Sharpe's sword : Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign June and July, 1812

From Library Journal This fifth novel in the saga of British rifleman Richard Sharpe (e.g., Sharpe's Regiment, Audio Reviews, LJ 9/15/96) is set in Wellington's Salamanca Campaign of 1811-12 during the Peninsular War. After meeting a fiendish enemy who becomes his personal nemesis, Sharpe repeatedly comes perilously close to death, while playing a pivotal role in the campaign. Meanwhile, he has a torrid affair with a beautiful Spanish aristocrat who may not be what she seems. Sharpe regulars will find all this familiar and predictable, but Cornwell sustains such convincing dramatic tension that there is never a dull moment. The book is guaranteed to rivet all but the squeamish. William Gaminara's reading is less mannered than his previous efforts. Still, American listeners might prefer Frederick Davidson's readings of Blackstone Audio's versions of Cornwell's Sharpe novels.?R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, Cal. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review 'The best thing to happen to military heroes since Hornblower' Daily Express The bitter rivalry between Sharpe and the ruthless Frenchman Colonel Leroux is brought to life against the vivid canvas of the Peninsular War. Richard Sharpe is once again at war. But this time his enemy is just one man - the ruthless Colonel Leroux. Sharpe's mission is to safeguard El Mirador, a spy whose network of agents is vital to British victory. Sharpe is forced into a new world of political and military intrigue. And in unfamiliar surroundings of aristocratic Spanish society, his only guide is La Marquesa - a woman with her own secrets to conceal ... Soldier, hero, rogue - Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears Having forced their way into spain in 1812, the british plan a battle that will be more decisive then any that has gone on before during the fight in spain in terms of strategic effects. Meanwhile captain Sharpe finds himself in the middle of the secret war. So far he has been lucky in surviving dangerous situations, but now he comes closer to death than ever before and his comrades can only hope he is not beyond the point of what is possible Colonel Leroux, Sharpe's most formidable enemy, was trapped in the city besieged by the British Army. His cunning and treachery had already cost the lives of two of Sharpe's brother officers and Sharpe was determined to end Leroux's career forever. Richard Sharpe is once again at war and this time it is more than just duty, it is a personal vendetta