Written by: Bernard Cornwell
Submitted By: David M. Dunaj
I feel like others some trepidation about reviewing the author's work on his own website. All the same, I loved this novel. Since this is part of the ongoing Sharpe saga, I won't play the spoiler. But I think it sufficient to say that the personal and martial exploits of Richard Sharpe dovetail nicely into the story of the great battle. What impresses me most is the treatment of characters. Character's we've come to know are refreshed and brought into the story with ease. New characters are made real with an economy and quality of writing that doesn't hinder the flow of events.
There is of course the action of conflict. And here the author does not disappoint. I imagine it was a challenge for him to capture the scope of the massive battle. But this was done in a way that captured the desperation of battle and the ebb and flow of fortunes. It was also fitting that the horror and carnage should be portrayed. I would say that the author struck the perfect balance in that respect. Waterloo does not have the grisly carnage of Pressfield's superb Gates of Fire. But it does bring home the horror of war in a way that makes the old movie version (with Rod Steiger as Napoleon and Christopher Plummer as Wellington) seem almost tame in comparison.
I also think that fans of cavalry exploits will enjoy the British and French charges. The action here equals or exceeds many I have read. Indeed, I'll put them up there with Sienkiewicz's accounts of 17th Century Polish Winged Hussar battles. In addition, I'd like to commend the author for noting the valor of the common soldier. And not just the British soldier. In these days of French bashing, some forget the "elan" of the common French soldier. An elan which carried him into the deadly fire of British volleys and later into German machine guns.
All in all, a worthy novel if read on it's own or as part of the Sharpe saga.
