I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes I know when I’m going to get in trouble with a series of books. As in, I’ll start it, find out I like it, and then have to keep reading all of the books in the series.  It happened with the Harry Potter series. I told myself I was too old for it. I told myself that it was just a kids book. I told myself that it couldn’t be that great anyway. And then one afternoon I “accidently” read  the first book of the series. And that was the end of my resistance.

I’ve read a lot of Cornwell in the past, but I didn’t want to start the Sharpe series. It was going to be a mammoth undertaking if I started it.  There’s got to be twenty books in the series.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, I’m still not sure which), I read Sharpe’s Tiger last year and really enjoyed it. So, it means I have to start tackling the entire series.

Book two is called Sharpe’s Triumph. It takes place in 1803 and the British, along with soldiers from the East India Company, are fighting against some Indian princes from the north.  Sharpe is a sergeant with an a socially irresponsible wish to become a gentleman and an officer. Or is that officer and a gentleman.

If you like history, this is a good book for you. If you like the history of British battles in India, this is a great book for you. If you like to learn history while reading a pretty exciting story, this is an excellent book.

I won’t call it a great book overall, though. It had a decent plot, one really cool battle, and Cronwell’s historical footnotes at the end of the book are always interesting to read. However, I think it’s enough to keep me reading the Sharpe stories.  At one a year, I should be ready to retire when I finish the last one.

Oh, and if you want to learn more about this particular battle, read this.  It’s almost like cliffnotes for Sharpe’s Triumph.

3 out of 5 – read about the ratings