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Summary: Excellent series. I love discovering new book series!!!
Review: My brother told me about the 'Sharpe' series and so I read Sharpe's Tiger. AWESOME!!! From the first page, Bernard Cornwell paints the picture of what life was like for enlisted 'grunts' in 1799. You can almost feel the heat of the desert and feel the grime. Cornwell puts you in Sharpe's shoes. It's written so vividly that it's like you're right there. I'm glad that there are 20 books in the series. I'll be reading every one. I LOVE discovering authors that I haven't read that write this well.. READ IT, YOU'LL LOVE IT!!!
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Summary: One of those books that keeps you up too late.
Review: My first exposure to Richard Sharpe was via the series aired on PBS.I'm inclined to think this an advantage since it makes visualization of these brilliant spectacles that much easier.When I think of Sharpe I can't help but see Sean Bean.But even without this aspect Cornwell's work is without equal when it comes to verisimilitude.His eye for detail,and the exhaustive research he must have done into military equipment,organization,tactics and customs of the period really brings the story to life for anyone with an affinity for authenticity.
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Summary: Richard Sharpe prior to the Penninsular Campaign.
Review: Richard Sharpe and the battle of Assaye form the conculsion of this book. Richard Sharpe is young, scared, in India and has to do what is called "dessert" his own regiment to infiltrate the Sultan's domain to get information for the English army so that they can overcome the Sultan and have a victory that is well executed and well planned. Most of the English believe that Sharpe has turned traitor so that he can penetrate the domain of the Sultan who does have tigers in the city and Sharpe does have his mooments with the Tigers, and he has his moments where he is taught to read in prison with the bible, and taught to love a woman who is another mans wife, who he gives some of the sultans illegal jewels. He learns that he can be used as a man to get the job done in a fight, and he learns that he can be used as a pawn and he learns that he can learn to survive on his own if he has to and not to rely on the army if he gets himself in situations that he cannot handle. We see the boy who is the ruffian and a child of the gutter come to life, we see the boy become a man, and we again see the brilliant writing of Bernard Cornwell who has thrilled millions with the stories of Richard Sharpe! I look forward to his next book and hope if you are a fan of Sharpe that you will read this volume. The character of Richard Sharpe becomes more of a man than the child that he was who joined the British Army to overcome poverty and a penniless existence, its the story of a character who learns to read the bible and makes a friend of the officer who teaches him to read it, its the man against the tiger, and the tiger loses. Its the man who takes gold and jewels to survive and better himself its the story of a beloved character by Bernard Cornwell as a young man, who develops into the Colonel who defeats Napolean at Waterloo its the story of Richard Sharpe who came out of the gutter and became an officer and a leader of men, its the story of a man who will rise in the ranks to be an officer and a "sometimes" gentleman. I recommend this book if you are a fan of Bernard Cornwell and the Sharpe series.
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Summary: The year is 1799 and India is burning with war.
Review: Sharpe is part of a military expedition to push the ruthless Tippoo from his throne and kick the French out of India. The action is very realistic. You can almost smell the guns smoke, hear the screams of pain and feel the blood on your hands. Sharpe, and the other men in His Majesty's service, are looters and knife-fighters and DAMN good infantry.
The plot is sound, the details are excellent and the characters make you feel anger and joy and sometimes even pride in their actions.
Tippoo is a well balanced character who is the kind of leader I won't MIND fighting under. I'm not saying he is a NICE guy, but he does seem to care. Even the French Colonel seems to be somebody I would prefer to be commanded by than the British officers in this book.
The author adds some humor too!"I'm a Scot," a sour voice spoke from the rear rank.
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Summary: First in the Richard Sharpe series, a Grand adventure
Review: Sharpe's Tiger is the first chronologically (although not the first written) in Bernard Cornwell's acclaimed Richard Sharpe series. In Sharpe's Tiger Private Richard Sharpe is in India fighting with the 33rd Regiment. His regimental officer is inept, and his sergeant is the evil Hakeswill, but overall Sharpe is happy. Then, his woman catches the eyes of his superiors and Sharpe is set up for death. He is tricked into hitting an officer and sentenced to a brutal flogging. Yet, despite the flogging Sharpe is saved by his colonel Arthur Wellesley and sent on a secret mission with a young officer named Lawford. Sent to a impregnable fortress controlled by the Tippoo, Sharpe must battle British and native forces to complete his mission. Failure means hideous death, but success could lead him to more wealth than he could possibly imagine. Once again Bernard Cornwell writes a rolicking adventure. By taking Sharpe back to the beginning, Cornwell brings an added dimension to his classic character. It is interesting to see Sharpe grow and mature as a soldier. Overall, I highly recommend this volume of historical fiction.
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Summary: Stirring stuff
Review: Sharpe's Tiger moves along at a cracking pace and captures the life of times of soldiers in that era very well. A good rollicking read and it's not hard to imagine that Cornwell spent a previous incarnation trudging through India with a trail of bibbis behind him.
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Summary: Brilliant read
Review: Sharpes Tiger by Bernard Cornwell is a brilliant work. Seeing Sharpe as a private was a real treat.It had been a few years since sharpe had had an adventure and this first book in the indian trilogy shows that Cornwell has not lost his magic touch.
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Summary: The best read book series
Review: The Sharpe's series is historical fiction at its best. Cornwell does a thorough, scholarly job for his books and Sharpe and the other characters are wonderful. The reader of the audio books, Frederick Davidson, is one of the best in the business. He has mastered every character in the series: Sharpe, the producct of the lowest London class as well as the French, the upper crust British, the lower and uppercrust Irish, the Spanish Grandees and the foot soldiers, the Germans, etc.
I love the Cornwell books. I enjoyed the PBS series. The best, however, is the audio version read by Frederick Davidson. It brings to light a wonderful group of books.
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Summary: simple and well done
Review: The start of an amazing series. There aren't any deep messages written in these pages, but it is just a good, solid, entertaining story.
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Summary: Excellent starting novel for the Sharpe series
Review: This book gives the background in detail of the hero. Even though it is the latest in the long series - it is really the first book. It answers all kinds of questions about Sharpe. Very well written, easy to follow. And as usual an exciting yarn. For old fans it is a great incite into the hero, and for new readers, it sets the stage for the series
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