Winston Smith | 24 Feb 2016 7:41 p.m. PST |
I started reading the books back when the cover was a bodice ripper. Wrong facings on the cover, a strange flag, dragoons, and Sharpe's Lady had the standard flared nostrils. Was that Shaepe's Eagle? So I followed the series as they came out. George RR Martin could learn a thing or two about speed writing. Yes, there are two basic plots. To be charitable, maybe three. So what? As John W Campbell would say, "cracking good yarns". I've read each maybe twice and was entertained. I got my money's' worth. Oddly, I haven't watched the Ned Stark Boromir tv series, but I'm sure I would like them. Yes No No opinion |
PrivateSnafu | 24 Feb 2016 8:06 p.m. PST |
You talking Cornwell? If yes, haven't got to them yet, but enjoyed Dervel and Uhtred. I'd expect a similar level of enjoyment. |
vtsaogames | 24 Feb 2016 8:25 p.m. PST |
If I've got nothing else to read… |
Irish Marine | 24 Feb 2016 8:25 p.m. PST |
Yup, loved the books they got me into playing the period and using Sharpes Practice. |
79thPA | 24 Feb 2016 8:29 p.m. PST |
I've never read any of the books. I have watched several of the movies. I found them entertaining. |
21eRegt | 24 Feb 2016 9:18 p.m. PST |
Read every one of the books, watched all the movies, and while I agree they are all formulamaic, I've enjoyed them. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 24 Feb 2016 9:25 p.m. PST |
Oddly,I never felt "in period" the way I always did with Fraser or O'Brian.I got a clue why when I saw a quote from Cornwell to the effect that he thought O'Brian was a good writer,but he made absolutely no concessions to the modern reader's sensibilities. I guess with Cornwell,the opposite is the case. Sorry for repeating what I said on "First Argument of the Year". Edit:Just checked that thread,wasn't there.Oops. Must have been somewhere else. |
Dn Jackson | 24 Feb 2016 10:37 p.m. PST |
I enjoy them. I call them 'brain pablum' A nice easy read that requires no concentration or thought. |
jdginaz | 24 Feb 2016 11:29 p.m. PST |
I read one, I think it was "Sharp's Eagle" years ago. Haven't read another one. Then in a fit of forgetfulness I read the first of the ACW series. Won't make that mistake again. |
Toronto48 | 24 Feb 2016 11:46 p.m. PST |
Yes they were good read at the time but never took them seriously |
Wolfshanza | 25 Feb 2016 12:05 a.m. PST |
Only read Sharps Tiger but watched a lot of the series. Enjoyable but not super :) |
kokigami | 25 Feb 2016 12:22 a.m. PST |
one or two a summer. A guilty pleasure. It works for me as a simple minded primer on Napoleonic's, and I am not too concerned if it isn't exactly accurate. Prior to these I had no interest in the period at all, so I see that as a minor victory. I may have too look up this Obrien and Fraser mentioned above. |
Artilleryman | 25 Feb 2016 2:27 a.m. PST |
Some of the titles were gems, especially the early ones. But after 'Waterloo' (by publishing chronology)they became more of a pot boiler but were still entertaining. |
ochoin | 25 Feb 2016 2:43 a.m. PST |
Out of all the historical novels featuring lower class Rifles' officers with 'heart of gold' Irish sergeant-companions in the Peninsular War, it is the best. I've read worse. I've read better. I think the OFM get's it right with "got my money's worth". |
ochoin | 25 Feb 2016 2:45 a.m. PST |
BTW would the OFM like to hear why heroine's nostrils flare? I'd have to tell him via a PM because the explanation isn't "family friendly". |
Reactionary | 25 Feb 2016 2:58 a.m. PST |
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Texas Jack | 25 Feb 2016 3:15 a.m. PST |
I think I read the first four or five, then just lost interest. I have nothing against them, just aren´t my cup of tea. And I must say I hated his non-fiction Waterloo book. I am firmly an O´Brian man, and still looking for something similar on the landlubbers´ side of things. |
langobard | 25 Feb 2016 3:18 a.m. PST |
I enjoyed the first few, but I thought he was bopping off French Colonels of the Imperial Guard at an excessive rate… That was my only complaint. |
TunnelRat | 25 Feb 2016 3:27 a.m. PST |
Read all of the books & loved them but have no interest in gaming Naps at the moment. |
Flashman14 | 25 Feb 2016 3:30 a.m. PST |
Pretty sure I've read them all. Wouldn't push them on anyone, but I liked them. |
dick garrison | 25 Feb 2016 3:49 a.m. PST |
I love them read them all (Inc his modern thrillers). He's probably my favourite writer, yes they are all similar (a battle, fight, bonk, big battle)but that's what I like. Hated the TV series and won't watch the new Uthred one as I don't want to spoil my mental image like Sean Bean did with Sharpe.. Cheers Roger. |
Norman D Landings | 25 Feb 2016 4:04 a.m. PST |
Undemanding, fast paced, bodice-ripping swashbuckling Napoleonic fun – what's not to like? Certainly the best of their ilk, and one of the few long-term standard-bearers of the genre. Passes the time entertainingly enough (and if you think that's an easy acheivement, try reading Edward Marston.)* The TV adaptations were very much a curate's egg, but then again – at least they were there. Where else were you going to find Napoleonic military costume drama on the box? (Granted, the TV version of "Waterloo" was unforgivable dross, but unintentionally hilarious.) They don't stand up to close comparison with O'Brian. Nothing does and I don't believe anything ever will – comparing other series is like comparing other buildings to the pyramids and going away disappointed 'cause they're not pointy and 4,600 years old. *If you took this at face value, and went and read an Edward Marston book…. I'm sorry. Don't hold it against me. |
Artilleryman | 25 Feb 2016 4:14 a.m. PST |
Texas Jack, try the Hervey novels by Mallinson (beginning with 'A Close Run Thing'. Though primarily set after the Napoleonic Wars there are plenty of flash backs to the heroes early career in the Peninsula. Hervey is a cavalry officer and the author is a retired cavalry brigadier who clearly knows the Army, his history and horses. The social details are as good as the military ones. Someone described the series as 'Jane Austen meets Bernard Cornwall' but it is much better than that. Highly recommended. |
Joes Shop | 25 Feb 2016 4:23 a.m. PST |
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ZULUPAUL | 25 Feb 2016 4:44 a.m. PST |
Read them all & have the DVDs..enjoy them but don't take them as history. |
Martin Rapier | 25 Feb 2016 5:11 a.m. PST |
Enjoyed the TV series, but never bothered with the books. Too much other stuff to read first, including a lot of much better historical fiction. Generally prefer naval fiction for Napoleonics. |
Doms Decals | 25 Feb 2016 5:11 a.m. PST |
Loved the books as a teenager – generally grown out of them, but occasionally revisit, usually as something undemanding to read on a coach or train. |
Who asked this joker | 25 Feb 2016 5:51 a.m. PST |
Opposite of the OP. I've seen several of the movies but not read any of the books. I like Cornwell's writing style and have read the King Arthur series as well as the Anglo-Saxon tales. I hear their are 14 or so novels waiting for me to pick them up. If only I had time for that…and painting…and gaming. |
Dynaman8789 | 25 Feb 2016 5:58 a.m. PST |
Read them all, fun without being serious. Loved the afterword at the end of each book saying where he changed the history. |
20thmaine | 25 Feb 2016 6:15 a.m. PST |
I'll read 'em, but they aren't my first choice, even from Cornwell's works. |
Flashman14 | 25 Feb 2016 6:23 a.m. PST |
So this Sharpe poll doesn't snuff out without the appearance of the word … wait for it … flense! Oh, one thing that still stands out to me is the times where Sharpe smashes the mouth of the horse of the rider bearing down on him. Has there been a count on smashed horse mouths? |
korsun0 | 25 Feb 2016 6:36 a.m. PST |
Read every Cornwell, liked them all. Took them for what they were. |
Cerdic | 25 Feb 2016 6:36 a.m. PST |
I've read most of the books. The ones written earlier are better. For a series of books based on a formula the later ones were too 'formulaic', if you see what I mean. They are fine if you are looking for entertaining, good old fashioned adventure stories. The Sean Bean TV stuff was total tripe. Not helped by Bean being nothing like the character in the books. And Harper was too tiny….. |
peterx | 25 Feb 2016 6:41 a.m. PST |
Nope. Don't read the books or watch the show. |
KSmyth | 25 Feb 2016 7:31 a.m. PST |
Read the books. Enjoyed them; they were fun. Saw about half the series. Some were better than others. Didn't make me do Napoleonics. |
boy wundyr x | 25 Feb 2016 7:33 a.m. PST |
I've read maybe close to half, and have a bunch more on the shelf (almost all bought used), and will eventually try to read them all. I learned a painful lesson once about reading formulatic series, when I may have permanently turned myself off John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series (which I once loved) by reading three in a row and seeing the seams. So I won't read more than two Sharpes in a row, and I space that out so even though I may only read a couple a year. I'm not sure which is chicken and which is egg, but they do help inspire my interest in very small scale Napoleonic skirmish gaming (Song of Drum and Shakos). |
Mute Bystander | 25 Feb 2016 8:08 a.m. PST |
No interest in these. Napoleonic (or most any "historical fiction") is meh to me. Edit – I think they may be "Muskets of Shannara" material. |
Wackmole9 | 25 Feb 2016 8:58 a.m. PST |
I have read many of his novels and watch all the TV shows and got my money worth out of them. |
vtsaogames | 25 Feb 2016 9:01 a.m. PST |
I am firmly an O´Brian man Hip hip, huzza! |
Captain Gideon | 25 Feb 2016 9:03 a.m. PST |
NO I don't like Sharpe and I don't like Hornblower either. |
Ragbones | 25 Feb 2016 9:04 a.m. PST |
I enjoyed the first few but then it seemed like Cornwell got lazy and just began to mail it in. Many series become formulaic but for me Cornwell has been among the worst. I tried a couple of his books in other, non-Sharpe, series and they used the same exact template. |
Captain dEwell | 25 Feb 2016 9:36 a.m. PST |
Yes. The whole lot. As you say, I found them entertaining and led me to explore the wonders of Napoleonic warfare in Spain, then all the other campaigns. So maybe even inspiring. |
Old Contemptibles | 25 Feb 2016 10:08 a.m. PST |
Liked the TV series on PBS. Wish they were involved in more of the battles. Some of it is implausible but I was able to deal with it. I always thought of the series as the Napoleonic version of the old and great TV show "Combat" but without the BAR. |
parrskool | 25 Feb 2016 10:12 a.m. PST |
If you want a good tale of a Rifleman on the loose in the Peninsular find a copy of C.S.Foreester's "Death to the French" if it is still in print. (yes, the Hornblower author) |
Frederick | 25 Feb 2016 10:32 a.m. PST |
I read a few and liked them but I suspected that if I read them all I might not like them so much I do love anything by CS Forester |
Texas Jack | 25 Feb 2016 11:31 a.m. PST |
@ Artilleryman Thanks for the recommendation, I will certainly give it a try. parrskool, I read the Forester book, and it is quite good. |
B6GOBOS | 25 Feb 2016 11:43 a.m. PST |
Read two, waste of my time. |
Inkpaduta | 25 Feb 2016 12:18 p.m. PST |
Yes. I started reading the first one when I was in college and have read them all more than once. Just good fun yarns. Never cared for the movies. |
SoW Reddog | 25 Feb 2016 12:40 p.m. PST |
For a sardonic looking rifleman I go no further. |
etotheipi | 25 Feb 2016 12:47 p.m. PST |
Started reading them a bit ago (when a gracious TMPer let a double handful of books go for a song). Love 'em. My only concern is that I will miss my stop on the Metro while reading. |