This is the chronological book 10 of the Richard Sharpe series.
This book felt different than the other ones, and I enjoyed the shift in tone. There is a brief battle at Bussaco in Portugal, followed by a hasty retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras near Lisbon. In that time, Sharpe manages to alienate himself from a painfully incompetent rival officer, launch a murderous feud with a local family, rescue a woman, and get trapped behind the enemy lines. Twice.
In all, this book was much more about Sharpe getting in and out of trouble and less about the battles themselves. The book opens and closes with the details of a battle, and while its always a treat to read about Sharpe in action, it was nice to see him in slightly calmer times. I thought that this story wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes, (so much was happening and then it all just stopped) but overall it was a great story with a welcome change of pace.
As with all of the other recent Sharpe books, I highly recommend it.
This book felt different than the other ones, and I enjoyed the shift in tone. There is a brief battle at Bussaco in Portugal, followed by a hasty retreat to the Lines of Torres Vedras near Lisbon. In that time, Sharpe manages to alienate himself from a painfully incompetent rival officer, launch a murderous feud with a local family, rescue a woman, and get trapped behind the enemy lines. Twice.
In all, this book was much more about Sharpe getting in and out of trouble and less about the battles themselves. The book opens and closes with the details of a battle, and while its always a treat to read about Sharpe in action, it was nice to see him in slightly calmer times. I thought that this story wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes, (so much was happening and then it all just stopped) but overall it was a great story with a welcome change of pace.
As with all of the other recent Sharpe books, I highly recommend it.
