Rating: 3/5
Review:
Disappointing
This is the first Sharpe book I have read and I’m afraid I don’t
share the general enthusiasm for it.
Sharpe’s Tiger is
chronologically the first Sharpe story. We find him as a private in
India in 1799, first in serious trouble with his regiment and then
involved as a spy in the siege of Seringapatam. It’s a fairly
rollicking tale with plenty of action but it didn’t really engage
me. I suppose I was hoping for a land-based version of C.S.
Forrester or Patrick O’Brian, but I didn’t think this was a patch
on them; it seemed stodgy and over-explained by comparison with none
of the excellent characterisation or superb storytelling of either of
the naval series. There is a good deal of pretty implausible action
– for example, Sharpe endures 200 lashes which cause so much damage
that actually expose a rib, but he’s fit for active duty almost
immediately. There is a villain who is positively pantomimic in his
clichéd antics...and so on.
I know I’m out of
step with the majority on this one, but I wasn’t impressed. It’s
not terrible, but I ended up skimming fairly extensively without
feeling I was missing much and I probably won’t be bothering with
the rest of the series.
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