Sharpe's Rifles

by Bernard Cornwell
Sharpe's Rifles
book data
560 ratings, 4.04 average rating, 34 reviews (more data...)
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published
February 1st 2001 (first published 1988) by Penguin (Non-Classics)

binding
Paperback, 304 pages

isbn
0140294295    (isbn13: 9780140294293)

description
It's 1809, and Napoleon's army is sweeping across Spain. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is newly in command of the demoralized, distrustful men of the 95th...more




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Brad
02/12/09
Brad rated it: 2 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0006176976)

bookshelves: adventure, napoleonic-era
Read in February, 2009
I am reading the Sharpe books in chronological order and have just reached Sharpe's Rifles, the first meeting of Lt. Richard Sharpe and his best friend, Sgt. Harper, and I have to admit that the moment doesn't mean all that much to me.

It's crafted to be one of those great moments in fiction, and I suppose it could have been if I had approached Sharpe's Rifles from a different direction. Had I been reading the books in order of publication or even seen the occasional installment of th...more
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Linda Banche
12/22/08
Linda Banche rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, Sharpe's Rifles is the story of soldier Richard Sharpe. War stories, full as they are of blood and guts, are not exactly my cup of tea. But Sharpe's Rifles is also a rousing adventure story, with plot twists that take you straight to the end, loads of descriptions, and even a bit of romance. Highly researched, the book is chock-full of historical detail, which I love, since it puts you right into the period.

But the best part is the self-doubting Sharpe, ...more
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Tom
04/28/09
Tom rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in April, 2009
This is my first real contact with the genre I like to refer to as "Jane Austen for men" and I must say I'm fairly impressed. Good action and real page turner.

History fans like myself tend to think of World War I as the very height of brutality in war. I still think it is. But this template leaves open an assumption that before the maxim gun war was polite, clean, and even fun. This novel reminded me that that clearly wasn't the case. I've started reading the next book in ...more
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Gary
02/13/09
Gary rated it: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the Sharpe's series by Bernard Cornwell. I couldn't put them down. As always Cornwell is one of the best in character development. By the stroke of Fate Sharpe finds himself promoted in rank due to an act of bravery. But he is a nobody, not of blood and for this he pays a price. All through the series he had me hating his enemies and cringing every time they came into his life. A fun if not educating read for you learn of the aristocracy that rules his life in that time period.
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Craig
02/22/08
Craig rated it: 5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: historical-literature
Cornwell does a very good job of weaving a good story into the fabric of historical context. He researches his timelines very well while creating a series of characters that one becomes easily enamored of. This is one of a series of books involving Richard Sharpe and his rise from Sergeant to Colonel during and after the Napoleonic War. His life, his loves, his friendships, his successes and betrayals, all protrayed with great attention to detail against the backdrop of bloody military conflict....more
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Ronn
11/11/08
Ronn rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
recommends it for: Fans of the movies, fans of historical novels
Watching Sharpie on BBCA was a weekend ritual for my wife and myself, but this is the first chance I've had to read one of the novels. It's hard for me to reconcile the mental images I have in my head from the movies with the somewhat different ones in the book (Cornwell's description of Sharpe in the book sounds more like Antoinio Banderras than Sean Bean), but I'll get the hang of it.

I really enjoyed this book, got quite absorbed. I dont know much about the history of this era, so...more
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Linda
02/11/09
Linda rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2005
Ok, so I wouldn't have read this series if my son hadn't been so enthusiastic about it. Sharpe is a military antihero in the British Army through part of the hundred year's war. Its sort of Horatio Hornblower on land. Love the adventures, loved the insubordination, learned a lot about the why's of the war. Lot of books in this series, this one's one of the best.
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Jon
07/03/09
Jon added it

If you're at all interested in historical fiction and can take the military bent, the Sharpe series is one of the best. Cornwell's an excellent writer
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Dumbledore11214
05/30/09
Dumbledore11214 rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in April, 2009
This was my first meeting with Sharpe and his guys. And boy I fell in love with them and fast. And boy did he and Harper start off the wrong foot or what? :)
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Dave
01/24/09
Dave rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in December, 2008
Love the series, history, time less, great military, great read, great series, hope to read all of them
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Kristian Quitos
01/23/09
Kristian Quitos rated it: 5 of 5 stars

I have been reading the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell and this is my favorite of them all.
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Faye
03/05/09
Faye rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Good, fun, trash. Learned absolutely nothing, what a relief!
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Brandon Woo
07/26/07
Brandon Woo rated it: 2 of 5 stars

Read in September, 2006
recommends it for: Hardcore Sharpe fans
Meh, this one kind of bored me, which is a shame because it details the beginning of a great relationship between Sharpe and the rifles, esp. Harper. There also seemed to be some jumps, as well. There's not really a solid bridge between Harper trying to kill Sharpe and then becoming his right-hand man. It's slow paced and the action is forgettable. Overall, it seems forced in as a precursor to the Eagle and Gold and the rest. This is one of the few that the moive was better, IMO.
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Isis
04/25/09
Isis rated it: 2 of 5 stars

bookshelves: historical-fiction
Read in May, 2009
Like slogging across Spain. Through the mud.
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Karen
04/29/08
fbuser847345152 rated it: 5 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2005
I have read ALL of tthese books and love Sharpe's character - a man promoted from the ranks at a time when most bought their commissions. He loves the women, always fun, but one of my favourite things is his friendship with Patrick Harper. It's wonderful, admirable and just plain funny. And I have to say,. the actor who plays Sharpe in the movie series, Sean Bean, "can eat crackers in my bad ANYtime," to quote my mother.
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Mike Crawford
02/02/08
Mike Crawford rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in January, 2005
I've read most of the Sharpe's and can vouch that Bernare Cornwell truely knows his history. You will not find better descriptions of what military life was like during the Napoleonic era than what you find here. If you like historical fiction these books are a must read. The only down fall is that the personal life of the hero becomes predictable but that does not detract from the excellent depiction of the battles etc.
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Beth Bruner
03/09/08
Beth Bruner rated it: 5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: historical-fiction
Read in January, 1990
The beginning of one of the best series of military novels ever. I own them all, and LOVE them! Sharpe's the bastard son of a whore who moves up through the British army during the Peninsular Wars (in Portugal and Spain against Napoleon's armies). And the TV series with Sean Bean ain't bad either.
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Terence
05/02/08
Terence rated it: 3 of 5 stars

bookshelves: historical-fiction
Cornwell is a "poor man's" Patrick O'Brian but his series of novels about Richard Sharpe, set in the same period of the Napoleonic Wars as O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, are very readable and very enjoyable, and one shouldn't turn one's nose up at them.
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Katy
07/17/08
Katy rated it: 3 of 5 stars

bookshelves: kindle
Read in September, 2008
Yikes! The tv series begins with this story, and the differences couldn't be more striking. The tv series really softened up the characters and the situation. That being said, the book (predicatably) was richer and more complex.
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Trish
04/27/08
Trish rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0006176976)

bookshelves: historical-fiction
Read in January, 2001
Placeholder for the Sharpe series. As with any series, some are better than others, but they're fun to read, I always buy them as they come out, and they did pique my interested about the Napoleonic War!!
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