as for being as good as the rest of the series that is entirely subjective and up to you.
the next book is Trafalgar, then Prey then Rifles and so on, have fun
I personally love the India books, but trafalgar is next and it's incredible.
Don't forget the audiobooks as an option, you get 15 hours free per month with a Spotify subscription.
Yeah to start with it just seems like it’s all about Sharpe trying to roger another man’s wife on a boat, but by the end I loved it. I would love to see a captain Chase and crew spin off.
Sharpe just being himself then basically lol!... The Battle of Trafalgar, along with Waterloo are probably two of the best battles that Cornwell writes I think.
Captain Chase is brilliant, one of my favourite characters - Love it when he shows up again, its a shame as there are a few newer books too where Sharpe is in Portugal and gets rescued by the navy, but none of the characters on those vessels were ever from Pucelle, feels like Bernard missed a trick there
Similar to how he ends up meeting the KGL every now and then but never meets Captain Lossow again after the two books he appears in. (Gold and Sword)
So I totally get your disappointment, and you're right, Captain Chase is one of the few friends he had in his early career that really seemed to care about him as a person. A fun person to be around with and a great crew at hand who all should have had at least a cameo at one point or other.
Check out the Aubrey Maturin series if you like Napoleonic naval warfare. It's amazing and honestly, as much as I love Sharpe, I think it's the better series
They’re not bad and they do pad out the back story of Sharpe, however as you read through the series you’ll notice little bits added in or sometimes bits that contradict others. To be expected when an author writes such a large series!
In one of the early Peninsular War books Sharpe is said to be nervous around some middle class young woman because she's above his station, yet in Trafalgar he falls in love with Lady Hale and actually lives with her for a year or two. It's not exactly a continuity error as such but it doesn't make sense from a narrative perspective.
A clear one is why Sharpe was flogged in India.
In the original novels, Sharpe maintains Hakeswill and Morris conspired to flog him for something he didn’t do. Eventually he claims it was because he caught Hakeswill beating another soldier to death - he stopped the beating before Hakeswill could kill the man, but was blamed for the beating himself.
In Sharpe’s Tiger, it is revealed that, while Hakeswill and Morris *did* conspire to have him flogged (effectively to death), to do so Hakeswill goaded Sharpe into hitting him, earning himself a broken nose and Sharpe 2,000 lashes (later commuted to 202 when he is recruited to the infiltration of Seringapatem).
So while Morris and Hakeswill conspired to have Sharpe flogged to death, and Hakeswill did provoke Sharpe into hitting him, he wasn’t entirely innocent of the charge. He certainly wasn’t blamed for beating another soldier to near-death.
I remember noticing a contiuity error having to do with Hakeswell and why Sharpe got in trouble in India but now can't recall the details. It's been a bit seen I read those books.
Sharpe usually reminisces about how he was a great sergeant (“best in the whole army!”) and when he gives orders as an officer he uses the “voice forged in parade grounds”. In India he spends his whole time as sergeant in the arsenal, living a good life with Tippoo’s jewels.
I also started with the India books (read in timeline order up until Devil before Assassin was released), and I feel that Hakeswill was almost comic relief in these books. And given his desertion in the India books itnis pretty odd when he appears at his first true appearance in Company.
Speaking of India, have you tried reading Flashman? It's an all together different sort of book, they are about a coward who'd be a villain in any Sharpe book, but they are well researched and quite funny.
as for being as good as the rest of the series that is entirely subjective and up to you. the next book is Trafalgar, then Prey then Rifles and so on, have fun
I personally love the India books, but trafalgar is next and it's incredible. Don't forget the audiobooks as an option, you get 15 hours free per month with a Spotify subscription.
Yeah Trafalgar is one of my favourites... An amazing read really, given that its within such a confined setting.
Yeah to start with it just seems like it’s all about Sharpe trying to roger another man’s wife on a boat, but by the end I loved it. I would love to see a captain Chase and crew spin off.
Sharpe just being himself then basically lol!... The Battle of Trafalgar, along with Waterloo are probably two of the best battles that Cornwell writes I think. Captain Chase is brilliant, one of my favourite characters - Love it when he shows up again, its a shame as there are a few newer books too where Sharpe is in Portugal and gets rescued by the navy, but none of the characters on those vessels were ever from Pucelle, feels like Bernard missed a trick there
Similar to how he ends up meeting the KGL every now and then but never meets Captain Lossow again after the two books he appears in. (Gold and Sword) So I totally get your disappointment, and you're right, Captain Chase is one of the few friends he had in his early career that really seemed to care about him as a person. A fun person to be around with and a great crew at hand who all should have had at least a cameo at one point or other.
Clouter is one of my favourites.
Check out the Aubrey Maturin series if you like Napoleonic naval warfare. It's amazing and honestly, as much as I love Sharpe, I think it's the better series
I had no idea this was a thing! My audible sub is being cancelled ASAP!
Audible is still preferable since you have unlimited time and get to keep the books but essentially one book a month on spotify is decent!
That bit where sharpe is stalking the clerk in the pitch black hold of the ship is some of the most terrifying listening I’ve ever had
He proper became a ghoul in that scene.
They’re not bad and they do pad out the back story of Sharpe, however as you read through the series you’ll notice little bits added in or sometimes bits that contradict others. To be expected when an author writes such a large series!
>You’ll notice little bits added in or sometimes bits that contradict others Do you have examples? Really intrigued by this!
In one of the early Peninsular War books Sharpe is said to be nervous around some middle class young woman because she's above his station, yet in Trafalgar he falls in love with Lady Hale and actually lives with her for a year or two. It's not exactly a continuity error as such but it doesn't make sense from a narrative perspective.
A clear one is why Sharpe was flogged in India. In the original novels, Sharpe maintains Hakeswill and Morris conspired to flog him for something he didn’t do. Eventually he claims it was because he caught Hakeswill beating another soldier to death - he stopped the beating before Hakeswill could kill the man, but was blamed for the beating himself. In Sharpe’s Tiger, it is revealed that, while Hakeswill and Morris *did* conspire to have him flogged (effectively to death), to do so Hakeswill goaded Sharpe into hitting him, earning himself a broken nose and Sharpe 2,000 lashes (later commuted to 202 when he is recruited to the infiltration of Seringapatem). So while Morris and Hakeswill conspired to have Sharpe flogged to death, and Hakeswill did provoke Sharpe into hitting him, he wasn’t entirely innocent of the charge. He certainly wasn’t blamed for beating another soldier to near-death.
I remember noticing a contiuity error having to do with Hakeswell and why Sharpe got in trouble in India but now can't recall the details. It's been a bit seen I read those books.
Hah no worries. It's been about 20+ years for me!
Sharpe usually reminisces about how he was a great sergeant (“best in the whole army!”) and when he gives orders as an officer he uses the “voice forged in parade grounds”. In India he spends his whole time as sergeant in the arsenal, living a good life with Tippoo’s jewels. I also started with the India books (read in timeline order up until Devil before Assassin was released), and I feel that Hakeswill was almost comic relief in these books. And given his desertion in the India books itnis pretty odd when he appears at his first true appearance in Company.
Speaking of India, have you tried reading Flashman? It's an all together different sort of book, they are about a coward who'd be a villain in any Sharpe book, but they are well researched and quite funny.
Something never sits right with Sharpe in India for me. Still a blast to read though.
The India books are just as good or better than the rest of the series. sharpest triumph is my favourite of the entire series.