Sharpes Books

A Bloody Good Read

Sharpe's Rifles

Sharpes Rifles 1808, Retreat to Corunna
Published: December 1988

ISBN 0-00-223233-2 (hardcover edition)
ISBN 0-00-617697-6 (paperback edition)

Sharpes Rifles gets 3 1/2 Stars One of the more disappointing Sharpe Books

As Sharpe books go Sharpe's Rifles doesn't really do it for me. The book was written at the request of the TV production company as an introduction to the Sharpe Series of books and required a spanish hero to go with the British hero to get Spanish production money. The background smacks of formula writing and the book has that feel for me, not that its a bad book, just that its not Sharpe's Eagle, Sharpe's Company or Sharpe's Waterloo

The plot feels very derivative of Sharpe's Gold (its actually not, it just felt that way.), and hero never really seems to our hero till right at the end of the book. Positives are that we start to see the friendship of Sharpe and Harper developer,we get a glimpse of Sharpe's life before the South Essex, but all in all I think we have be better served by other Sharpe Books.

Synopsis

In Sharpe's Rifles Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is serving as quartermaster as the 95th Rifles are retreating from Corunna with the rest of Sir John Moores Army, when the regiment which he is with gets shattered and Sharpe and a handful of men who escape with him are lost and in the Spanish Hills.

Having trouble persuading the rifleman to follow him, Richard Sharpe gets into a fight with Patrick Harper, and then men are on the verge of mutiny It is only a chance meeting with Spanish Major Blas Vivar which allows Sharpe to assert his authority, over the detachment of Riflemen.

Richard is then pretty much forced to Help Bon Vijar transport a locked, methodist missionaries and a pretty young lady across the spanish mountains. Capture a town off the French and bring about an uprising in order to get his men safely home.

Sharpe's Rifles - Main Characters

Richard Sharpe
Sergeant Patrick Harper
Rifleman Daniel Hagman
Captain Michael Hogan
Major Blas Vivar
Count of Mouromorto
Father Alzagar
Captain Murray
Louisa Parker