Welcome
to our new Top Tens series in celebration of I
Think, Therefore I Review's
Tenth Anniversary! These monthly lists will highlight special themes
and topics from our extensive archive of reviews.
This time I Think,
Therefore I Review presents in chronological order...
Please
see our British
tag for yet more Anglo analysis or visit our Televisionpage for more reviews!
I
Think, Therefore I Review began as the blog home for
previously published reviews and reprinted critiques by horror author
Kristin Battestella. Naturally older articles linked here may be out
of date and codes or formatting may be broken. Please excuse any
errors and remember our Top Tens will generally only include films,
shows, books, or music previously reviewed at I
Think, Therefore I Review.
Welcome
to our new Top Tens series in celebration of I
Think, Therefore I Review's
Tenth Anniversary! These monthly lists will highlight special themes
and topics from our extensive archive of reviews.
This
time
I Think, Therefore I Review presents
in chronological order...
I
Think, Therefore I Review began
as the blog home for previously published reviews and reprinted
critiques by horror author Kristin Battestella. Naturally older
articles linked here may be out of date and codes or formatting may
be broken. Please excuse any errors and remember our Top Tens will
generally only include films, shows, books, or music previously
reviewed at I
Think, Therefore I Review.
Shall
we send out the month with a look back at all
our reviews and essays featuring that April Birthday Boy and resident
Walking Spoiler Sean Bean? Indeed.
Don’t
forget, all our Sean Bean essays are also simulcast at The Mighty Bean website and our Bean Horror Pictures can also be found at Horror Addicts.net! Seeking just Sharpe? Find our articles at Sharpe's Pointor browse our handy Sharpe List - complete with the novels, too!
Sharpe’s
Prey Mostly an Entertaining Little Escapade
By
Kristin Battestella
Bernard
Cornwell filled in another gap of his Sharpe series’ chronology with the 2001
novel Sharpe’s Prey, and this time
the titular raised from the ranks Lieutenant find himself on a secret mission
in Denmark for more
international intrigue between England
and France
in 1807.
Lieutenant
Sharpe is stuck in England
unhappy with the army and mourning the loss of his lover in childbirth when General
Baird sends him on a mission to Denmark
with enough gold to win the Danes’ alliance against France and ensure their impressive
fleet remains out of Napoleon’s hands.Sharpe, however, makes it his personal mission to pursue John Lavisser,
a double agent looking to sell England’s
spies to France.
First
and foremost, we spend a solid amount of Sharpe’s
Prey with the man himself. In these newer Sharpe novels, my main complain has consistently been the lack of Sharpe
– his point of view journey as a man alone is often found on the short end of
the dangerous battle or sociological stick. In Prey, however, there is a pleasant London background to begin the tale. Sharpe
is brooding and angry and has returned to his haunts in England, and it’s great to see his
reflections on past, present, and future. Later on, we’re treated to some
exclusive time with Sharpe as a man alone captured, escaped, and in pursuit in
circumstances as tiny as a chimney or as huge as the Battle of Koge.Unfortunately, the relationship with the
widowed Astrid is a bit obvious. Is there a novel where Sharpe doesn’t get the girl? We know it’s going
to happen and sometimes the romance feels awkward or forced. We know Sharpe
will get over the deceased Grace from the previous year’s Sharpe’s Trafalgar. The longtime reader also knows Sharpe is not
going to runoff and play house in Copenhagen
and that another chick will be along soon enough for the next novel in the
timeline, Cornwell’s first prequel, 1988’s Sharpe’s
Rifles.Thankfully, there isn’t that
much of the romance, and Sharpe’s silent mourning of Grace is well done, along
with the friendly appearances of Captain Chase and his ship the Pucelle carrying over from Trafalgar. All these military troubles
and it’s the thoughts on love lost that almost bring our deadly, often murderous
hero to the breaking point. These inner monologues and one-man adventure
concepts are Sharpe at its best.
We
get a solid Sharpe – that’s who we’re here for, after all – so it almost doesn’t
matter that the often absentee villain Lavisser is a limp fish in character and
on the page. We don’t even find out his secret aspiration is to be King of
Denmark until the final chapters of the book! Beyond clichés, where is his
motivation and anger the rest of the time? In some of the recent Sharpe novels when there is both a barely
there Sharpe and a cheap villain,
it’s been some stinky tough reading. When the books have been both heavy with
Sharpe dilemmas and had stunning, reappearing villains like Hakeswill or Major
Ducos, however, it’s been some damn dynamite reading. Of course, overlong
scenes without Sharpe have been the bane of the newer Sharpe novels.Once again,
we have numerous scenes with English and Danish generals leading abstract
battle plans and soldier conversation. Little did he know, he would be disemboweled
by the nextbomb – stuff like that. I
confess, I tend to skim over these pages; they feel too long, unimportant, and
they just don’t seem that interesting. Does the reader care about the battle any more
or less if we know the strategy from either side? Some of the ho hum minions of
the villains do not warrant a point of view at all, much less a few pages per
chapter of several nobodies. Like the pomp assy Lavisser, it’s no fun reading
these jerky folks, and it shows in the writing. At least Lavisser as a
diabolical Dane supporting France
is plot point.We need someone for
Sharpe to pursue, don’t we?
Although
it was a smart move to place the plot and action of Sharpe’s Prey in the new to Sharpe and relatively unexplored Danish
angle of the Napoleonic wars, the change of pace might be off pointing to
some.It’s nice to meet Copenhagen, yes, but some longtime readers
will find the location switch too much of a change, and it’s tough to do an
un-heroic bombardment and be sympathetic on all sides. Not helping that
difficult balance, Sharpe’s Prey ends,
well, a little bit hokey. After a detailed build up, we’re left with the final
few pages quickly wrapping up the Copenhagen
destruction with rushed day after montages. Critical plot points hinging on daring
orphanage rescues, cliché commanders, and hellish church deaths are almost
laughable in a series so often grim and embittered like its eponymous character.
This novel is better than some of the newer prequel placements in the series,
but not quite on par with the original Sharpe
books. Yes, Prey is a prequel
after the fact, but Sharpe being without his woman, without his country, and
away from his army leads nicely to his finding his place with the rifleman in
the forthcoming Sharpe’s Rifles. So
long as it sticks with Sharpe’s observations and his on the prowl, Prey remains entertaining reading.
Where
some of the new additions in the series faltered by straying too far from
Sharpe, Prey is a good fit into the
canon. It can be read out of turn thanks to its Danish set up, or in chronological
order as Cornwell brings some of the previous India
prequels and naval action back into a new area of Europe.
Fans of the film series looking for new adventures can enjoy Sharpe’s Prey, and those who put down
the newer, wayward, set elsewhere prequels can return to Sharpe here.
No, no, I haven’t forgotten Sharpe!Though a lot of busy did take me away from reading Bernard Cornwell’s 1988 prequel Sharpe’s Rifles from time to time, I wanted to write a few literary notes in comparison to the telefilm. Usually, I post my book commentaries with the film they align to, but this one was too long for the comments section! I guess I had more Sharpe thoughts than I thought!
So do please also see our complete analysis on the 1993 television adaptation of Sharpe's Rifles here.
Cut off from his battalion in the Spanish winter of 1809, raised from the ranks Lieutenant Richard Sharpe must unite a small group of rifleman after the death of his Captain.He buts heads with the big Irish rifleman Patrick Harper and reluctantly unites with Don Blas Vivar as he and his Spanish volunteers seek to deliver the Banner of St. James to Santiago de Compostela and unite Spain against French Colonel de L’Eclin and Vivar’s brother Count Mouromorto, a French sympathizer. To make things worse, Sharpe must protect The Parkers, stuffy Methodist missionaries, and their lovely niece, Louisa.
Naturally, character additions, changes, and small-scale productions create a few differences from book to film. Besides the insertion of Teresa for the debut Sharpe show, the book Sharpe’s Rifles concludes with a heavy cavalry battle and butchery fest, rather than a smaller cathedral stand.Rifleman Hagman is somewhat prominent on the page, but remember, the other rifles were television creations. The Parkers storyline is changed as well, tying into the bank draft plot of the film rather than creating a love interest for Sharpe as Louisa does here.Though Teresa’s premature introduction creates a few inconsistencies for the subsequent Sharpe’s Eagle episode, her lady is a superior onscreen move. The written Louis is just a little too wishy washy- only there to create an obligatory love interest where none is really needed.There’s enough going on with Sharpe’s struggle to lead the Rifles along with the back and forth with Vivar.We don’t need a little girl to occupy space or distract Sharpe, especially since nothing good comes of it anyway.
The written Vivar, however, is given more dimension.Instead of being a wise almost fatherly support, he’s slightly more harsh and desperate in his rescue of Spain.Vivar’s kind, even bemusing on occasion and develops a great relationship with Harper, but there’s also a great element of competition with Sharpe. The tug of war over Louisa near the end of Sharpe’s Rifles spells it out, but the devil’s advocate conversations and battle strategy discussions do far more in showing Sharpe’s style and embittered English tone versus Vivar’s intelligence and Spanish pride.Sharpe’s Rifles does unfortunately suffer from some weak villainy.Colonel de L’Eclin feels broad like every other insurmountable French officer that we somehow know will get bested by Sharpe, and the visual character design of the Count of Mouromorto is far more creepy than the faux mysterious written version.Vivar is actually more deadly and action forward than his turncoat brother.
Sharpe and Harper are great as always, but again I feel there wasn’t enough of them. The quiet character scenes are far more interesting than the historical battle details, even though those are sweet too.Sharpe’s Rifles does fall prey to the big omnipresent battle for the finale.Sometimes it is almost as if Sharpe is only a supporting player, a host and the battle is the focus of the tale.Shouldn’t it be the other way around?The French tricks and twists for the Santiago de Compostela siege are also totally obvious, and after an entire novel of building character, intelligence, and character intelligence, everyone is made to look kind of stupid. The reader is repeatedly told the right versus left and inside versus outside clues that we don’t need at the expense of the players.The conclusion feels really rushed- three pages to wrap up three hundred page’s worth of story with Captain Hogan being introduced on the last page!- and sometimes, I get kind of tired of Sharpe for the big battle endings.Yeah, there is a battle, Sharpe gets the bad guy, and he marches on.They kind of all feel the same now.But of course, when you like Sharpe and Harper you want to see them kick ass and bag the bad guys.
Sharpe’s Rifles was an elusive book for me to find a few years ago, and the edition I finally got is a red TV tie -in reissue with Sean Bean on the cover, hehe! Though slightly uneven among players and battles, and again a step down from the original core of Sharpe books, Sharpe’s Rifles is the perfect example of a true prequel.How did our Sharpe and Harper meet? Overall, that question is answered, and for those looking to jump into the written Sharpe, Rifles is a good spot to dive in.
Sharpe’s Trafalgar a Seafaring Breath of Fresh Air
By Kristin Battestella
After reading Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe India Trilogy, I was keen to move on to the next chronological tale, 2000’s Sharpe’s Trafalgar. As a Hornblower enthusiast, I wanted to see how landlubber Sharpe would take on this famous high seas adventure. There are a few hiccups, yes, but otherwise Trafalgar does its duty to the reader wonderfully.
It’s 1805 and Ensign Richard Sharpe is finally leaving India on his return voyage to England. His passage begins on the Calliope under Captain Peculiar Cromwell, but the unfriendly Captain and the snotty Lord William Hale make the trip unbearable for Sharpe. Thankfully, Sharpe’s quickly smitten by Lord William’s cold, seemingly sickly and distant wife Lady Grace. When the French warship Revenant captures Calliope, all hope of Romance and England is almost lost. Fortunately, Captain Chase and his Pucelle reclaim the Calliope, and the Pucelle’s vengeful pursuit of the Revenant opens new adventures for Sharpe. He learns what its like to be a ship bound marine, flirts dangerously in romance with Lady Grace, and ends up fighting in a little battle off Cape Trafalgar.
Recently, I don’t have as much time to read straight through a book as I’d like. However, my father was in the hospital when I first started Trafalgar, and my days having to be still and quiet in his room allowed me plenty of time with Sharpe. I tore through most of the novel- as opposed to some of the weaker recent books like Sharpe’s Fury where I found myself skipping around looking for the good parts. Thanks to the storyline and my bound reading situation, Trafalgar reminded me very much of one of my favorite and most read books, Lieutenant Hornblower. I remembered the first time I read Lieutenant Hornblower- stuck in detention at school, trying desperately not to fall asleep as I read Hornblower’s wild Caribbean adventure under a mad and crazy Captain Sawyer and his subsequent ill adjustment to land life playing whist. (I could talk for hours about Lieutenant Hornblower, so I’ll just stop there! I actually have a cat named Mr. Bush, that’s all I’m saying.)
The different ship experiences in Trafalgar-both positive and negative for Sharpe- capture the creepy, tedium, monotony, and cramped living of seafaring life whilst also highlighting the high seas mystique, homebound excitement, and adventure of the unknown. We are learning so much about Richard by seeing him as the proverbial army fish living the navy lifestyle. For the first time since beginning my readings with Sharpe’s Gold, I feel like we’ve been personally with Sharpe, knowing his yearning, plans, and desires. Even in the India trilogy where he was alone without Harper and the rest of his rifleman pals, we still had too many viewpoints and villains to really get to know the budding Sharpie. Here in Trafalgar, however, we spend most of the novel with nothing to do but follow Sharpe. I felt his impatient tedium and angry vengeance right there in that hospital room. I was there pursuing the Revenant with Sharpe and learning the ropes of the Pucelle. This is what a book is supposed to do, and it’s downright refreshing!
Lady Grace is also a cool dame-chronologically the first real relationship we’ve seen for Richard. There have been other sexcapades and relations based on the situations of the time in India, but this feels like a real romance for Sharpe at last. First, he is obsessed with the aristocratic lady on board, and his cabin fever-like risks make for great reading. It’s not a lovely dovey romance here- the delicate stance the couple treads is mixed with the usual heavy we expect from Sharpe. When he gets his girl, we then see the confident, intelligent Grace emerge through Sharpe. Grace and the relationship are well developed-even if it’s a foolhardy affair. She’s witty and charming compared to her limp fish husband Lord William, but we can’t deny the hot scandal putting the entire Pucelle at risk. I dare say Sharpe is even a little unlikeable when it comes to protecting his adulterous actions. He’s a throttling, vengeful force that should be feared-and it’s strange to see that his battlefield fury can also be used socially, even lustfully if he feels so passionately.
Of course, now that we’re at sea, we have the usual cast of characters onboard ship- swarthy sailors, corrupt politicians, scary surgeons, and vile Frenchmen. It’s not always easy to tell where everyone’s allegiances lie- and this makes Sharpe’s lengthy journey perilous and entertaining. Captain Chase is a wonderfully good hearted man who takes a liking to Sharpe, but Captain Peculiar Cromwell is just that, a little too peculiar to be an honest man. Brawny gunner Cloutier is a little stereotypical, but also well written as the seemingly low but loyal and heroic brute with exceptional and deadly skill. The dedication Sharpe takes in him is almost as confounding to Cloutier as Chase’s attention to the supposedly low Sharpe. On a ship, it seems action oriented talent like Sharpe’s is rewarded amid the ship’s hierarchy- rather than shunned or snubbed by the army officers who resent his rise from the ranks.
Naturally, there wouldn’t be a point in calling a book Trafalgar if you weren’t going to have Admiral Nelson make an appearance. It’s a neat portrayal. The reverence Nelson had from his peers is instantly made known-along with his more scandalous behaviors-but his small stature, gentile and warm-hearted style touch Sharpe. It’s not treated as obligatory or hokey when the famous ‘England confides that every man will do his duty’ signal comes to the fictional Pucelle. Again, it’s all very Hornblower-esque, somber and written in multiple layers. Instead of spelling everything out for his reader like Cornwell sometimes does with his research and information, the scenes with Nelson are quiet, reflective, and tightly written. Space for the reader to reflect and emote is allowed amid the unspoken lines. Not only is the setting akin to the Hornblower series, but some of Cornwell’s finer writing here is almost as good as C.S. Forester’s work.
Unfortunately, yet again the ending of Sharpe’s Trafalgar doesn’t live up to the lovely adventure of the rest of the novel. We spend the first eleven chapters almost exclusively in Sharpe’s point of view-only to have the last chapter of battle action break down into nameless French viewpoints, stern to starboard action, and intrigue in the Pucelle’s lady hole. I like the seafaring battle action-perhaps even more so than the Napoleonic proper retellings- but it’s just a little too broad and impersonal after all that intimate Richard time. Sharpe, the Pucelle, and Revenant weren’t even at the Battle of Trafalgar after all; yet like so many other big battle sequences in recent Sharpe books, I had to ask myself again, ‘Where’s Sharpe?’ How can we spend an entire naval voyage from India to Trafalgar in his point of view only to have him disappear for extended chunks of the main battle? We know how Captain Chase feels, what the nameless wounded French guy bleeding out on the deck is thinking, we see what ships on the other side of the battle theater are doing-but we don’t always know where Sharpe is in the action. For all the historical research, we’re dealing with fictional men on fiction ships- stick to them! Trafalgar wraps up much too quickly-with the simplicity of tossing the loose plot strings overboard, literally. Naturally, a few things should be left for the follow up Sharpe’s Prey, but the whole point of this homeward bound journey was to go home, wasn’t it? If the point was the deviation for Trafalgar, the battle should have happened a lot sooner than the last two chapters.
Despite the unraveled ending, Trafalgar is one of the more tightly written books in the series, and one of the finest since the original canon books. I imagine those who prefer the Peninsular Sharpe action might not like the naval lessons here, but fans of the initial Sharpe books should definitely try this similar but different taste of naval action. Readers of Hornblower or Patrick O’Brien will absolutely delight. In some ways, I can image an entire series with Sharpe as an army man stranded on a frigate always facing adventure. I suppose that may show my true leanings towards Our Man Horatio, but this is the first time we’ve really seen Sharpe alone and out of his element- just like Hornblower always thought himself to be. Oh how I’d love to see a crossover movie between these series! Though I don’t have the next chronological book Sharpe’s Prey, I’m eager to continue reading on with Sharpe’s Rifles. Despite being in the middle of the chronology, uninitiated viewers can meet Sharpe in this relatively stand-alone sea epic as well. Return to Sharpe and relive Trafalgar as your final beach read this summer.
Sharpe’s Fortress Imperfect, but A Fine Exit from India
By Kristin Battestella
Once again, I’ve stopped and started on another Sharpe novel from Bernard Cornwell. Sometimes I frustrate myself if I realize I’ve been reading the same book for over a month when I used to read a book a week. Is that a statement on the busy lifestyle and replacement of reading as priority in today’s society or the sign of a less than stellar written yarn? Nevertheless, here I am still reading about young Dickie Sharpe in Sharpe’s Fortress.
Colonel William Dodd and his Cobras unit have taken refuge in the far-flung and nearly impenetrable fortress of Gawilghur escaping the battle of Aragaum. Angry and displaced Ensign Richard Sharpe, however, has revenge on his mind. Raised from the ranks for saving Sir Arthur Wellesley’s life, Sharpe doesn’t fit in with his new regiment and has plans to kill the renegade Dodd. Unfortunately, vile Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill and his ruthless Captain Morris also have it in for Sharpe.
Although 1999’s Sharpe’s Fortress is a satisfying conclusion to Bernard Cornwell’s prequel trilogy, this third India novel suffers from the same troubles as its predecessors Sharpe’s Tigerand Sharpe’s Triumph. (Why do I feel like I’ve said that before?) The head hopping, weak villainous viewpoints, and absentee battle narration again dominate Fortress. Personal strides that we make with Wellesley and Sharpe take a backseat to omnipresent explanations about Gawilghur. I must say it’s also odd that after two titles that begin with a T (and the next book chronologically in the series begins with a T, too) Fortress seems a little on the outs with its odd F. I don’t really know what else it could have been called, but psychologically again this gives me the feeling that these books might have been better served with a good edit as two books instead of three.
Yes, the character of William Dodd by nature doesn’t have a lot of character; he’s a louse hoping to rule India via the blood of others. Unfortunately, his thinly veiled villainy and unlike-ability doesn’t help me care about Dodd’ point of view. This isn’t called Dodd’s Fortress, yet it feels like we’ve spent a long half of the book with him. We’ve spent most of the trilogy with Dodd’s overreaching presence, and then he exits in less than a page. Huh? Not only does Fortress have to conclude itself, but also there has to be some restitution for the trilogy. Sharpe’s initial reason for pursing Dodd-the massacre at Chasalgaon- is never even mentioned. Ironically, with all this head-hopping going on, we actually don’t get any thoughts on Dodd’s departure from Dodd. A splendid conclusion could have forgiven the limpness of the character, but alas, this weak villain is put out to pasture too weakly.
We know and love to hate Obadiah Hakeswill as a far better lecherous and realistic villain, but his treatment is also uneven. Absent for gaps of pages at a time, we simply don’t spend enough time with the murderous sergeant to care on his plot. Even when he attacks Sharpe, robs him, sets him up, and leaves him for dead-it’s forgotten until the final pages of Fortress. After almost three books with a relatively minor role, the big conclusion is supposed to be with him? Similar but different to Dodd, Hakeswill’s fate is also a little too iffy. We know he survives the deadly snake pit Fortress leaves him in- but a deadly snake pit seems pretty conclusive on, you know, the deadly part. If you didn’t already know Hakewsill’s claims of cheating death or his wicked deeds in 1984’s Sharpe’s Enemy, you’d think his implied survival heretoo far towards deus ex machina.
Yes, yes, I complain. Why bother to read the series if the action is ill-paced among lesser and lesser villains? Because I like Richard Sharpe, that’s why, and he’s great here as always. It’s delightful to see Sharpie as an ensign, since the television series skips this rank for the most part- and understandably so. It’s an odd rank, isn’t it? Sharpe is an officer in between- no longer in the ranks, but not really any officer of note-much less a respectable gentlemen officer befitting the young and wealthy position of an ensign. He’s little more than a baggage man and flag boy despite his age and fighting skill. It’s wonderful to see Sharpe get what he thought he wanted- and then find out how the grass isn’t greener. There’s anger, conflict, man versus man when he doesn’t fit in, and man versus himself when Sharpe debates what he wants from the army and in life. This is how you build character, people!
It’s also lovely to see how Sharpe got his distinctive facial scar. The allusions of transferring to the new Rifles green jacket division are also a fine touch. I hope there’s more to this for the follow up Sharpe’s Trafalgar. These hints at the earlier books and the Sharpe that is to come satisfy the end of Fortress, but I wish we didn’t have to wait literally to the last page for the resolution. Gawilghar is claimed; Sharpe beats the bads, and walks into the sunlight literally with the back cover to spare. Charges that might be brought against him for striking a superior officer, the telescope that Wellesley will give him, friends’ burials that Sharpe wishes to uphold-all these distinctive touches are left out. It makes an uneven read for Sharpe’s Fortress, with an overlong opening, a villainous middle, and a rushed battle ending. Just because the action is resolved, doesn’t mean the characters are. In a well-planned trilogy, there should be room enough for both.
Although some of the newer Sharpe novels are better than others are, this India Trilogy as a whole is a fine nod as to how Sharpe became Sharpe. Readers and super fans of the Napoleonic fiction might be reluctant to continue here, but lovers of old time India tales can enjoy Sharpe’s Fortress. These three books have their ups and downs yes, but loyal readers can find what they are looking for in this prequel trio. New fans can indeed begin their chronological Sharpe adventures here.
Yes I’m still reading and watching Sharpe!At long last, the sixteenth episode in the long running British series based on the books by Bernard Cornwell has come to the States. 2008’s Sharpe’s Peril has just enough charm and exotic Indian adventure for long time fans to delight.
Retired Colonel Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) and his friend, former Sergeant Major Patrick Harper (Daragh O’Malley) have done their duty in India and are ready to return home. Unfortunately, the local Viscount makes one final request of Sharpe-he must escort the temperamental Marie-Angelique Bonnet (Beatrice Rosen) to Kalimgong to meet her fiancé, Major Phillipe Joubert (Pascal Langdale). Along the road, Sharpe encounters a mixed column of King’s men and East India Company soldiers led by young Ensign Beauclere (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) and engineering Major Tredinnick (David Robb). The two have combined their forces in light of recent bandit raids and are escorting the prisoner Barabbas (Amit Behl, Tum Milo Toh Sahi) and Maharani Padmini (Nandana Sen) to Madras. Calvary Colonel Dragomirov (Velibor Topic) is unable to catch the local bandits, and Sharpe reluctantly agrees to lead the column to safety. However, internal treachery and Indian deceptions make the journey, well, quite perilous.
Sharpe’s Peril introduces us to an unusual wagon train that must band together, and it’s a very unhappy mix: angry King’s men, a major escorting his pregnant wife, the princess’ traveling caravan, a somewhat zealous missionary, and a selfish French bride-to-be. And yet, no one is what they seem. The random players are each bad or likeable and go on a journey of self in addition to the dangerous trek. There’s lots of rapacious incidents and kinky action, too, to keep Sharpe’s Peril juicy. Even Sharpe himself has to take a moment at the crazy turns this motley train takes. Crooked company men swindling on drug trafficking and implicating a local righteous rebel is a little too much of a twentieth century plot, I grant you, but it’s not like opium trade didn’t go on back in the day. In some ways this also adds to the dangers at hand-us upright westerners fearing heady, mind bending drugs in the exotic wilds of lawless India! There’s nothing like internal dissention, religious division, and cultural fears when you need some period piece drama. However, for every bad apple and twisted situation, we have a kindhearted moment of the column uniting against journey and tragedy.
Sean Bean is once again on form as Our Man Richard. Yes, he looks older than in Challenge; but here he is styled better, back to wearing rifle green and bemused by this crazy detour back to England. Bean isn’t as bleached and sickly as he seemed in the first India outing-although I wish his hair was out of his eyes instead of blowing about all the time. When we can see his eyes and facial expressions, we know what’s on Sharpe’s mind, from threatening to carry a woman who won’t obey to almost killing the son of Obadiah Hakeswill. For one who isn’t supposed to have airs and graces, Sharpe does know how to be a diplomat to each of his charges. His protection of the women and his fatherly attachment to his young Ensign is Sharpe at his best. And amid all this, we even have some humor. Who knew Sharpe thought ‘Dick’ was a bad name until he heard ‘Barabbas’ was worse?
Not to be outdone, Daragh O’Malley still has great wit. Though painful, his bout with kidney stones is somehow amusing amid all the brooding and squinting. India must be super sunny! Harper is in many ways the moral conscience of Sharpe. Even though Sharpe has a mind of his own, sometimes it’s too much of a mind, and Harper knows how to keep the balance when necessary. I like now that rank isn’t an issue, Pat can call Sharpe Richard. It’s also ridiculous that these touching, serious character moments that make Sharpe’s Peril are the pieces there were edited out for the international 100-minute version. No religion, long lost family, even Sharpe reflecting on his daughter and the losses and costs of the soldier’s life- indeed the best parts of Peril- were cut from the PBS airing. For shame on the television powers that be for interfering with fine period performances!
At least we have plenty of fine ladies and villains to spice up Sharpe’s Peril. Beatrice Rosen (The Dark Knight, 2012) as Marie-Angelique and Caroline Carver (The Royal Today) as the pregnant Mrs. Tredinnick begin as opposites and warm wonderfully as their experience progresses. Likewise, Indian actress Nandana Sen (Prince) is more than the snooty princess we are led to believe. Though Velibor Topic (Holby Blue, Robin Hood) and Pascal Langdale (Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married) are meant as our double crossing baddies, longtime Sharpe antagonist Michael Cochrane almost steals the show as a sun crazed and somewhat reformed General Sir Henry Simmerson. It’s great fun to see him calling Sharpe, his long time disdain, ‘Though art my redeemer, sir. The sweetest name in all the world, sir.’ Deception and role reverses keep the peril in Peril. Steve Speirs (The Phantom Menace, The Musketeer) as Colour Wormwood is a great creep, and his ill led men give us plenty to be suspicious about, too. When the true colors-both good and bad-come out, it puts everyone in jeopardy. There are actually a lot of people to like and care for here. I would say too many (certainly more than any other Sharpe episode) but for more fine performances from David Robb (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Highlander: The Series) as Major Tredinnick, Raza Jaffrey (MI-5) as his loyal student Lance Naik Singh, and Luke Ward-Wilkinson (Wild at Heart) as the youthful Ensign Beauclere taken under Sharpe’s wing.
Long time Sharpe director Tom Clegg knows how to handle the swashbuckling action and ensemble cast. We pick up where the prior India installment Sharpe’s Challenge leaves off, and the wit, action, and characters that made the classic Sharpe episodes so delightful are all here. Although this is an original script from house writer Russell Lewis, the touches of Bernard Cornwell’s prequel India trilogy are stilted in 1818. There is a little unevenness again due to the post-Waterloo movement in the timeline. Peril is a road movie with fine character explorations, but compared to other Sharpe episodes, nothing much happens. While not bad by any means, when looking at the new to India flash of Sharpe’s Challenge, Peril does seem floundering or sub par. Sometimes the audience, like Sharpe himself, might wonder what we are still doing in India. Together, this uneven India pair isn’t as good a conclusion to the series as Sharpe’s Waterloo temporarily was.
Although there’s more literary material to draw from and plenty of fuel left in the cast and crew’s tank, to laymen viewers it may seem as if this pair of films is grasping at former glory and success. American audiences who finally saw these latest Sharpe episodes on PBS complained that they were just violent, unworthy drivel. That kind of negative attitude perpetuates the step down in quality, creating poor ratings, less and less funding, and little or no American distribution. Besides that, where have these naysayers been for the first fifteen violent and juicy action episodes that Sharpe’s content was so shocking to them? Masterpiece Theatre did treat these newest episodes as if they were merely filler, editing the two part episodes down to ninety-minute installments. This lack of love didn’t do the series any services. Sharpe isn’t meant to be serious brain food, and sure Peril is not the best episode in the series. Having said that, this series is better than any of our absurd reality show obsessions- and there is some quality reading to have along with it. Sadly, with budget cuts and other difficulties at the British networks, it’s growing more and more likely that this series will not continue. I for one would like to see at least one more episode- perhaps based on Sharpe’s Devil or detailing Sharpe’s children. Give Sharpe the ambitious send off it deserves, not a disappointing American whimper.
Nevertheless, the producers have also been faithful to longtime viewers instead of remaking or rebooting and starting afresh with Cornwell’s beginning novels. Little touches in Peril and wit from Bean are part of what makes Sharpe such fun. Yes, the India changes and inconsistencies hamper Peril, but regular audiences will notice that when Sharpe is shot in the arm and an old scar is reopened- its really just a tongue in cheek covering up of Bean’s ‘100% Blade’ tattoo. The camaraderie is still there, old villains are not forgotten, and Peril does a fine job of honoring the past as much as it allows room for the players involved to grow on this treacherous journey.
The storyline may have its faults with India, but the look of Sharpe’s Peril is golden. Elephants, Hindi, Bengali, the ladies costumes both native and European-Peril’s set and dressings look more like a film then a nearly not financed television production. The score is also on form. I never thought I’d say I miss that horrible electric guitar rift from the earlier episodes, but the traditional Sharpe music underlies the proper score wonderfully. The ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’ lyrics are also used to full poignancy in one critical scene. Some of the accents might be tough to some, as there’s not just British, but French and Indian dialogue. At least there are subtitles. Although some Americans might be confused by Sharpe’s slang, I think its great fun to see nowt onscreen!
And oh by gosh, by golly Sharpe’s Peril is glorious on blu ray! There aren’t many other features, but the 25 minute making of documentary packs everything you’d ever want to know or even imagine about the behind the scenes happenings. Everything from how the Russian stunt men don’t speak English to a billiards tournament lost by Sean Bean. The insights from all the cast and crew are wonderful and full of fun little things to the Sharpe insider. Tom Clegg reckons this makes 34 hours of Sean Bean, Daragh O’Malley runs the betting on all their games, and yes ladies, they are still smoking-cigarettes that is! It’s a Sharpe fan’s delight, and I regret that I don’t yet have the DVD. Thus far, this is my only Sharpe movie review without screen captures!
Super youthful audiences might not appreciate the complexities here, and there is a touch of language and sexual suggestion, too, that might be a bit much. Sharpe fans, however, as well as lovers of the cast and period piece action, will enjoy the charm and reflection of Sharpe’s Peril. I also implore any naysayers to return to the original novels or the vintage Sharpe DVDs before writing off this series as dead and buried. Can we have just one more episode, pretty please?
Recently, I don’t have as much time to read straight through a book as I’d like. However, my father was in the hospital when I first started Trafalgar, and my days having to be still and quiet in his room allowed me plenty of time with Sharpe. I tore through most of the novel- as opposed to some of the weaker recent books like Sharpe’s Fury where I found myself skipping around looking for the good parts. Thanks to the storyline and my bound reading situation, Trafalgar reminded me very much of one of my favorite and most read books, Lieutenant Hornblower. I remembered the first time I read Lieutenant Hornblower- stuck in detention at school, trying desperately not to fall asleep as I read Hornblower’s wild 
Although 1999’s Sharpe’s Fortress is a satisfying conclusion to Bernard Cornwell’s prequel trilogy, this third 
. These three books have their ups and downs yes, but loyal readers can find what they are looking for in this prequel trio. New fans can indeed begin their chronological Sharpe adventures here. 
Yes I’m still reading and watching Sharpe! At long last, the sixteenth episode in the long running British series based on the books by Bernard Cornwell has come to the States. 2008’s Sharpe’s Peril has just enough charm and exotic Indian adventure for long time fans to delight.