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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Spoilers ahead:
This book is the retelling of the events during the Oporto Campaign in Portugal where Marshal Soult took the city and then was thrown back about 2 months later.
The book starts off with the aftermath of the First Battle of Oporto where Soult defeats the Portuguese and thousands of civilians are drowned as they try to cross the Douro River to escape from the French. Sharpe is caught on the wrong side of the river with a small detachment and escapes with the help of Lt. Vincente and his small detachment.
Sharpe is then ordered to keep an eye on Lt. Colonel Christopher. Lt. Col. Christopher is a suave opportunist from the Foreign Office who is trying to get the French forces to mutiny by getting Soult to declare himself King of Portugal. This is the historical part of the book. Soult was unhappy that other marshals had become princes and kings whereas he was still a duke. He wanted to be King of Portugal but members of the French forces were against him and would possibly revolt.
Christopher had positioned himself to win no matter which side won. His end goal was to get rid by being appointed the exclusive exporter of wines in Portugal and also to be married to a British wine merchant's heiress despite being married in England already. He became a turncoat by giving Soult the names of the mutineers as well as information on the British in Portugal. He also tried to kill Sharpe multiple times when Sharpe tried to stop him.
About 2 months later after witness Christopher's treachery and trying to get back to British lines, Sharpe is back at the river Douro and finds 3 hidden barges which allow British forces to come back on the French side of the river. The French attack but are thrown back and have to leave Porto. Sharpe follows the army and kills Christopher as the French escape over two bridges which failed to be blown up by the Portuguese ordenanças (militia). The exploits of the real French Major Dulong are included in the book as he personally leads the attack on both bridges.
Antagonist: Lt. Col. Christopher the British turncoat.
Romantic interest: Kate Savage the heiress who Sharpe seduces several times.
Overall a good retelling of this campaign.
This book is the retelling of the events during the Oporto Campaign in Portugal where Marshal Soult took the city and then was thrown back about 2 months later.
The book starts off with the aftermath of the First Battle of Oporto where Soult defeats the Portuguese and thousands of civilians are drowned as they try to cross the Douro River to escape from the French. Sharpe is caught on the wrong side of the river with a small detachment and escapes with the help of Lt. Vincente and his small detachment.
Sharpe is then ordered to keep an eye on Lt. Colonel Christopher. Lt. Col. Christopher is a suave opportunist from the Foreign Office who is trying to get the French forces to mutiny by getting Soult to declare himself King of Portugal. This is the historical part of the book. Soult was unhappy that other marshals had become princes and kings whereas he was still a duke. He wanted to be King of Portugal but members of the French forces were against him and would possibly revolt.
Christopher had positioned himself to win no matter which side won. His end goal was to get rid by being appointed the exclusive exporter of wines in Portugal and also to be married to a British wine merchant's heiress despite being married in England already. He became a turncoat by giving Soult the names of the mutineers as well as information on the British in Portugal. He also tried to kill Sharpe multiple times when Sharpe tried to stop him.
About 2 months later after witness Christopher's treachery and trying to get back to British lines, Sharpe is back at the river Douro and finds 3 hidden barges which allow British forces to come back on the French side of the river. The French attack but are thrown back and have to leave Porto. Sharpe follows the army and kills Christopher as the French escape over two bridges which failed to be blown up by the Portuguese ordenanças (militia). The exploits of the real French Major Dulong are included in the book as he personally leads the attack on both bridges.
Antagonist: Lt. Col. Christopher the British turncoat.
Romantic interest: Kate Savage the heiress who Sharpe seduces several times.
Overall a good retelling of this campaign.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yet another superbly engaging Sharpe book! Cornwell was on a tremendous roll with these in the early 2000s, and it was easy to see how much he had improved as a writer from Sharpe's Rifles which he wrote 15 years before this one. Sharpe here was his usual witty, hard-edged self, but at a really interesting point in his development where he's really coming into his own as an officer and leader of his band of Rifles as they try to survive amidst the French invasion of Portugal.
We have a classic Cornwell villain who managed to really differentiate himself from the previous ones though with his veneer of respectability, and Cornwell added in a lively Portugese intellectual into the mix as a fun foil for Sharpe. The plotting felt unique compared to the previous books because Sharpe and the regiment are cut off behind enemy lines, so there's no clear goal for the middle of the book except survive, and the battles when they come are visceral and tense as always. Cornwell is great at laying out the geography of a fight along with the numbers and capabilities, so the battles are easy to follow from a strategy/tactics perspective as well as how they develop.
Some of the dialogue in this one from the fake "Colonel" Christopher, Marshal Soult, and the British commanders was just delightful good fun, too (which Rupert Farley performed with all the personality and vigor you could ask for). There was also some pretty grimdark stuff throughout the book, as Cornwell didn't flinch away from the wartime atrocities (mostly) committed by the French as they ransacked their way through Portugal--some of the moments were tough to take and emotionally very poignant. All in all, I couldn't put it down!
We have a classic Cornwell villain who managed to really differentiate himself from the previous ones though with his veneer of respectability, and Cornwell added in a lively Portugese intellectual into the mix as a fun foil for Sharpe. The plotting felt unique compared to the previous books because Sharpe and the regiment are cut off behind enemy lines, so there's no clear goal for the middle of the book except survive, and the battles when they come are visceral and tense as always. Cornwell is great at laying out the geography of a fight along with the numbers and capabilities, so the battles are easy to follow from a strategy/tactics perspective as well as how they develop.
Some of the dialogue in this one from the fake "Colonel" Christopher, Marshal Soult, and the British commanders was just delightful good fun, too (which Rupert Farley performed with all the personality and vigor you could ask for). There was also some pretty grimdark stuff throughout the book, as Cornwell didn't flinch away from the wartime atrocities (mostly) committed by the French as they ransacked their way through Portugal--some of the moments were tough to take and emotionally very poignant. All in all, I couldn't put it down!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Back on the historical fiction binge!
The Richard Sharpe series is one I have been quietly reading for years (whenever I want a good brutal historical fiction). Sharpes Havoc is the chronological 7th story in the series and follows our hero through Portugal and the drive to force the French out in 1809. Sharpe is now a lieutenant after being promoted up from the ranks in earlier books, so always feels like he has a chip on his shoulder not fitting in.
While Sharpe is a fictional character (and he definitely can’t be in all the places and battles we follow him to, let alone stay alive) he is a loveable rouge who I have a massive soft spot for.
This is a period of history I don’t know a huge amount about - he started in India and the British conquest there, and has fought in France and now Portugal and it’s interesting to learn about key battles and characters through this period.
Do I recommend to other historical fiction lovers? Absolutely. But be warned, bad language and brutal violence is the standard.
It was another Sharpe book -- maybe a bit better than some of the earlier ones because of the development of the Harper and Hagman characters... but still basically enjoyable fluff.
My second Sharpe book and I liked it less than the first. The series "out of order" writing hurts it here: suddenly Sharpe is remembering stuff that was never mentioned in Sharpe's Rifles (e.g. the widow).
There is yet another Pretty Girl that Sharpe inexplicably falls for (along with an inexplicable kiss). A mention of Yet Another Pretty Girl That Sharpe Planned To Marry from a previous volume. (The constant recurrence of these girls is almost enough to move the book from Adventure to Farce.)
The Bad Guys are cartoonishly evil. Cornwell is either unable or unwilling to write the slightest bit of nuance into most of his Bad Guys. Not only are the French supremely evil but anyone who joins their side (like the Spaniard in Sharpe's Rifles) turns out to be out to be a bloodthirsty sadist mass-murderer.
Cornwell takes this viewpoint to extremes when he has Soult arguing with his book while the British invade. (In the Historical Note at the end of the book even Cornwell admits that this may have been a bit much.)
Suffers from the Prime Flaw of Historical Fiction -- namely that the characters seem to be involved in every important bit of history ever. Granted, that's probably why most fans like the genre but it does hurt suspension of disbelief when Sharpe is not only present at the Greatest Rifle Shot Ever Made but also fights against The Greatest French Skirmisher Ever, happens to always be at the Decisive Point of the Battle, and so on.
I've seen several people say that they felt Havoc was a workmanlike, earn-a-paycheck entry in the series. It was moderately entertaining but nothing extraordinary. Perhaps some of the novelty of its precepts is wearing off?
There is yet another Pretty Girl that Sharpe inexplicably falls for (along with an inexplicable kiss). A mention of Yet Another Pretty Girl That Sharpe Planned To Marry from a previous volume. (The constant recurrence of these girls is almost enough to move the book from Adventure to Farce.)
The Bad Guys are cartoonishly evil. Cornwell is either unable or unwilling to write the slightest bit of nuance into most of his Bad Guys. Not only are the French supremely evil but anyone who joins their side (like the Spaniard in Sharpe's Rifles) turns out to be out to be a bloodthirsty sadist mass-murderer.
Cornwell takes this viewpoint to extremes when he has Soult arguing with his book while the British invade. (In the Historical Note at the end of the book even Cornwell admits that this may have been a bit much.)
Suffers from the Prime Flaw of Historical Fiction -- namely that the characters seem to be involved in every important bit of history ever. Granted, that's probably why most fans like the genre but it does hurt suspension of disbelief when Sharpe is not only present at the Greatest Rifle Shot Ever Made but also fights against The Greatest French Skirmisher Ever, happens to always be at the Decisive Point of the Battle, and so on.
I've seen several people say that they felt Havoc was a workmanlike, earn-a-paycheck entry in the series. It was moderately entertaining but nothing extraordinary. Perhaps some of the novelty of its precepts is wearing off?
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sharpe is a great character and I really like this series but this is one of the more average stories.
adventurous
medium-paced