Sharpe's Escape (Reviews)

NEW FICTION, by Geoffrey Wansell
Fri 09 Apr 2004
Dail Mail

No loyal fan is going to be surprised by this 20th episode in the adventurous life of the dashing Captain Richard Sharpe of the Light Company. This time our hero is to be found battling his way across Portugal in 1810, determined as ever to outwit and outfight Napoleon’s armies. But surprise is not the point in the Sharpe series – the point is the precise beauty of the details of an army on the march and in battle, as seen through the prism of a good old-fashioned protagonist, with villains who make worthy opponents. There are spectacular battles and superbly drawn characters, all bound together with exceptional narrative storytelling – ingredients that Sharpe devotees have come to expect. Sharpe’s Escape certainly lives firmly up to his own high standards.