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kdayshauthor 's review for:
Sharpe's Rifles: The French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809
by Bernard Cornwell
Reading these in chronological order, instead of by date of publication, is fun, even if you have to get used to the slight fluctuations in writing style and character description. Most importantly here, Sharpe's appearance as dark-haired and his childhood being in London. Which is obviously not right. *looks at Sean Bean*
I didn't find the shift too jarring, considering the Sharpe books are essentially the same thing every time. And I say that with all affection. The difference here was Sharpe trying to prove himself as a lieutenant, and ingratiating himself with his new Rifles. I mean, you know he is going to succeed in the end, but it was still quite interesting to read. And the Sharpe books are so easy to read as well - a simple writing style, nothing deep, and with some exciting battles throughout. The attack on the farmhouse in this book was great, and the final assault in Santiago de Compostela. I did have to wrap my head around the Spanish as allies to start with, having come from Sharpe's Trafalgar to this (I skipped Sharpe's Prey, but will be going to that next).
The big down-point in this book is the pantomime family Sharpe meets halfway through, the Parkers. The aunt and uncle (I think) were too exaggerated to even be funny, to be honest. And Bernard Cornwell has no idea what to do with women. Like, Louisa's role was....what, exactly? Whereas his male characters are allowed to be angry and bitter and have all kinds of personality and emotion, his female characters are always packaged into nice, pretty packages. Even when Louisa was trying to move away from her restrictive family and prevent herself from falling into a loveless, boring marriage back in England, he wrote her as doing it in an entirely sweet, inoffensive way. It was just dull.
But that's nothing different with this series. After a while, it just becomes amusing rather than offensive because of the 'typical male writer' stereotypes Bernard Cornwell falls into.
Still, the series is entertaining, and I will be stepping back in time to Sharpe's Prey for the next read.
I didn't find the shift too jarring, considering the Sharpe books are essentially the same thing every time. And I say that with all affection. The difference here was Sharpe trying to prove himself as a lieutenant, and ingratiating himself with his new Rifles. I mean, you know he is going to succeed in the end, but it was still quite interesting to read. And the Sharpe books are so easy to read as well - a simple writing style, nothing deep, and with some exciting battles throughout. The attack on the farmhouse in this book was great, and the final assault in Santiago de Compostela. I did have to wrap my head around the Spanish as allies to start with, having come from Sharpe's Trafalgar to this (I skipped Sharpe's Prey, but will be going to that next).
The big down-point in this book is the pantomime family Sharpe meets halfway through, the Parkers. The aunt and uncle (I think) were too exaggerated to even be funny, to be honest. And Bernard Cornwell has no idea what to do with women. Like, Louisa's role was....what, exactly? Whereas his male characters are allowed to be angry and bitter and have all kinds of personality and emotion, his female characters are always packaged into nice, pretty packages. Even when Louisa was trying to move away from her restrictive family and prevent herself from falling into a loveless, boring marriage back in England, he wrote her as doing it in an entirely sweet, inoffensive way. It was just dull.
But that's nothing different with this series. After a while, it just becomes amusing rather than offensive because of the 'typical male writer' stereotypes Bernard Cornwell falls into.
Still, the series is entertaining, and I will be stepping back in time to Sharpe's Prey for the next read.