SHARPE'S COMMAND - Book review

Bernard Cornwell’s latest (2023) Sharpe adventure Sharpe’s Command places our hero at the battle of the Bridge at Almaraz, 1812 – as usual, based on historical events.

Major Sharpe is leading his Chosen Men, with sergeant Harper and the familiar other characters. They are behind enemy lines, intent on preventing the French from crossing the bridge to reinforce one of their forts which is soon to be under British siege.

Needless to say, he triumphs after a number of setbacks, this time aided by his wife Teresa and her guerrillas. Some of the impediments are due to betrayal by presumed allies, and others by the incompetence of British officers.

If you’ve watched any of the Sharpe TV films then you’ll be familiar with the characters and can even hear their voices as they speak from the page. If you haven’t, you’ll still enjoy an engaging and fascinating adventure sprinkled with knowledge about rifles, muskets and big guns! We meet again major Hogan who this time opines ‘A wise man once said that the best way to win a war is to do it without fighting’ (p210). He was doubtless quoting from Sun Tzu’s Strategy of War: ‘To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.’

It would be unfair to go into details (spoilers) about the book. There’s historical fact, humour, bravery, and blood and gore. The usual ingredients for a fast-paced Sharpe read.

***

Like C S Forester with his hero Hornblower, Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels are not written in historical chronological order. Of his twenty-three Sharpe books, this is the fourteenth in chronological order, preceded by Sharpe’s Company and followed by Sharpe’s Sword. It’s not essential to read them in historical order, though it’s recommended as some main characters do die in the series (though it’s a good way to meet again some who later die, if that isn’t too confusing!)

Promotion by Rough Edges Press

 

£0.99/$0.99 e-book For 1 week only – starting on 6 September!

From Rough Edges Press

CATALYST

Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/58mmcryc

Amazon US:  http://tinyurl.com/3w6nbc5h

A fast-paced thriller with plenty of threats and sexy suspense…

A catalyst is a person who precipitates events. That’s Catherine Vibrissae. Orphan, chemist, model, and crusading cat.

Seeking revenge against Loup Dante, the Head of Ananke—and the man responsible for the takeover of her father’s company—Cat will stop at nothing to uncover his wicked agenda. A trained chemist and an accomplished climber, she is not averse to breaking and entering. So, when she crosses paths with an attorney for the bloodless organization and uncovers a mysterious product called Catananche, Cat risks injury and death to learn more.

Ranging from South England to the North-east, from Wales to Barcelona, Cat’s quest for vengeance is implacable. But will she be able to escape the clutches of an unexpected and whip-wielding enemy?

The first in the Cat’s Crusade series, Catalyst follows a strong female character with a thirst for action.

JET STREAM

I was drawn to the book Jet by Russell Blake because the cover shares the same model as my book Mission: Prague (see the two covers to compare below).

  

The similarities don’t end there, either. Maya, codename Jet is a twenty-eight-year-old Mossad assassin. The heroine in Mission: Prague is psychic spy Tana, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto; she was thirty-eight at the time of her Prague mission.

Jet’s adventures are set in the present, while Tana’s are in the past (Czechoslovakia, 1975; Iran, 1978; Afghanistan, 1979).

Tana’s Prague novel first came out in 2008 as The Prague Manuscript. Jet was published in 2012, though the ‘shared’ model did not appear on the new Prague cover until 2017.

Both books are fast-paced.

Jet – the first book in the series

Maya thought she’d left behind her life of violence and had retired to Trinidad. Unfortunately, somebody from her past had talked and sent an assassination squad to eliminate her. From the explosive beginning to the traumatising end, it’s action all the way. I certainly want to read more in the series!

Russell Blake has produced a page-turning thrill-ride that has built up an enviable fan base. And to his fans’ delight he’s prolific. He’s just produced his SEVENTEENTH Jet novel (including two prequels) plus a host of other series; in all, in seven years he’s written about 60 books (and co-authored two with Clive Cussler).

If you like your adventures fast and furious, try the Jet series.  

***

Secret file – 00/13/417 – Tana Standish, psychic spy

Mission: Prague was released by a MOD accredited publisher, Manatee Books. It is based on a manuscript that came into the possession of the author Nik Morton (believed to be a pseudonym). Investigations are in hand to ascertain the source. It is believed that the work is a collaborative effort by a select group of agents, all intent on telling the story of Tana Standish, psychic spy.

Standish was recruited into International Enterprises (Interprises) in 1965 and her career continued until 1988.

Her story is ostensibly being told as fiction. Mission: Prague involves Standish in a mission in Czechoslovakia in 1975.

Other earlier Standish missions have still to be declassified. They take place in the following theatres: Singapore (1965), Naples (1966), Izmir (1967), Odessa (1968), Pilsen (1968), Karachi (1970), Elba (1971), Gibraltar (1972), Mombasa (1973), and Hong Kong (1974).

Standish – brief biography

Tana was born on May 12, 1937 in Warsaw. At the time of the uprising of the ghetto in 1942, she was five years old. She had two brothers, Mordechai and Ishmael, both now deceased. She was adopted by a British couple in 1942, but her adoptive father Lieutenant Hugh Standish was killed ironically in a car crash two years later. Her mother Vera never remarried.

Tana joined Edinburgh University in 1955 and read Psychology, gaining a BA (Hons) in 1958. Thereafter, she worked for the Parapsychological Research Unit, Northamptonshire – 1958 to early 1965; during this time, she travelled to the US and the USSR, among other countries, to give talks on memory, for, besides possessing psychic abilities, she has a photographic memory.

Two of her later missions have been documented in Mission: Tehran (1978) and Mission: Khyber (1979)

Greatest Action Movies Ever

If you’re a fan of action movies, then here’s a magazine to buy, featuring no less than 54 films that ‘defined the genre’.  This is the first in a series from Empire magazine (UK): Empire Classics.

Much of the content is evident from the cover. There are films in several action genres such as: tales of adventure, adrenaline rush, comic book heroes, war, wild west, spies and history.  

Apart from the generous assembly of stills, interesting, humorous, and even enlightening essays accompany each chosen film.

Inevitably, there may be some selected here to the exclusion of your favourite within a particular genre. Still, the span is broad – from Yojimbo to Duel, from Zulu to High Noon, from The Adventures of Robin Hood to The Ipcress File.

I’ve found the selection enjoyable (and, thankfully, the swearing is kept to a minimum, which is a pleasant change for an Empire magazine). I found that I’ve seen 40 of the 54!

Book review - Fire Canoe Finnegan

Set shortly after the American Civil War, historical western novel Fire Canoe Finnegan (2015, paperback, 249pp) by Denis J Harrington and Charlie Steel offers an enjoyable read for fans of the period and readers in general. ‘Fire Canoe’ is the term attributed by the Indians to the riverboats that brought countless white men to their territory.

Young Clint Finnegan is seeking adventure and a new life and is hired by Captain Glazer of the riverboat Dakota Dawn. His role is to be assistant master. Glazer paints a troublesome picture for Finnegan: ‘Gales, thunderstorms and tornadoes coming off the land will sink a steamboat faster than you can blink.’ (p21) Then there are winter’s ice floes and summer’s migrating buffalo, Indians and river bandits to contend with. ‘This isn’t a business for the faint of heart.’  Despite the sad fate of previous assistant masters, Finnegan accepts the offer!

Clint Finnegan is a likeable character who stands up for what’s right, no matter what.

We’re introduced to the workings of the Missouri River steamboat and several crew members, some of an unsavoury nature. Finnegan speedily learns to handle all the chores required of him. 

But it wasn’t going to be plain sailing, especially since a number of Army officers are escorting a payroll strongbox.  Before long, Finnegan meets attractive Elisha Parkinson, who is on her way to join her widowed father at his fort up-river.

As events escalate, the action is removed from the river to the land of the Sioux as Finnegan, aided by an Army scout, attempts to rescue the kidnapped Miss Elisha and recover the stolen money.  

Resourceful and brave, Finnegan encounters Colonel Parkinson, a firm fair soldier who commands the respect of his men, Liver Eating Abner Mosely, a scourge of the Sioux, and Hump, the Miniconjou Sioux warrior hankering after killing a few interloping white men. All are well-drawn characters, including the kidnappers and thieves.

The scene is set for a fiery and bloody confrontation, and the pace of the narrative quickens as we race towards the satisfying denouement. Throughout, the description puts us in the scene and the action.

The silhouettes on the cover depict Finnegan and his faithful dog, Duke.

I for one wouldn’t mind meeting Finnegan again. Sadly, co-author Denis Harrington died July, 2015.

***

Editorial comment: For third person narrative, it’s preferable to consistently use only one name, either the given name or surname, not interchangeably both – either Clint or Finnegan. Obviously, relating characters will have a preference of one or the other, as appropriate.

AUTUMN E-BOOK SALE 21-23 SEPTEMBER

Your chance to bag some good value e-books from Crooked Cat Publishing!

Their autumn sale is on - books across all Amazon sites - for 99c/99p

This is the UK site; https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_3_12?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=crooked+cat+publishing&sprefix=CROOKED+CAT+%2Caps%2C350

For others, just search for 'Crooked Cat Publishing' and be spoilt for choice.

Paperback trilogy - the cat's meow...

• Three exciting paperback action romantic adventures featuring ‘the avenging Cat’! 

•  With superb uniform covers from Crooked Cat Publishing.

Catalyst - £7.99

Kindle also available – (series introductory bargain!) - £0.86

Catacomb - £5.99

Kindle - £2.58

Cataclysm - £6.99

Kindle - £2.58

Other e-book formats are also available.

CATALYST

The Avenging Cat series #1

Catalyst: a person that precipitates events.

That's Catherine Vibrissae. Orphan. Chemist. Model. Avenging Cat. She seeks revenge against Loup Malefice, the man responsible for the takeover of her father's company. An accomplished climber, Cat is not averse to breaking and entering to confound her enemies. Ranging from south of England to the north-east, Wales and Barcelona, Cat's quest for vengeance is implacable. But with the NCA hot on her tail, can she escape the clutches of sinister Zabala and whip-wielding Profesora Quesada?

CATACOMB

The Avenging Cat series #2

Catacomb: a subterranean cemetery: a place where ancient corpses are found – or new ones are dumped.
After their recent success in Barcelona, Cat and Rick continue their vendetta against Loup Malefice and his global company, Cerberus, penetrating the lair of Petra Grimalkin in Nice. But death stalks the pair, as do the dogs of law from the NCA, Basset and Pointer. Cat’s trail of vengeance next leads to the Cerberus health food processing plant in the Maghreb. She puts her skills to good use in Morocco where she again confronts the psychotic killer, Zabala. From the exotic streets of Tangier to the inhospitable High Atlas Mountains, danger lurks and a deadly ambush awaits…

CATACLYSM

The Avenging Cat series #3

Cataclysm:  a political or social upheaval

Some months after their adventure in Morocco, Catherine Vibrissae receives devastating news from Rick – news that will change her life. Still determined to go to Shanghai to face down her arch enemy Malefice and end her vendetta once and for all, she thwarts an ambush by Cerberus’ head of security, Mr Soong. To complicate matters, oligarch and people smuggler Belofsky is in Shanghai with his own agenda. While Cat plays cat-and-mouse with Soong, she uncovers a conspiracy that could lead to war between China and Japan