Dear Mr Cornwell, I`m in my middle sixties and my eldest son, in early thirties, told me how good your Sharpe Books were. I have read about twelve of them, finding them packed with one terrifically gripping and convincing scene/portrayal after another. We have both commented on how we have to make an effort to stop reading and do some work (I`m a painter and he`s a landscape architect). Invariably, if I have come across a “weakness”, or a part I find unconvincing, it has been “reconciled” later. However, in Sword, which I have just finished the fact that the bullet is left inside him (along with shreds of clothing? ) does not seem credible, in that, despite the doctors saying he may have a reversal, he actually defeats an expert swordsman..albeit with a bad leg..and has apparently made a full recovery. I know he is meant to be tough, but is it possible to survive the leaving of such a large lead object inside ? Sorry for long query, and it`s fantastic that you offer this service, and at least it`s made me break off from the uninterrupted Sharpe Readings..and get back to Naomi Klein`s The Shock Doctrine ! But I miss Sharpe already (a week !)but do prefer that he isn`t turning TOO mystic…a bit is OK ! MB