Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell

This is my first introduction to Cornwell and I have to say: it isn’t a bad start. I've decided to read the books in their chronological order instead of the publishing order which I know some people prefer. I just feel like it provides a more complete and flowing story arc and just makes it easier to follow. I guess we'll see how that develops through the coming books. But anyway, this book is definitely quite the step up from the beloved children’s classic The NeverEnding Story – and I don’t just mean quality. This book is definitely not for the kiddies so reader discretion advised. If it were a movie I’d rate it as a solid 15. So you have been warned. (Warning . . . again: SPOILERS)

Sharpe’s Tiger takes place at the Siege of Seringapatam which took place from the 5th of April to the 4th of May 1799 between the British and The Tippoo Sultan of Mysore. We follow a young Private of the 33rd called Richard Sharpe. We see that Sharpe is thinking of deserting with his girlfriend Mary after Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill joins Sharpe’s ranks. Sharpe gets into a fight with Hakeswill but finds that it was just a set up to get Sharpe flogged – which usually ends in death for most soldiers. Miraculously, the flogging is stopped part way through by the Colonel Wellesly, Duke of Wellington. We find out that a British officer has been captured with very important information about the city that will be vital to their victory and Sharpe has been selected to go. Him and his lieutenant Lawford sneak through and manage to join the European battalion staying inside the city lead by the French Colonel Gudin who stays as adviser to the Tippoo. Sharpe finds that the vital information is not to attack from the west as there is a huge mine ready to blow the British armies sky high. The British, meanwhile launch a failed attack by the aqueduct near the city. Sharpe tries to run but runs into Hakeswill and almost gets captured but the rest of Gudin’s men arrive just in time. The Tippoo has the prisoners executed but Hakeswill gives up the information about Sharpe and Lawford. The Tippoo has them put in the dungeon but, during the British invasion, they escape with the officer and Sharpe blows the mine before the British can swallow the bait. The Tippoo flees through the Water Gate but meets up with Sharpe. After a short encounter, Sharpe shoots the Tippoo right between the eyes. Sharpe, at the end of the book has become a fully fledged Sergeant.

This book is actually surprisingly short. There are only eleven chapters of about thirty to forty pages long. The pace changes a lot but in all the right places. In the build up to the battle it’s slow but the battles are quick and sleek and you get a perspective of the whole battle and every piece that goes into play when planning it - and in mid-combat manoeuvres. The description is long but you don’t feel it as the action and explanation are balanced perfectly. So when it tells you that the battle only lasted a few moments you can believe it. You never feel it dragging, either, as the tension keeps you moving. It gets incredibly intense. You could be sat completely still and slumped in your chair or lying in bed and you’ll feel like your heart is racing. I needed to take a break sometimes it got so intense. Just to catch my breath. Even if you pick it up later you can quickly jump back into the action. The gore of course is great as well. There are many paragraphs dedicated to the brutality of war. Men are disemboweled by cannon fire and shrapnel. People get their brains exploded out the back of their faces. It’s glorious. Body parts everywhere, blood soaked battlefields, the whole works. The way the tension builds through he final third is very good as the British line up to attack exactly where The Tippoo wants. Meanwhile our heroes are locked in prison with no hopes to get out. You start to think to yourself: How on Earth are they going to get the information out in time now? It's not until about half way through the penultimate chapter were you can see what they have planned. I will admit that it somewhat lessens after you find out Sharpe's plan but it recovers with a battle in the Water Gate that is nothing but chaos so it doesn't lose you.

Everything I’ve heard about Cornwell so far seems to be true. Namely, his research is brilliant. You really get the idea of what life in the military was like even if you know nothing about the army beforehand you learn so much. He tells you how the guns work, how the ranking works, why they are even fighting. But none of it is done through exposition. It all gets told to you when it comes into significance in the plot. You figure out the ranking based on how the characters interact and when it comes up in conversation. With the guns, as well, I think Cornwell managed to not fall into a trap that many historical fiction writers can potentially fall into. The guns at the time were muskets, which require quite a few steps to load and fire them. In the opening battle Cornwell goes into full detail. And while doing so remembers not to go into that process in quite so much detail again. It keeps the pace quick and once you are told the first time you can fill in the details yourself for the rest. The way these people think is also done flawlessly as you really feel like you’re looking through two-hundred year old eyes. They’re crude, they’re cruel, they do anything to get what they want.

But let’s look closer at our main man Richard Sharpe. But despite being our protagonist he isn’t very likable. He can be stubborn, he can make stupid decisions. Hell, he tells Lieutenant Lawford that he joined to avoid the police after he murdered a man. Several times he considers abandoning his friends in the city to get back the information to his superiors. But in the end you see that he stays loyal to his cause and that he would never turn his back on his country. He always has a reason for what he does so when he does something seemingly cruel or unjust you know he's just playing for the long game. It really is an interesting perspective to read from. He has his moments of great intelligence - like when he figured out that his gunpowder was fake when he was told to shoot Colonel McCandless. But he also has his moments of animosity - like when he brutally took down three of the Tippoo's personal guard.

Sharpe's initial love interest is Mary Bickerstaff. The ex-wife of a sergeant who died a few weeks earlier in Madras. In the first third, I'd say, she wasn't half bad. Like Sharpe she had learned to survive in her surroundings and they bounced well off each other. But when they actually got to Seringapatam it felt like she was sort of dissolved by the plot. She showed up a few times throughout but by the time she and Sharpe meet up again she has fallen for one of the men taking care of her. I don't remember a scene they had together so it sort of came out of nowhere. I guess I'm more frustrated that she ended up being, basically, a useless character. Don't get me wrong, she saves Sharpe from the dungeon. But even then Sharpe does most of the heavy lifting. I just wish she could've contributed more to the overall story than just being a motivation.

Before I talk about thew antagonists let's talk side characters. There are so many great side characters and you feel each of their struggles as they go through. You know each character's motives so when it all reaches this amazing climax and all the characters join up for one last showdown it's really quite extraordinary. My favourite would have to be Gudin. He just really feels like he is much more educated in the courtesies of warfare than the Tippoo and that he just care for human life more than him in general. He really takes a liking to Sharpe and Lawford and Sharpe says how it's the best he's ever been treated. But even when Gudin finds out about their secret mission he simply commends him for being a loyal soldier and says he will beg for their lives for them. You get a nice feeling after you know that he will get to go back to France.

But the thing that really pulls the book together for me is the antagonists. Firstly the Tippoo is a ruthless man and he really knows how his people work and how to keep them on his side. He's cold, calculating everything you want out your prime villain. But what's even better and even more terrifying is his unpredictability. You can never tell when he's going to show mercy or execute twenty men to boost his soldiers' morale. It's a key part of his character, in fact. He is a Muslim but still believes in soothsayers and reading dreams. He overthrow's the Rajah but then keeps him alive to maintain Hindu support. You just know that there's always method in the madness. It makes him very similar to Sharpe actually, which makes it all for the better. He is like the embodiment of Sharpe's sharp intelligence. But if The Tippoo represent's Sharpe's intelligence then Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill is his animosity. Hakeswill is one of those villain's that you just love to hate. Cornwell has said in many interviews that Hakeswill is his favourite character and I can see why. Every scene with this guy is a blast to read. He's manipulative, he's greedy but moreover he's a coward. Which of course is hilarious. Every time something life-threatening comes along he screams "Mother!" and says that he cannot die. He kills a lieutenant because he embarrassed him once just before the battle. Both of these antagonists are pure evil and I love it.

So, for my final thought, I say that if you love British military history and you want to see how the common soldiers fared back in these times then check it out. I mean, look at this line from the blurb on the back talking about Sharpe: "He knows no other family than the 95th Rifles who's green jacket he proudly wears". This is clearly for people who like this time of history. Like I said there is a lot of intense gore and extreme violence and a really cynical tone. If you think you can manage that then give this book a try.