Everything in the book made sense, whereas the film--from the vague stuff I remember, the identity of El Mirador was 100% obvious, and it didn't make any sense how Sharpe managed to get shot without Harper saving him, and wasn't there some inexplicable mute girl?
Yes, the inexplicable mute girl was the weirdest part of the whole thing... The Marquesa was MUCH cooler.
do you think I should read them chronologically (according to the plot) instead? Are there any I should avoid?
Yes, I think this is a good idea (although you'll note that the novels that were written AFTER the TV series pretty much stop referring to Sharpe as "black-haired." Hee!) The India novels are excellent, and then I think all the ones in between those and the Peninsular War ones are pretty skippable - they're extremely formulaic (even more so than others!) I like all the Napoleonic ones (despite noting the problems you noted in Sharpe's Eagle) but one that you should definitely NOT miss is Sharpe's Gold which is COMPLETELY different from the horrible film version!
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Date: 2006-08-24 08:39 pm (UTC)Yes, the inexplicable mute girl was the weirdest part of the whole thing... The Marquesa was MUCH cooler.
do you think I should read them chronologically (according to the plot) instead? Are there any I should avoid?
Yes, I think this is a good idea (although you'll note that the novels that were written AFTER the TV series pretty much stop referring to Sharpe as "black-haired." Hee!) The India novels are excellent, and then I think all the ones in between those and the Peninsular War ones are pretty skippable - they're extremely formulaic (even more so than others!) I like all the Napoleonic ones (despite noting the problems you noted in Sharpe's Eagle) but one that you should definitely NOT miss is Sharpe's Gold which is COMPLETELY different from the horrible film version!