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Sharpe's Prey
  
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Sharpe's Prey (Paperback)

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; Airport and Ireland Exclusive Ed edition (23 April 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0002258773
  • ISBN-13: 978-0002258777
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 14.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,014,657 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

All of the Sharpe novels, not just the new one, Sharpe's Prey, feature genuinely complex plotting in which the reader is kept engaged not just by a central conflict but by a whole host of subplots handled as adeptly as his main narrative. How does Bernard Cornwell maintain such a high standard in his tales of historical derring-do and danger? The genre is a touch overcrowded these days, but Cornwell is unquestionably in the upper echelons, with a consistency that must give most of his rivals pause. It isn't just the formula that makes these books work so well (high-powered, vividly described action, conflicted protagonists risking both their lives and careers, impressive historical detail), it is another factor that has distinguished the author's books since his early work.

The year is 1807; Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is planning to leave the army. Against his better judgment, he is persuaded to accompany the Hon John Lavisser to Copenhagen in what is essentially an act of political skulduggery: they are to deliver a bribe and (hopefully) avert a war. But with the French ensuring that Europe remains at boiling point, Sharpe finds himself protecting his charge against French agents and struggling to ensure that the Danish battle fleet is not used to replace every French ship destroyed at Trafalgar. Sharpe is a character we know well and like, and his customary characteristics (tenacity, bloody-mindedness) are well to the fore here, but, as always, the other characters are equally strikingly drawn: Lavisser is a splendidly complex figure, as are several of Sharpe's nemeses. But it's that wonderfully adroit orchestration of action and plot that keeps the pulse racing, with the bombardment of Copenhagen and the massive bloodshed resulting in a truly impressive set piece:

Sharpe, from his vantage point on the dune, could see the smoke wreathing the wall. The city's copper spires and red roofs showed above the churning cloud. A dozen houses were burning there, fired by the Danish shells that hissed across the canal. Three windmills had their sales tethered against the blustering wind that blew the smoke westwards and fretted the moored fleet to the north of Copenhagen.

--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'What a very fine writer Mr Cornwell has become' The Economist --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good enough for existing fans..but won't attract newcomers, 28 Dec 2003
By WJ Davidson (Edinburgh) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Sharpe's Prey (Paperback)
I've read all the other Sharpe novels, so it was inevitable that I would get round to this one sooner or later.
If you are a fan, you'll probably read it anyway. If not, I suggest you start elsewhere.
Not that this is badly written, but given its position in the chronology of the character (early but not at the start) and that it is the umpteenth book written by Cornwell about his most famous character (Richard Sharpe) I would be hard pressed to say it offered anything new or insightful about the character or the period.

A bit of background might help those who are interested.
Richard Sharpe is a fictional soldier in the British Army during the Napoleonic period.
The earliest novel (so far) is set in India in the 1799 and the latest is set in South America (mostly) in 1820-21, but the core novels and the earliest written are set in the Peninsular war (Britain & Portugal vs. France in conquered Spain) between 1809 and 1812 leading inevitably to Belgium and the fields at Waterloo.
If you can think of a major (or even minor) British military engagement in that time period, Cornwell has written a Richard Sharpe book about it (except the 'War of 1812' ..but it may yet come if he can get Sharpe there and back before waterloo).

This novel is set pre 1809 in the lovely city of Copenhagen and tells the story of the British attack on the city. The device that gets Sharpe there is a plot to bribe the Prince of Denmark into surrendering his fleet to the Brits to prevent the French from getting their hands on it (as a replacement for the fleet they lost at Trafalgar).
I wasn't aware previously that we had attacked Denmark or that we shelled the population of Copenhagen into surrender...not a particularly nice episode in our distinguished past, but given our record in WW2 it shouldn't have been a surprise, so Cornwell gets an extra point for that.
Otherwise it is rather formulaic and while an entertaining enough read, does nothing to challenge the reader or their preconceptions about the lead character. We know so much about Richard Sharpe from the other novels (joined the army to escape poverty, became a sergeant and was raised from the ranks to become an Officer for saving the {future} Duke of Wellington's life in India) that this is just another slice of boy’s own adventure.

I'd give it three stars, because its only for fans of the series.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good solid storytelling but lacking some of the normal spark, 8 Oct 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Sharpe's Prey (Hardcover)
Having read ( and in several cases re-read) all of the Sharpe tales to date I now know what to expect from each subsequent entry in the series. There will be lots of action, plenty of swashbuckling, superb descriptions of battles and background scenes, regular love interest for our hero and of course vindication in the end for Sharpe and comeuppance for the villain. The stories are nearly always of a very high class, occasionally peerless i.e, Rifles, Gold, Battle & Revenge. The most recent novels including Trafalgar & this novel Prey have failed to attain the peak of earlier tales. Maybe the absence of Harper and Hakeswill (an unmatchable character!) has something to do with it. The plots are well written but don't seem to grab the reader as much as before. The love interest doesn't seem right coming as quickly as it seems to do on the heels of the previous one. Still I'm sure that it's impossible to be 5 stars with every novel and I look forward to the next one in this and every other BC series with just as much anticipation.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Sharpe at it's best, 13 July 2002
By Dai (Yorkshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sharpe's Prey (Paperback)
It seems Bernard Cornwell has got a thing for naval war recently with Sharpe's Prey and Sharpe's Trafalgar coming soon after each other. Here the role is less focussing more on the activities in port than at sea, but never the less it's a different and therefore exciting setting than the norm.

Needless to say the book delivers on all levels, this is Sharpe as we know and love him, battles, adventure, the fate of the war once again resting on this one man's shoulders (if only the British public knew how much we owed this one man eh? Indeed it seems old Dick Sharpe won every major battle of the Napoleonic War :p) and the beautiful girl (does Sharpe get her? What do you think?).

Cornwell has lost nothing over the years, each of his new books has been a joy to read, this is no exception.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe's Prey

This whole series of Sharpe books are wonderful, they are exciting and even for a woman they are really readable. Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. Ward

5.0 out of 5 stars sharpe review
Product arrived in excellent condition and within the space of 2 days would have no problem in using them again
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. S. Francis

4.0 out of 5 stars A Charming Despicable Villain Gives a Desperate Sharpe the Fits

The ground has shifted out from under Richard Sharpe's feet in the events that have occurred between Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Prey. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe has a heart
Without giving too much away, Sharpe again finds himself in the heart of the action, but this time it gets a bit more personal. Read more
Published 15 months ago by chuckles

4.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe goes spying
This is a rather unusual Sharpe-novel (of those I've read at least) in that it does not involve any major battle or campaign with Sharpe in the thick of the action. Read more
Published on 30 July 2007 by Didier

1.0 out of 5 stars Cornwell continues his betrayal
I read all of the original Sharpe series in the eighties and thought that the series had come to it's natural conclusion with Sharpes Waterloo in 1990. Read more
Published on 28 July 2007 by Starbuck Fan

2.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe's prey - one of the best
This Audio book is one of the best in a long line of Bernard Cornwell Audio books. With William Gaminara reading the entire series of unabridged books it maintains a continuety... Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars If a good read is your prey, then seek out Sharpe's Prey!
Richard Sharpe marches again, somewhat reluctantly, in this episode of the popular series.Bernard Cornwell continues to give us more of the Sharpe we love by going back in time... Read more
Published on 15 July 2003 by Joseph F. Leoce Jr.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharpe's Prey
Sarpes's Prey offers all suspence and descriptive historical writting of other Sharpe books. The reader finds out more about Sarpe's backround and the appaling conditions he grew... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2003 by James G

5.0 out of 5 stars Rediscover unpublicised history.
Exactly what we have come to expect from Mr.Cornwell - intriguing plot, bloodthirsty action, skulduggery, espionage and (of course) the usual healthy dose of lust, both carnal and... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2002 by A. J. Watson

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