Incredible. The action never lets up until the final page and I absolutely loved every minute of it. I thought Sharpe's Triumph was excellent but this is far better. Moves to the top of favorite books for 2009. ( )

The three Sharpe's novels set in India are among my favorites. They're longer and Cornwell does more with them. More than anything, they provide background to the Sharpe's stories that occur in the Peninsula.

This is Sharpe's first experience as an officer, an ensign assigned to the well-trained 74th Regt. They don't need him, so he is detailed to logistical support duties which find him immediately assigned as an assistant to Captain Torrance, corrupt supply officer. Not surprisingly Torrance is in league with Sharpe's old nemesis Obadiah Hakeswill. Sharpe always finds a way to circumvent these "inside" problems and gets to participate on the impregnable fortress of Gawilghur.

Cornwell is so adept at telling battle stories on a level that is understandable. He tells us just enough to picture the battle as a big picture, as well as helping us understand the soldier's individual role in the battle. Yes the story is formulaic, but many of the characters-McCandless, Stokes, and Sharpe himself are quite endearing. It's kept me coming back for more. ( )

3468. Sharpe's Fortress: Richard Sharpe and the Seige of Gawilghar, December 1803, by Bernard Cornwell (read Aug. 5, 2001) This is the third Sharpe book I have read, and it is effortless and exciting reading. In a way the book is formulaic, but it is really fun, and is well written and solidly based historically. ( )

While the Battle of Assaye (covered in Sharpe's Triumph) was a major defeat for the Mahratti forces of the confedration of western Indian kingdoms, Lt. Dodd, the renegade Englishman who has become Sharpe's personal target for revenge for the killing of Colonel McCandless, has retreated with his intact regiment, Dodd's Cobras, to the impregnable mountain fortress of Gawilghur. There, with the remnants of the Mahratti army, he plans to defeat the English army under Wellesley which must atttack and defeat Dodd if the English are to have any control and peace in the region. Confident of defending the fortress, Dodd intends to become Rajah of western India after destroying Wellesley's forces at Gawilghur.

Meanwhile, Sharpe--now Ensign Sharpe, having been promoted after saving Wellesley's life at Assaye--is miserable trying to fit in as an officer in a Scots regiment. He is also forced to coexist with his Nemesis, Sgt. Hakeswill, who has lost none of his enthusiasm to see Sharpe killed (preferably slowly and in great pain) and to steal the Sultan Tippoo's jewels which Hakeswill now knows Sharpe owns. Incapable by his malevolent nature of refraining from whatever evil comes to hand, Hakeswill, partnered by a degenerate officer, steals weapons and other military stores and sells them to the enemy. Sharpe discovers the treasonous scam by accident, and this provides Hakeswill an opportunity to kill Sharpe and steal his jewels.

Sharpe is captured by Hakeswill and turned over to the enemy, but Sharpe manages to escape. He rejoins the army as it prepares to assault Gawilghur. The rest, as they say, is history.

Oh yes, there is a love interest, but in this book, Sharpe is the object of a double whammy as he loses not one but two women!

Cornwell has few peers for this particular genere of historical action-adventure. The book is well researched; Cornwell provides an affterword of several pages explaining where he distorted history for the sake of the plot, and what the fortress looks like today.

You care about the characters--you worry about Sharpe and his friends, and curse his enemies.

Cornwell writes batttle scenes as well as Patrick O'Brain ever wrote the naval equivalent for the Aubrey/Maturin series; it would not be a surprise if Cornwell used O'Brian as an overall model. The one difference, I would say, is that O'Brian wrote memorable female characters who were integral to the series, whereas Cornwell's women are indifferently drawn and forgettable. Whether he emulated O'Brian or not, Cornwell's Sharpe series is outstanding in its own right. The climactic battle for Gawilghur is a real thriller--I could not put the book down until I finished, racing through the pages to the end.

Highly recommended. ( )

Whoo! I think this is my favorite of the ones I’ve read thus far. I can’t imagine the amount of research Cornwell puts into his books—he even traveled to India to visit this fortress so that he could accurately describe the sheer cliffs, turns in narrow corridors, and the layout of the structure. Very impressive to be sure.

I do want to throttle Sharpe for making the same mistake he did the first 2 times he tried to kill Hakeswill… but Cornwell didn’t have much choice, since Hakeswille will be around well into the series. There are times I feel slightly sorry for the twitchy sergeant, such as when he mentions the fact that as a child, he was hanged. It was his small size that allowed him to survive the gallows. A horrible experience for any child to survive, and I’m sure that would mess with anybody’s personality… But yeah, the rest of the time he is just a nasty creature.

Torrance, though, he was great! He was just so… hedonistic, that it was funny. He’s one of those antagonists that you can’t help but to like. At least I couldn’t help it, anyway.

And another favorite new character: Ahmed. Little Ahmed is just adorable. Poor kid. At least he was able to repay Sharpe’s saving his life—which reminds me: the arena scene between Sharpe and the two strongmen is $%^& awesome! ( )