SHARPE'S HAVOC

Patrick Tull's brassy bass voice is tailor-made for the swashbuckling escapades of Lieutenant Richard Sharpe as he duels, fights, schemes, plots, and shoots his way through the Peninsular War of 1809. As Sharpe advances with the aid of Captain Harper to halt Napoleon Bonaparte's attempt to bring Portugal under French control, Sharpe focuses on both the war and the rescue of a missing English wine merchant's daughter, Kate Savage (modeled on Shakespeare's rousing Katrina in THE TAMING OF THE SHREW). In HAVOC the narrator must keep track of an unusually large cast of characters. Unfortunately, Tull, who is good at differentiating individual characters, falters on presenting the big picture. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]