Sharpe's Havoc

Cornwell admirers will know exactly what to expect, and all the heady pleasures that distinguished such earlier books as Sharpe's Battle and Sharpe's Company are fully in place here, with the added impetus that comes from a notably picaresque narrative. All the central characters are drawn with the customary forcefulness, and instead of the expected tension and release that is the hallmark of most Cornwell novels, there's a steadily increasing excitement engendered here that leads to an all-stops-out finale. --Barry Forshaw

Reader Reviews:

Another great instalment - based on one of Wellesley's little known battles (0/0 people found this helpful)

I read this book recently before a visit to Oporto, where much of the story is set, immediately after Sharpe's Rifles, which is set in the aftermath of Sir John Moore's retreat to Corunna and Vigo, and just before Sharpe's Eagle takes us to Talavera - which was in fact the first of the Sharpe books that Cornwell wrote.

Oporto - its fall to Marshall Soult in 1809 and its recapture by Sir Arthur Wellesley later that year - forms only a part of the narrative, of course. The main plot is about a feud with a senior officer in the British Army, and the rescuing of a damsel in distress. Sharpe makes a new ally in a Portuguese lawyer turned militia officer. As ever he fights the French (and anyone else who gets in his way) with characteristic tactical aplomb and cool ferocity, but in accordance with his own sense of honour.

Sharpe and his sidekick Serjeant Harper never become more than two-dimensional, in some respects, but after 20 years of writing Cornwell was very well practised in his art. In my opinion the later written novels like this one read even better than the earlier ones, and (because the action is focussed on small actions rather than the major battles, where the real history takes over) there is more scope for the development of the gripping fictional storyline. On the other hand, the established reader of the series is conscious of occasional comments to bring newcomers up to speed with the key elements of the Sharpe "legend", most importantly, of course, why he and his band from the 95th are stuck in Spain on "detached duty".

As Cornwell filled in the spaces in Sharpe's already full CV then it was inevitable that some of the facts stated in earlier books on would get in the way of the narrative in the later ones, and if you read them in chronological order, starting in India, you will become quite aware of "continuity errors". Nevertheless, if you enjoy military fiction, I would recommend reading the books chronologically - if only to have a better feel for the tempo of the Napoleonic Wars as they affected the British Army. Sharpe's Havoc demonstrates, however, that there is no reason why you cannot dip in and out of the series, and makes a great read in its own right.

Sharpe's Havoc Audio Book CD (0/1 people found this helpful)

Susannah's husband here. Having read all the Sharpe series I was looking forward to the audio book. Big mistake! The book itself is great for fans needing a Sharpe fix but to listen to McGann or whatever his name is almost drove me to sleep, which wasn't good as I was listening whilst driving in the car. The book is trashed by the narrator who sounds so bored or tired you can almost feel sorry for him. There's no inflection and he just drones on and on, (you can almost hear him sigh at the end of each sentence, that's if you can actually make out the last words he utters). He starts each sentence ok but his volume tails off as if we're keeping awake.......sorry about that, I only bought the CD, HELPED PAY TOWARDS YOUR FEE. Idea for the next audio book.......get someone who actually wants to read the book and preferably has a pulse. Bernard deserves better than this. Paul

"Wall to wall dead Frenchmen" (6/6 people found this helpful)

Someone once summarised the essence of a Richard Sharpe novel as "wall to wall dead Frenchmen" and there is truth in this. After all they are (mostly) set in the Napoleonic War and killing Frenchmen is what Sharpe and his fellow soldiers are there to do. But Bernard Cornwell's books about the up-from-the-ranks rifleman will also feature a plot which requires Sharpe to use all his ingenuity and bravery to succeed against the odds, a woman in distress whom Sharpe must rescue, and a villain, from within his own side but usually of a higher class, whom Sharpe must outwit and (perhaps) kill.

"Sharpe's Havoc" has all the ingredients but in a well-developed way. The military clashes are well-observed and in line with historical fact (apart from the insertion of Sharpe, of course), and there is a deeper sense of the comradeship of the riflemen and of what war does to people than some of the other books, while both the woman and the villain are real people in whom one can take an interest.

It is a bit bloodier than some of the other Sharpe novels, the violence is not caricatured or sanitised, and the general atmosphere is more intense than some. Cornwell's novels can be uneven in their quality (in Amazon terms they vary between 3 and 5 stars) and some were beginning to fear the series was getting a bit tired. This novel has dispelled all such fears.

Sharpe has his revenge (1/1 people found this helpful)

'Sharpe's Havoc' is set in the spring of 1809: the French, under Marshal Soult, have just taken Oporto and now effectively control northern Portugal. During the retreat from Oporto Sharpe and his men from the 95th Rifles find themselves cut off from the British army, and must take to the hills. Meanwhile, rumour has it that Sir Arthur Wellesly (the later Duke of Wellington) is coming out to Portugal to take on the French. But Sharpe has more to worry about than the French as he is confronted with a dubious Colonel Christopher, detached from the Foreign Office...

This is a novel in the best Sharpe-tradition, full of action, nothing too complicated in the plot, and easy to read (it took me slightly more than a day of non-stop reading). The final chapters in the hills of northern Portugal when Sharpe exacts his revenge are among the best I've read so far in any Sharpe-novel.

By the way, if you're planning to read the Sharpe-novels chronologically it's good to know that, contrary to what it says on the inside cover pages of the HarperCollins paperbacks, this novel does not come after but BEFORE 'Sharpe's Eagle' (which is set in July 1809 during the Talavera-campaign).

So now it's on to 'Sharpe's Gold'. I do love the smell of a fresh Sharpe-novel in the morning! ;-)

Very Good (1/1 people found this helpful)

In this outing, Sharpe is in Portugal, during the Peninsular War, in 1809.
The book is fairly much all action, as Sharpe and his men are cut off from the main British force.

There is the usual, beautiful girl, and despicable baddie, that Sharpe has to contend with.

Overall, I thought the book had a very good storyline, and there is rarely a dull moment, in it. If you are interested in the history of that time period, you will probably enjoy it.

Bernard Cornwell

Editorial Review: