I have a lot of time for Richard Sharpe. Give him a handful of riflemen, an impossible assignment and a French fort to take, and I’m usually happy to follow him into trouble. Sharpe’s Command gives him all three. Set in Spain in 1812, it sends Sharpe to inspect the defences around a vital bridge over the River Tagus. Two French armies could join forces if the crossing remains open, and Sharpe soon decides that merely reporting what he finds won’t be enough.
That's a promising setup, and Cornwell still knows how to put soldiers in a dangerous position. The approaches to the bridge, the forts above it and the practical difficulty of attacking with so few men give the action a clear shape. Teresa is also involved in the campaign, leading Spanish partisans with the ferocity Sharpe knows well.
But I kept waiting for the story to tighten its grip on me. Sharpe moves from one perilous encounter to another, but the obstacles seldom gather the pressure I expect from this series. The fighting's readable. The journey towards it feels oddly slight, as though a good episode has been stretched beyond the space it needs.
The characters gave me a similar feeling. Harper and the riflemen are welcome company, but too often they seem to arrive with one familiar trait apiece. Teresa has an important role, and I was glad she was given room to act, but I wanted more of the relationship and history beneath her toughness. Lieutenant Love begins as an interesting counterweight to Sharpe’s impatience, then develops so quickly that I struggled to believe I was watching the same man. Even El Héroe, whose grand reputation should make him an intriguing problem, is easy to read almost as soon as he appears.
Then there are the continuity errors. Sharpe’s rank is the one that stands out most. This book sits between Sharpe’s Company and Sharpe’s Sword, yet it repeatedly calls him a major before the promotion he receives later in the series. In a long-running sequence, details like that matter. I can forgive a small slip; I find it harder to overlook one attached to the central character, especially when it kept pulling me out of the scene.
I still enjoyed parts of Sharpe’s Command. Cornwell’s grasp of battlefield movement hasn't deserted him, and I liked seeing Teresa take an active part in the operation. But I wanted to feel the danger more keenly and spend more time with the people beneath their familiar names. By the end, I could see the ingredients of a Sharpe novel I would have loved. This one gave me the action without quite giving me the story.
⚔️ Read this if you enjoy Napoleonic War adventures
🌉 A dangerous mission to destroy a strategic bridge
🎯 A small band of riflemen facing overwhelming odds
🤝 Uneasy alliances with Spanish resistance fighters
📚 A return to Richard Sharpe and his familiar companions
⚠️ Contains graphic battle violence and executions.
Book Details
Sharpe's Command by Bernard Cromwell
Paperback ISBN
978-0008496807 — HarperCollins paperback listed by Australian booksellers with a publication date of 30 October 2024.
Hardcover ISBN
978-0008496777 — HarperCollins UK hardback published on 10 October 2023.
eBook ISBN
978-0008496791 — HarperCollins EPUB released on 10 October 2023 and listed by HarperCollins Australia.
Audiobook ISBN
978-0063219328 — HarperAudio unabridged digital audiobook released in April 2024.
Genre
Historical Fiction; Military Fiction; Adventure Fiction; War Fiction.
Subgenre
Napoleonic War Fiction; Peninsular War Fiction; British Military Adventure; Historical Action Fiction.
Tropes / Literary Threads
Impossible mission; small force against overwhelming odds; reconnaissance behind enemy lines; strategic bridge; siege and fort assault; commander who disobeys cautious orders; loyal riflemen; Spanish resistance fighters; unreliable allies.
Publisher
HarperCollins publishes the UK print and eBook editions.
Series
The Sharpe Series, Book 14 in HarperCollins’ chronological listing.
Formats Available
Paperback; hardcover; eBook including EPUB; unabridged digital audiobook.
Audiobook Narrator
Rupert Farley.
Audiobook Length
9 hours and 18 minutes — unabridged English-language recording, as listed by Kobo Australia.
Original Release Date
10 October 2023 — UK hardcover and eBook publication.
Australian Release Date
30 October 2024 for the cited 978-0008496807 paperback listing.
Page Count
336 pages — paperback ISBN 978-0008496807.
Where to Buy Sharpe's Command by Bernard Cromwell
📚 Amazon
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through my Amazon affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I also encourage supporting Australian booksellers such as QBD Books, independent booksellers, and self-published authors whenever possible.
Danielle Robinson is a literary critic and writer whose
work explores literature through the
lens of atmosphere, memory, culture, and emotional experience. Holding a double degree in philosophy and theology, she combines academic insight with a deeply refined aesthetic sensibility shaped by more than three decades working across the creative industries as an internationally published, multi-award-winning makeup artist, fashion stylist, and interior stager.
She reads widely and rigorously, reading and reviewing more than 200 books each year as both an ARC reader and commissioned critic. Through Silk & Sentences, Danielle approaches literature as something immersive and lived with — not simply stories to consume, but works that shape the way we think, feel, and move through the world.
She writes from her semi-rural Queensland home, where she lives with Alex, her husband of 33 years, their dogs Oscar and Paige, and an ever-growing library of books.
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