Hickswell is so evil that he has more in common with a Saturday morning cartoon villain than a human being.īut Hickswell is a fantastic villain. In the modern literary movement, there has been a tendency to try to capture the ‘real life’ of the human condition in the page. He’s so extremely villainous, and has such quirky speech patterns, I have to say that no human has ever been like him ever. He’s cartoonishly, laughably petty, vindictive, racist and evil. Hickswell is an utterly despicable human being with no redeeming value. Now, I want to write a defense of ‘unrealistic’ characters. Meanwhile other characters like Mary are ‘realistic’ characters. Hickswell, are ‘unrealistic’ caricatures.

The characters in this book are a mixture of the two. What sort of characters do you like? Do you like bombastic, ‘unrealistic’ caricatures of characters? Or do you prefer more restrained, ‘realistic’ characters?

Overall, I give the story’s Concept and Execution a rating of: (A-) I especially liked that the author made the Brisitsh seem like the greater-scope villains in this situation. I am happy to say that the author fully realized this concept, telling a rich and fulfilling story. HOWEVER, execution of a concept matters more than the concept itself 100% of the time. This is an ambitious concept, and I respect ambitious authors. HOWEVER, those soldiers have to deal with murderous regimental politics, racism, sexism and a sultan who uses tigers as his personal executioner.’ This book’s concept is: ‘British soldiers must go under cover as deserters in India, to get in contact with a spy in an enemy kingdom in the lead up to the colonization of that kingdom. Overall, I give the story’s Emotional Resonance: (A+) The author told a gripping story, while also bringing to life a little-known corner of history. The author did an excellent job in brining a colonial-era British military to life, in all it’s stinking glory. This is both a fun book to read, and intellectually stimulating. As you read this critique, be aware that my personal bias of enjoying books of this type will influence my review. I am very much so in this book’s target audience. This book is not fantasy, however it is certainly ‘Flintlock.’ ‘Sharpe’s Tiger’ takes place in Napoleonic-era India, meaning it contains muskets, rockets and discussions of colonialism. One of my favorite subtypes of fantasy books is the ‘Flintlock’ subgenre.

To put this review/study in proper context, you must know my starting point. I found this book by watching this book revi ew here. NOTE: I listened to the audiobook, so I don’t know how to spell the names. I’m writing this review as an author critiquing another author’s book, in an attempt to improve my own writing.

Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell