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Feb 20, 2011zipread rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This represents Cornwell's most recent book. He still mines the mother-lode of historical fiction. Sharpe has been left well behind. "The Fort" hews more closely to the history than ever before. The novel is set during the American War of Independence and is sited along the coast ofr what is later to become Maine to which seven hundred British troops aboard six vessels have been dispatched with orders to establish a new fortification. Immediately the Rebels dispatch an even larger force with orders to dislodge the redcoats. Which such a lop-sided odds, the conclusion between the two combatants seems to be a foregone conclusion. But nothing is foregone when one mixes incompetence, timidity, arrogance and just plain stupidity into the brew. How does it all end? Read the book. And what about the book? It's well written. There are a number of characters that engage --- its a pity they aren't exploered further --- but than the book is called "The Fort" not "Wadsworth". Does Cornwell ellicit any strong responses: for my part a strong feeling of dislike bordering on anger directed towards Lovell; Revere and Captain Saltonstall. You hope they will get their just dessets before the book runs out of pages. Unfortunately, this isn't one of Cornwell's best books. For those who rfead him for the action --- this book comes nowhere close to the Shafrpe novels. But maybe that just goes to show that whewre fiction is more replete with guts and entrails, gore and rib cages most of time, history is tamer than that. (or so we think). So what now you say? Off to the library --- they want this book back --- its so new they'll only let me have it for a week. Maybe I'll get lucky and find one of Cornwell's Sharpe novels that I haven't read.