the best of them. And, he can construct an improbable-victory-against-impossilbe-odds scenario like nobody's business. You're in good hands with Bernard Cornwell, provided these are the hands you want to place yourself in.

Why wouldn't you? Well, once you've read one Sharpe book you've read them all. Yes, the scenery changes occasionally, Sharpes allies and enemies vary somewhat now and then, and the path Sharpe has to take to win the day isn't always exactly the same. However, Cornwell's formula is quite transparent to even the most careless reader. Sharpe will always be wronged by someone, often someone within his own army and most usually a higher up officer. He'll have to prove himself, time and again. If there's an alluring woman to be had, Sharpe will have her, and there are always alluring women to be had. Sharpe is a tall, dark, ruggedly handsome soldier, so regardless of the woman's background, each and every one of them goes squishy on him.

Geez, listen to me whine, whine whine! By now you're probably looking around, thinking you meant to read a book review and accidentally stepped into a vineyard. Look, the bottom line is, Bernard Cornwell's got a good thing going and he's riding it for all its worth. Either you like it or don't. If you do, check your critical eye at the door and hope on board for an enjoyable trip back to war-torn, early 1800s Europe. There you will find a lovable, right bastard to root for. He'll do some dirty deeds for dirt cheap and in some way, shape or form he'll get his due in a satisfying end.