This is the chronological Book 1 of the Richard Sharpe series.
Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell. And since I have never really been all that interested in Britain's military exploits in India, I thought that Cornwell would be the person who could bring it to life for me.
With all of the hype surrounding this series, I actually thought that this book would be much better. I don't know quite what I was expecting (Sharpe as another Uhtred, perhaps?) but I found this story to be rather tedious and slightly dull. We get to meet Private Richard Sharpe and to witness his exploits in Seringapatam, but there was far less character development than I would have preferred for a character who is supposed to carry an entire series.
As always, Cornwell is meticulous with his research, but I did grow a little weary of the extensive military maneuverings and artillery descriptions. Perhaps I am more partial to the Saxon era of longbows and shield walls, because the seemingly endless descriptions of cannon and muskets did not interest me nearly as much.
It wasn't a bad book...it's just that I was expecting it to be better. But this is the "first" book in what turned out to be a rather long series, so I will give the others a try and see if it improves.
Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell. And since I have never really been all that interested in Britain's military exploits in India, I thought that Cornwell would be the person who could bring it to life for me.
With all of the hype surrounding this series, I actually thought that this book would be much better. I don't know quite what I was expecting (Sharpe as another Uhtred, perhaps?) but I found this story to be rather tedious and slightly dull. We get to meet Private Richard Sharpe and to witness his exploits in Seringapatam, but there was far less character development than I would have preferred for a character who is supposed to carry an entire series.
As always, Cornwell is meticulous with his research, but I did grow a little weary of the extensive military maneuverings and artillery descriptions. Perhaps I am more partial to the Saxon era of longbows and shield walls, because the seemingly endless descriptions of cannon and muskets did not interest me nearly as much.
It wasn't a bad book...it's just that I was expecting it to be better. But this is the "first" book in what turned out to be a rather long series, so I will give the others a try and see if it improves.
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