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Sharpe's Fortress | 
 enlarge | Author: Bernard Cornwell
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Category: EBooks
List Price: $10.95
Buy New: $8.76
You Save: $2.19 (20%)
Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 11324
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
ASIN: B000UOJTSU
Publication Date: January 3, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Amazon.com Review
Fighting in the millet fields of India circa 1803, Richard Sharpe knows trouble when he sees it: dissension in the ranks, a feverish and arrogant enemy, nobody to confide in. Unbeknownst to his comrades, Sharpe has buried a fortune in booty along the way. He knows his freedom is coming, and it's only a matter of time before he can feast on the spoils. Sharpe's Fortress is the 17th in Bernard Cornwell's series starring this colonial British soldier who has risen in the ranks despite blunders and misadventures, not to mention his own suspicions of the men around him. Treason, near-death experiences, cannonballs hidden in the tall grass "sticky with blood and thick with flies, lying twenty paces from the man it had eviscerated," these are the elements of Cornwell's war stories, which rely heavily on long, involved--and involving--battle scenes, marvelous description, and bawdy dialogue in the trenches (a highlight: arguments over whether there's such a thing as breasts that look like grapes). For readers who hunger for humorous, complex characterizations, Sharpe proves vivid and three-dimensional. He holds tightly to his dreams of treasure, eavesdropping on betrayers, ultimately hatching a desperate plan to make his way to the fortress in the sky, Gawilghur. Cornwell's hero is an honest soldier, and also a pragmatic one. He doesn't care as much about the medals and the glory as he cares about dodging cannon fire and finding a place to sleep. --Ellen Williams
Product Description
Promoted for his gallantry in the war against India's rebellious Mahratta confederacy, Richard Sharpe is uncomfortable with his newfound authority--and embroiled in his own private campaign. The unmistakable scent of treason is leading him to Gawilghur, an impenetrable fortress in the sky and the last refuge of desperate enemies of all dark stripes. And as the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, prepares to lay siege to the stronghold high above the Deccan Plain, Sharpe will risk his honor, reputation, and fortune on a battle that will test him as never before.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 An Officer's Life Has Its Drawbacks for Richard Sharpe November 24, 2008
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
Sharpe's Fortress is the third of the stories about Richard Sharpe in India. If you haven't read Sharpe's Tiger and Sharpe's Triumph, I strongly urge you to read those books before this one. You'll like them, and they provide very helpful background for the events in Sharpe's Fortress.
After saving Sir Arthur Wellesley's life at the Battle of Assaye (described in Sharpe's Triumph, book two in chronology in the series), Richard Sharpe was raised out of the ranks into the officer class as an ensign. In Sharpe's Fortress, it becomes obvious that he's arrived in no man's land in a Scottish unit. The Scots don't want any English in the unit; most ensigns are about 12 years old and don't do anything except watch; and men in the ranks are jealous of Sharpe's promotion.
It is kindly suggested that Sharpe either sell his commission or join a new unit, one based in England. Sharpe doesn't want to do either one, and he's even more depressed when he is asked to take a temporary assignment helping get the supplies up to the front lines.
Arriving at his new assignment, it's clear that something is badly wrong. Needed supplies are being stolen left and right. Sharpe quickly gets to the bottom of the thefts and develops new enemies. Meanwhile, his old enemy Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill has survived Sharpe's last attempt to do away with him in Sharpe's Triumph and has new plans for Sharpe.
The main focus of the story is on the continuing war between the British and their allies and the Mahrattas in India. Turncoat William Dodd has gained every higher rank in the Mahratta forces and is looking forward to a huge victory when the British come to attack the seemingly impregnable fortress of Gawilghur. Much of the story is taken up with various defenders imagining how they will destroy the British in the different traps that await them in the high fortress.
Those extremely detailed descriptions of the fortress become more than a little tiresome. You do have a reward, however, because you'll better understand the story that Cornwell tells about how the battle is won. Actually, the fictional report isn't terribly far off from the actual experience as the historical note indicates. It is only the exaggerated role for Sharpe that misleads . . . while providing a good way to help you understand the battle.
The battle scenes are terrific in this book. It's only the tedium of the redundant musings that keep this book for being a five-star effort.
As usual, Sharpe finds that while he has temporary conquests with the ladies, he isn't going to be the one who takes them home permanently.
Enjoy!
 Great historically based fiction January 16, 2008
Maya Man
I really enjoyed this book. While the Sharpe's Rifle series (which I've read about 1/2-2/3 of) is sort of testosterone filled and militaristic I really do like how Cornwell uses the real settings and history in his books. Sometimes it seems like Sharpe is shoe-horned in to too many improbable situations, but hey if you can suspend disbelief long enough to watch 24 on Fox then why not do so here and learn some real history along the way.
If you like this book you'll also want to check out Sharpe's Tiger. You might also consider a book called "Revenge of the Jaguar King" by a new writer named Jay Hersh. It's set in Belize and does a similar sort of thing in combining history of the Maya with an action adventure.
Another great Sharpe book. Altogether enjoyable. October 4, 2007
Daniel Berger (Atlanta, GA USA)
Another great book in the Sharpe series. In this one, our hero is now Lt. Richard Sharpe and hating it. Having received a battlefield commission from the future Duke of Wellington after saving his life at the Battle of Assaye, Sharpe languishes amid gentlemen who resent his commoner presence and enlisted men who resent his elevation above them.
With his commander pressuring him to sell his commission and leave the Army - a tempting offer to one of Sharpe's impoverished background - he is transferred to a backwater supplies unit. It proves a den of corruption and Sharpe soon finds himself a fugitive.
That doesn't stop him from joining the assault on the daunting fortress of Gawilghur, a mountain fastness never conquered and the key to British power's northward thrust in India. Even positioning artillery to shell it is a daunting task. Defending it now is the forbidding and formidable Colonel Dodd, the mercenary commander we met in "Sharpe's Triumph", who schemes how to use Gawilghur's defense to depose his Indian masters, and rule himself.
Helping Sharpe along the way are cavalry Sergeant Eli Lockhart; the brave Arab servant boy Ahmed; and Sharpe's old pal, the engineer Major Stokes. Altogether enjoyable.
Sharpe - Siege of Gawilghur March 18, 2007
Joseph N. Scholtes, Jr. (St. Petersburg, FL USA)
Bernard Cornwell is the absolute best military fiction author there is. This installment of Sharpe's adventures is excellent (as expected).
Sharpe's the One! February 11, 2007
Louis Tyrrell (New York, NY USA)
This is the third book in Bernard Cornwell's India trilogy and it is a spellbinder. There are 22 Sharpe stories and I just finished number 17. This series is right up there with Patrick O'Brians Aubrey/Maturan series and when you start a book you can't put it down until you've finished the history recap at it end. Sharpe is a private in India in the infantry and the East India Company is trying to keep their trade going against the warlords and Princes who are standing in their way. There are tigers and elephants and battles and looting and rape, murder and thievery. Cornwell covers a battle with such insight and depth that you swear you are right there. Great! You can't put it down and when you're through you're looking for the next adventure. Join the throng...Sharpe is the one!
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