1807, Richard Sharpe and the Expedition to Denmark

This was my introduction to the Sharpe series. Before buying the books I was big fan of the Sharpe movies on TV, I used to love watching them and am glad to say upon finding the series of books my opinion of Sharpe has raised many times over.
This book is set the peninsular wars. Sharpe has not yet met Harper (there is a small section about harpers experiences though) and he is not enjoying his life as a commissioned officer in his majesty's army. This book gives Sharpe just the kind of adventure he needs to get his morale up for the books that follow.
This book isn't my favourite of the whole Sharpe series but it is the most sentimental to me, Bernard Cornwell is a great author/historian. You don't just get a great story but you get an in-depth history lesson also. Though Sharpe is a fictional character the scenarios in which he is placed are not, so you get a feel for what soldiers and people alike lived through and experienced.
Of all the Sharpe books this is up there with the best, I give this book a well deserved 4 stars (it'd be five but they are reserved for Sharpe's Tiger).

Sharpe is finally back in England. Sadly he is apparently done with the military; reduced to the lowly rank of quartermaster, he has no real hopes anymore, and wanders the streets of London destitute and bored. But then, as this is not much action for Richard Sharpe, serendipity strikes and a deal falls into his lap. He is to deliver a bribe to Copenhagen, and no one is to know. However, when he performs the seemingly simple job, serendipity strikes with a fiercer hand, as Copenhagen is attacked by the French, for Napoleon is planning an invasion and Britain doesn't want it to happen. Sharpe is thrown into the tick of it and, naturally, the fate of the world and the future rests on his shoulders once more.

Originally published on April 15th 2002.

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This is another entry on the Sharpe series. It is fun, entertaining and very readable. Cornwell's research is as excellent as usual. He takes some licenses for the shake of the story and continuity, but this is OK. Some people are outraged by the portrait of some of the real historical characters, but historical characters are rarely depicted accurately in historical fiction, so I think this can be forgiven. Besides, usually a more serious account of these characters is given at the end of the book on the Historical Note.

Many people insist in compare this series with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. I don't think this is fair for any of the series, they are different entities. What they have in common is that once you start you may get hooked and devour one book after another...

And in the literary world today that is a rare and marvelous thing.

Not that this isn't good -- a Richard Sharpe story combines, adventure, history, and social commentary in a most enjoyable way. Cornwell is a natural story-teller, and unlike many modern novelists, he doesn't seem intent on making each book longer than the one before.
In this one, Sharpe is on a spying mission in Denmark. There are some interesting parts to it -- Sharpe's escape up a chimney is riveting. But the sense of danger just isn't there. The villians aren't menacing; just banal. The consequences seem minor. There are many places where Sharpe could just walk away from the situation.
These "early Sharpe" books make you appreciate how important the character of Patrikc Harper is to the series.

All the perfect ingredients for an action-packed and page turning read" as THE TIMES said. This book is for people who like adventures packed with action in the 19th century. This novel is about the time where the battle field was on the sea. Lieutenant Richard Prey an Englishman, is given a mission to stopp war. His adventure is exciting as the plot reaches its climax; Prey has to, protect a women he loves, hunt a traitor and stay alive.

This is a brilliant tale of suspense and intrigue. The author uses the opportunity of this early adventure to provide more detail of Richard Sharpe's background. He pits him against villainous foes in both a military and espionage setting and puts him in some tight corners. All this and a bit of love interest as well.

Bernard Cornwell is probably the best historical novelist alive today and his Sharpe series is superb. The reason for one star is the fact Patrick Tull is probably the worst reader I have ever had the misfortune to have to listen to. His style appears to be to mumble through sentences and then literally shout every name or 10-15th word. I suspect many folk listen to audiobooks while in the car and it's pure hell to try to understand what this guy is reading. If you turn the volume up enough to hear the mumbles then your eardrums are assaulted by the shouts. If you leave it low enough to hear the shouts then you miss everything else. Avoid this reader if at all possible but do enjoy all of Cornwell's works.

Haven't finished reading it. So far very interesting. The beginning touches on Richard Sharpe's past and bridges some developments from the previous book. I'm trying to determine how formulaic this series is.

Great read as was expected from Bernard Cornwell. Love the way he combines historical fact with fiction; it's the best way I know of to learn history. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in English history, especially the Napoleonic era.