Sharpe's Triumph: Sharpe, Book 2 [Audio Download]

Having marched and fought with Richard Sharpe from the Peninsula to Waterloo and beyond, it was with great interest that I journeyed back in time with him, and indeed Wellesley, to India. "Tiger," in all honesty, I found difficult to get into, although by the end I was once more with Sharpe in the thick of the action. "Triumph," on the other hand, had me hooked from the very start, and I would say to the new Sharpe reader - start with "Tiger" and persevere. "Triumph" fills in a lot of gaps in the Sharpe story as a whole, and after that, "Fortress" awaits you - and how! By the time you have fought at Assaye, won through at Ahmednuggur, and conquered Gawilghur, you deserve a rest, and a leisurely sea-voyage back home to England. But by then the year is 1805, and you will have to sail close to the South-West tip of Spain, the cape of Trafalgar. Who knows what will happen?

Apparently, when asked towards the end of his life which battle he was most proud of, Wellington, without hesitation, named Assaye in 1803. Given the overwhelmingly poor odds he faced at the start of the battle and how quickly those odds were turned on their head, this seems entirely reasonable. It is presumably in honour of this achievement that Cornwell chose to focus this novel on Wellington rather than Sharpe who spends most of the novel following his General along dutifully and only getting involved in the fighting towards the end. This is not really a criticism. The book ably and engagingly relates firstly the breathtaking story of the audacious escalade at Ahmednuggur and then the great battle at Assaye.

As with Sharpe's Tiger Cornwell's research and ability to render extremely complex and confused battles both comprehensible and compelling is faultless. When Wellesley's Army first encounters its vast enemy across the River Kaitna I was reminded of the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. Carefully and with meticulous attention to detail Cornwell describes the movements of each side which lead ultimately to a veritable David versus Goliath style victory. Military tactics such as how and when Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry are most effectively deployed and when they are virtually useless are explained clearly without any let up in drama or excitement. If you have any interest in how battles were fought in the early nineteenth century you could do a lot worse than read this.

Perhaps inevitably, I have few criticisms; firstly Hakeswill is no less ridiculous than he was in Sharpe's Tiger, secondly I struggled a bit with Wellesley's determination to ford the river at a point where no one believed it could be done. Apparently this is really what happened and we have, of course to allow Cornwell some dramtic licence, but it is simply impossible to believe that he simply ploughed in under intense fire without testing it first! Finally I was confused by Sharpe's love interest, the young French woman Simone. I could not work out why Cornwell bothered with her, so insignificant to the plot is she and the love/sex scene was hurried over so quickly that again I had to wonder why Cornwell had included it at all. The whole thing smacks a bit of being `crow-barred' in simply to give the story a frisson of romance.

Nevertheless I greatly enjoyed the book and as with its predecessor, I learned a great deal. I look forward to following Sharpe and Wellesley to Gawilghur, Trafalgar and on to the European Peninsular.

Like otehr readers, I was a little wary of delving back into the 'Sharpe' prequels; I woudl say that they are every bit as good as the original series.

Whilst it may be true that some of the characters are a little wooden, they all contribute to Sharpe's development as a soldier and a potential officer.

The battle scenes are brutal and detailed as ever, most particularly the battle of Assaye - which sees Sharpe defending Wellesley (Wellington) - a relationship that lasts until teh Battle of Waterloo. We also see a continuation of Hakeswill's malicious intent against Sharpe.

In all, we see Sharpe's frustrations and motivations, becoming teh officer that we know and love. I look forward to the next installment and intend on re-reading the entire series again. I am sure that these prequels will enhance the enjoyment - the commuppance of Hakeswill, Sharpe's acceptance as an officer etc.