I am sad. "Sharpe's Fury" was my last Sharpe novel. I'd read the others in more or less chronological order, then gone back to read this, the most recently published and inserted midway in the series.

For me, there will be no more Sharpe wenches. There will be no more craven aristocrats, in commands they don't deserve, plotting Sharpe's demise, nor more admirable officers Sharpe and other men would follow through the gates of hell.

There will be no more moments where the Napoleonic Wars hang in the balance, no more Sharpe treasures plundered or lost, no more intrigues with French spies.

There will be no more riveting battle scenes, drawn in enough detail for the military buff but clearly enough for the novice to follow, with the human element so dramatically but naturally woven into the scene's fabric.

And no more chestnuts pulled out of the fire by Richard Sharpe, one of fiction's greatest soldiers, raised from the gutter to find the only thing he does well - fight. I feel a grief similar to that felt when finishing the Jack Aubrey series by Patrick O'Brian.

In this episode Sharpe and Harper, on a patrol near the border of English-controlled Portugal and French-held Spain, are separated with a few men and an injured brigadier, and end up in Cadiz, the only part of Spain not taken by France.

The British ambassador there, Henry Wellesley - brother of Lord Wellington - is embroiled in scandal. The love letters he wrote to a dubious woman are being made public by unknown enemies. Called in to handle the matter, threatening as it does England's delicate relations with Spain, is Pumphrey, the fey Foreign Office spy. Sharpe, available for the moment, is detailed to do what it takes to get the letters back - to guard Pumphrey in his meetings with blackmailers, or to steal them back if need be.

There are lots of good things in this book, probably the last Sharpe novel Cornwell will write. Sharpe's low background is brought to the fore: he's a thief and a murderer, but it is precisely those skills gentlemen need to protect a gentleman's honor. Wellesley's erstwhile lover Caterina Blasquez is a memorable Sharpeian wench, and without giving too much away is a key factor in the book's ending where a Sharpe antagonist gets his in a non-violent but amusing way.

This book portrays perhaps better than any of the others the deeply divided Spanish public - many wanting to make a separate peace with Napoleon in return for the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, but with many different reasons for doing so. Sharpe must operate in a Cadiz that's like a tinderbox, ready to go off against the English at any time.

An English night-time amphibious attack on French artillery shelling Cadiz from across the bay is well done. And while nothing in the series can top Cornwell's account of Waterloo, the Battle of Bussaco is a fine climax to this book. English troops, unassisted by their Spanish allies, face annihilation when cornered by a vastly superior French force. Cornwell pays tribute to the French in this battle scene, as one of his characters note the brave and relentless pressing of the battle characteristic of them.

Adieu, Sharpe.

Something I've enjoyed for a number of years is the pleasure of Mr. Cornwell's Sharpes Rifles series. Recently I picked up Sharpes Fury to reacquaint myself with Mr. Sharpe and his erstwhile riflemen.

To help everyone get on the same page, Sharpes Fury takes place during the siege of Cadiz and the battle of Barrosa (1811). In this case, Mr. Sharpe and his riflemen aide a British gentleman in Cadiz; then the British troops at Barrosa (after all, what would a Sharpe book be without Mr. Sharpe helping out in the battle).

For me, this was a solid 4.5 star book. As always, Mr. Cornwell is direct and to the point with his actions. Mr. Sharpe is the type of officer who enlisted men love and fellow officers either love or hate. He's direct, brash, and unapologetic for his background or the way he is. This book does take a departure from the others in the series in that rather than having Mr. Sharpe command his company, Mr. Cornwell separates them and only permits Mr. Sharpe to have his trusty riflemen to fight the French (and yes, as always, one of the Frenchmen is a nemesis for Mr. Sharpe). Interestingly, Mr. Cornwell does an excellent job capturing the relations between the Spanish and the British, showing it nicely with the actions by Sir Thomas Graham, Father Montseny, and General Lapena. I was also happy to see the return of Lord Pumphrey. While all of this makes for an excellent read, I have a hard time raising this to 5 stars and reluctantly have to give it 4 stars. Btw, for those not familiar with the series, Mr. Cornwell's story is true to the history except where Mr. Cornwell documents it in the Historical Notes chapter at the end. Also, as with any in the Sharpes series, you don't have to read any of the predecessor books. This is pure, simple, and good fun that should be enjoyed with a nice brandy after a long day.

I am a huge fan of all the Sharpe stories, and especially the audio books. This one was especially well done by a new reader.
As to the book itself, I found it rather odd. This book has three parts, but unlike his other novels they are three separate, unrelated parts.
Part 1 deals with a skirmish in which Sharpe is marooned and has to survive with an annoying superior. This is fine and good, and quite amusing in places.
Part 2 deals with clandestine operations in Cadiz with Sharpe being involved to get things set right. Also a good part, and probably my favourite.
Part 3 deals with the Battle of Barossa. This part is exceptionally well told and is one of his best battle depictions.

The problem is that the three parts have virtually no linking between each other. The villain of part 2 only appears there and vanishes again, being handed off with two sentences in the last paragraph. The villain of part 1 also vanishes until the very end...and there is little closure there.
It's like the author wrote three short stories and nailed them together with little relationship between them. Odd sequences such as the fire raft battle also seem stuck in and not very well fitted in.

Overall, it's a fine book, but the three parts of the book is confusingly disjointed.