Sharpe's Tiger - Bernard Cornwell

   1997; 379 pages.  Book  1 (storywise) or Book 15 (in order written) out of 24 in the “Sharpe Novels” series.  Alternate Title: “Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799”.  New Author? : No.  Genre : Historical Fiction; Military Fiction; English History.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

    Life is hell for Private Richard Sharpe, a member of low standing in His Majesty’s 33^rd Light Company.  He’s a long way from his native England, trudging through the hot, mosquito-laden parts of southern India, on his way to some woe-begotten city called Seringapatam in the spring of 1799.  Chances are he won’t live to see 1800.

    He has no one to love, except maybe Mary, the widow of the lately-departed Sergeant Bickerstaff.  But why would she want to be with a lowly private?  The proper thing for her is to marry an officer who can give her better protection and security this long, long way from home.

    But Private Sharpe has bigger problems than a war that can kill him and a woman who’s socially out of his reach.  Captain Morris, who he indirectly answers to, doesn’t like him, and Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill, who he does directly answer to, hates his guts.  Hakeswill especially would like to see Sharpe dead, either in battle or flogged to death.  He’s a conniving so-and-so, and when you combine that with Sharpe’s hot temper and sassy tongue, it’s only a matter of time before bad things happen to “Sharpie”.

    So it’s a godsend when Sharpe is offered a chance to go on a suicide mission behind enemy lines.  The odds are overwhelming that he’ll never come back alive, but those are slightly better than the odds of surviving Hakeswill’s wrath.  Besides, if the mission is a success, Sharpe’s been promised a promotion to sergeant.

    And Sergeant Sharpe versus Sergeant Hakeswill is what we call a “fair fight”.

What’s To Like...

    Sharpe’s Tiger is the first book in a “prequel quintet”, chronicling the early years of Bernard Cornwell’s famed protagonist's military career in the British wars in India.  Sharpe will eventually rise through the ranks to become a lieutenant, but for now he is just a lowly private, bored to death, seeing no future for himself, pondering the circling vultures, and weighing the pros and cons of desertion.

    I liked Bernard Cornwell’s balanced treatment of the two opposing forces here.  The British may be the good guys, because Sharpe’s part of their army, but they have some rotten officers in their ranks and their justification for marching on Seringapatam is far from noble.  The opposing leader, “the Tippoo”, has a streak of cruelty in him, yet he’s also a charismatic leader who inspires his men by acts of personal bravery.  If there’s an overlying theme here, it’s that war is hell, no matter what side you happen to be on.

    The three religions involved – Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity – are also treated equally.  Each has one or more dedicated believers in this tale, and at times each of their gods seems to give divine messages and/or answer prayers.

    The book is written in English, so you have picquet lines, jewellery, and saltpetre; and things can be meagre, sombre, and grey, but I didn’t find it distracting.  There’s a brief mention of chess, a smattering of French, a potent booze called “arrack” to drink, lots of potent-but-inaccurate rockets to shoot, and a way to determine whether some unknown black substance is or isn’t gunpowder.  Hey, you never know when that last one will come in handy.

    There’s a 7-page “Historical Note” at the end of the book, where Bernard Cornwell details who/what is historical face and who/what is literary fiction.  It gives you some idea of the depth of the author’s research for this novel, and I always like it when a writer of this genre takes the time to provide these details.  There’s a few instances of cussing – probably less than a dozen, and a fair amount of blood and gore, courtesy of battles and executions.  It’s certainly not a cozy, but neither does it wallow in R-rated stuff.

    The ending is reasonably exciting: some baddies get to live to fight another day, some don’t.  The good guys suffer some casualties along the way as well.  Things close with a “sombre” funeral cortege where those in attendance can reflect upon the cost of taking part in war.

Kewlest New Word...

Kirks (n., plural.) : a church.  (a Scottishism, and/or northern Britishism)

Others: Brailed (v.); Havildar (n., Indian rank).

Excerpts...

    “Assaulted me, sir, he did!”  The Sergeant could scarcely speak for the pain in his belly.  “He went mad, sir!  Just mad, sir!”

    “Don’t worry, Sergeant.  Hicks and I both saw it,” Morris said.  “Came to check on the horses, ain’t that right, Hicks?”

    “Yes, sir,” Hicks said.  He was a small young man, very officious, who would never contradict a superior.  If Morris claimed the clouds were made of cheese Hicks would just stand to attention, twitch his nose, and swear blind he could smell Cheddar.  (pg. 76)

    “I think the British army lost a good man in you, Sharpe,” Gudin said, standing and guiding Sharpe deeper into the trees.  “If you don’t want to stay in India you might think of coming home with me.”

    “To France, sir?”

    Gudin smiled at Sharpe’s surprised tone.  “It isn’t the devil’s country, Sharpe; indeed I suspect it’s the most blessed place on God’s earth, and in the French army a good man can be very easily raised to officer rank.”

    “Me, sir?  An officer?”  Sharpe laughed.  “Like making a mule into a racehorse.”  (pg. 220)

“Fight like the Englishmen you are.”  “I’m a Scot,” a sour voice spoke from the rear rank.  (pg. 17 )

    For some reason, Sharpe’s Tiger was a slow read for me.  I’m not sure why – the writing is good, which is the norm for any Bernard Cornwell effort, and it’s not a difficult read.  I suspect it’s due to the subject matter:  sieges just aren’t as exciting as glory-filled running battles.  The author does his best to liven things up – with sorties and skullduggery and lots of intrigue – but we read his novels for the epic battle scenes and that doesn’t occur until the British begin their assault on Seringapatam.  No matter, once that commences, things hum along nicely.

    Other than that, well…  the horse dies, and the cat dies.  Oh, and Amazon inexplicably lists this as a “Sea Adventure Fiction” for the paperback version, which is the format I read it in, and nobody here even gets close to the ocean.  The other options – Hardback, e-book, audiobook, don’t call it that, which makes me wonder just how Amazon chooses the genre options for its books.

    This is my third Bernard Cornwell book; the other two are reviewed here and here.  All have been superb works of historical military fiction and if I don’t rate this one quite as high, it’s not because it was bad; it’s because the other two were  Just.  That.  Good.

    8 Stars.  We’ll close with a teaser.  One of the characters here is a British officer named Colonel Arthur Wellesley.  He’s a “grey” character – young, headstrong, and Sharpe and him don't think much of each other.  Wellesley was a real historical figure, and went on to fame and fortune under a different and more familiar name.  Who was he and what is he known for?  (Answer in the comments)