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Storyline

Ensign Richard Sharpe, newly made an officer, wishes he had stayed a sergeant after he is put in terrible danger by Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill at the impregnable Gawilghur’s ravine.

To regain his confidence and his authority, Sharpe will fight as he has never fought before.

Soldier, hero, rogue – Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.

Review

Obviously whoever wrote the jacket decription hasn't read this book, as he is still with the 33rd Regiment, and wearing the Redcoat. Sharpe does not join the rifles until Sharpe's Prey.

This is quite a nice straight forward story, no espionage, just a story of revenge. Sharpe is delegated the job, of quartermaster, and arrives at the stores, to find a line of disgruntled troops seeking supplies, all of which have been lost. Sharpe, having risen through the ranks, knows the score and goes about sorting the matter out, finding the 'lost' supplies, and inadvertently landing himself in trouble with Obadiah Hakeswill.

Having just escaped from the trap that Hakeswill sets, Sharpe seeks revenge on all those who set out to kill him, with the final confrontation set in the great fort of Gawilghur, although Hakeswill somehow survives again.

The story fluctuates in pace quite a bit, we have the early battle at Argaum, where Sharpe's desire for action is at odds with what his newly acquired rank requires. Following the battle, the pace drops to a leisurely stroll, where Sharpe having sorted out the matter of the missing stores gets to be a junior officer. SOme of his old officers reappear to help with the building of the road to the Fortress, and Sharpe appears relatively happy. However this is short lived, as he falls into the hands of his enemies.

From here on the story heads to the final battle at the fortress, and further glory for himself.

This story marks the end of the trilogy of stories in India. Just how difficult the attack on the Fortress was is difficult to estimate, as unfortunately any photos, don't seem to really show just how hard things were.

The only slight downside was the final meeting with Hakeswill, which in some ways the stoey calls for, but the author is left with the problem that he can't be killed as he will later reappear throughout the Peninsula campaign. I think it would have been better to have left the matter unfinished, rather than the slightly half hearted attempt to kill him, by pushing him down into the snake pit.

The story is though a nice conclusion to the start of his career, and sheds some more light on the early career of the Duke of Wellington.

A good solid story.

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