[.ca] Sharpes Fortress TV Tie in Edition (ISBN 0007235054)

From Amazon.com:
Fighting in the millet fields of India circa 1803, Richard Sharpe knows trouble when he sees it: dissension in the ranks, a feverish and arrogant enemy, nobody to confide in. Unbeknownst to his comrades, Sharpe has buried a fortune in booty along the way. He knows his freedom is coming, and it's only a matter of time before he can feast on the spoils. Sharpe's Fortress is the 17th in Bernard Cornwell's series starring this colonial British soldier who has risen in the ranks despite blunders and misadventures, not to mention his own suspicions of the men around him. Treason, near-death experiences, cannonballs hidden in the tall grass "sticky with blood and thick with flies, lying twenty paces from the man it had eviscerated," these are the elements of Cornwell's war stories, which rely heavily on long, involved--and involving--battle scenes, marvelous description, and bawdy dialogue in the trenches (a highlight: arguments over whether there's such a thing as breasts that look like grapes). For readers who hunger for humorous, complex characterizations, Sharpe proves vivid and three-dimensional. He holds tightly to his dreams of treasure, eavesdropping on betrayers, ultimately hatching a desperate plan to make his way to the fortress in the sky, Gawilghur. Cornwell's hero is an honest soldier, and also a pragmatic one. He doesn't care as much about the medals and the glory as he cares about dodging cannon fire and finding a place to sleep. --Ellen Williams

Sharpe storms the fortress on the hill:
This is the summation of the Cornwell's "India Trilogy" which follows British Soldier Richard Sharpe during the Mahratta War of 1803. In this novel, the English army must somehow take Gawalghur, a seemingly impenetrable mountaintop fortress and last bastion of the Mahratta army. This is an excellent historical/military novel in that the siege of Gawalghur is explained in dramatic terms; the tactics, the officers, the siege itself, are all here. As always, Cornwell is unmatched in his talent for bringing military affairs to life. I felt as if I was right there with the engineers and soldiers, sweating in the noonday sun. And, of course, the bloodletting is always well described in a cornwell book. During the intense military maneuverings, Sharpe has uncovered a crooked officer, who is misappropriating military supplies and sealing them on the black market. Sharpe is nearly killed for his discover, and then seeks revenge Richard Sharpe style. Just a great book with great characters. Cornwell is particularly adept at writing a great villain. Sharpe's nemesis, the horrid Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill is here, of course, but my favorite bad guy was the crooked officer Captain Torrence. This guy puts the "C" in Creepy. In a beautiful bit of character development, Cornwell has Torrence nearly always receiving his staff in the nude. He explains this nudeness by claiming that with India being so hot and all, he just finds it more comfortable. Not so bad in and of itself, but what makes him creepy is the pleasure he takes at everyone's discomfort when in his presence. Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, is here as well, perfectly described in his ever developing relationship to Richard Sharpe. Buy it. You can't go wrong with a Sharpe book.

Weakest of the Sharpe in India books:
Not a terrible book, but definitely the weakest of the Sharpe novels set in India (the "Rifles" prequels). The battle scenes are quite good, but the perfunctory romance story feels so tacked-on that that one suspects Cornwell only included the female character because his formula required it. And the handling of Obadiah Hakeswill at the end is just annoying; altogether too much like a James Bond villain's attempt to rid himself of Bond. To reiterate, not an awful novel, but it compares pretty poorly to the preceding "Sharpe's Triumph" or to the subsequent "Sharpe's Trafalgar."

The end of Sharpe's time in India?:
In December 1803 the British Army had pushed back the Mahratta's to their last stronghold. A seemingly impenetrable fortress atop a mountain in a place named Gawilghur. Sharpe, now an officer, takes his heroism to a new level during the battle. The killing grounds of Gawilghur is where Sharpe becomes famous, already a hero to his General, he becomes a hero to the men. The book see's an end to Sharpe's time in India, but it's a great finale to an awesome campaign that has seen Sharpe go from a lowly raw recruit to a hero with a commission. As with all Sharpe books history is told through Sharpe, this makes the book highly educational and interesting, the story is gripping and packed with action. It's a great read and a must for all Sharpe fans. 4 Stars

Another excellent addition to the series:
As always, richard is center stage, and we watch in fascination as he grows and develops. He is a bit of an awkward youth in the first books, and quite rough around the edges, but he certainly grows on us, and the fascinating hiostorical details of India are first-rate. Sorcha MacMurrough, author Scars Upon Her Heart, Call Home the Heart

A low point in the Sharpe series:
After reading this, my first thought was "you're grounded Orville, that won't fly." The others in the series I've read were all good or better, this one is weak and poorly constructed. Cornwell spends too much time on secondary characters who aren't interesting. As for Hakeswill, Cornwell made a serious error in judgment by allowing him to return to haunt so many of the books. He's a good villain, but only in small doses. He shows up so much that his quirks and presence quickly grow tiresome and irritating. If this is the only book in the series you've read, don't despair because the others are much better. This one never gets off the ground and is of very poor quality compared to the others.