Sharpe's Rifles

Book VI of the Sharpe Series

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

It's 1809 and the powerful French juggernaut is sweeping across Spain. Lieutenant Sharpe is newly in command of the demoralized, distrustful men of the 95th Rifles. He must lead them to safety - and the only means of escape is a treacherous trek through the enemy-infested mountains of Spain. Blas Vivar and his band of intrepid Spanish soldiers may prove to be their salvation. But Vivar is transporting a mysterious chest that he claims can shift the tides of war, and the French are determined to get it - no matter what the cost.Don't forget to check out the rest of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series.©1988 by Rifleman Productions (P)1995 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Consistently exciting....These are wonderful novels!" (Stephen King)

Enthralling

Fast paced, beautifully written, with characters so well formed, they seem to be right next to me. Full of historic, military, and geographic factoids that enhance rather than burden the tale.

Wrong voice for reader

Reader is entirely wrong for Sharpe - made
him seem like a wimpy Hamlet / plus author forgot Sharpe was married in an earlier book - quite disappointing when compared to Sharpe’s Trafalgar and Sharpe’s Prey

The Sharpe & Harper friendship

This is one of my favorites of the Sharpe series. The beginning of his fighting the Napoleon wars. hoped that Sharpe's voice had more bass and calm. I always thought that he should sound cool and collected and perhaps a little more Cockney
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Outstanding

Narrator is the best. Best Sharpe book yet. Could be an action movie but still keeps all the period flavor.

another fun Sharpe story!

This is the story of how Sharpe became a combat infantry officer and gained the trust of his men, including sergeant Harper. A must read for anyone following the series.

Rifles

A great book. I'm not certain why the performer decided to make Harper's voice sound like a leprechaun.

Killer Story, Odd Narration

I love Cornwell’s Sharpe novels, even if they’re the literary equivalent of a John Wick movie. This one is excellent.

The narrator made some... odd choices, however. Still, a solid listen.

dragged down by Rupert Farley's absence

Great story, great series, but the audio isn't up to the standards of the books narrated by Rupert Farley. I'm glad this book was included with membership, it is a great addition to the series. But the audio lacks the quality of the more recently recorded books, and Davidson's work isn't of the same caliber of performance. The audio has a tinny, scratchy quality like older, highly compressed files used to have, and Davidson's performance is further dragged down by odd, ill-timed pauses, distracting mouth noises, and lacks the overall voice acting talent of Farley, who is superior at distinguishing different characters and breathing life into them. Still, it's a great book and worth your time. But for those of you with a low tolerance for mid to sub-par audio, caveat emptor.

Great underdog story

this is an excellent title with great pacing, great characters, lots of action and a good plot. The only minor complaint is Sharpe seems a little childish after reading some of the previous titles. But it's a minor complaint and this is a great read.

Cornwell is the best historical fiction writer

Bernard Cornwell writes in such a way you can see the scene he is writing about.