The Fort

WOW this was a very good insight into the working life of americans during the American War of Independence. I enjoyed the picture that depicted how the English/Scottish soldiers interacted with the local residents and how they directed their fighting in this particular war. It was refreshing as it did not portray any particular side as villanous.

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2 people found this helpful

Not Sharpe, but absorbing

I enjoyed this story of an event during the American War of Independence. It tells of the British setting up a fort at Magdabigwajuce on the Penobscot River, and the attack on the fort, in the early stages of its construction, by the Americans. Cornwell has drawn the characters of the protagonists well, and has described how each considered the situation and responded. The British forces were trained professional soldiers and sailors, although many lacked fighting experience, and the Americans were largely pressed men, with a few trained Marines, but they were fighting for their liberty. The American officers were, in general, extremely cautious, not wanting to squander their slim resources and always looking for a certain victory, and this led to interesting conflict between them. The Americans had arrived with many ships, and the British over-estimated the actual number of men and their firepower. Both sides were hoping for the arrival of reinforcements.

From the way Cornwell set up the various battles between the Americans and the British, I could not predict which side would win, and this feeling that victory could go to either side continued right up to the end of the book. Even when reinforcements did arrive Cornwell did not tell us immediately which side they were on, and he continued to set up situations in which the reinforcements could be dealt a damaging blow.

The narration, by Robin Bowerman, was good, with each character having a distinctive voice.

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1 person found this helpful

More compelling than the press gang

A good story easy for the modern reader to follow but rich in the language and nuance of the 18th century. The main characters do not exclude the supporting cast. Instead the reader is led through the weft and weave of the story by many different hands lending perspective depth and body to a conflict which at its heart set brother against brother. Colony against the founding homeland and democracy against perceived tyranny.

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1 person found this helpful

Great bit of history

Really enjoyed this. I hadn’t heard of the Penibscot Expedition until stumbling across this in Audible. I won’t hold my breath for Hollywood to make a film about this British victory during the American War of Independence😉. A pdf map of the battle area really ought to have been supplied by Audible. Managed to get it online after a bit of looking and suggest you do the same, as the map helps to understand where all the ships/batteries/etc were.

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Why do you read Bernard Cornwell?

Very mixed reviews on this book both here and on Amazon. In short, if you want a "Sharp"style Story this book is not for you. If you love history this is yet another brilliantly researched and superbly written novel that brings real historical figures to life. No it is not action packed but I was never bored listening to it. Bernard Cornwell rights about real history and this is a very different kind of story, he is not going to change it to make it more exciting for the average reader. We get enough of that from Hollywood and it is for this reason why I believe Bernard Cornwell remains so successful. This book has left me wanting to know more about the War of Independence and I really hope he writes more - but then we want him to finish Starbuck and are there some more Sharp stories?................Excellent narration on this recording too.

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12 people found this helpful

fantastic story

love this book listened to numerous times and enjoy it everytime. hopefully this will lead to a film of the book.

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A joy to listen too

This is a perfect example of the writers ability to craft a narrative around real events in history. He brings each character through a journey and allows you to see their motivations even when you are screaming at them to make a different choice. Would recommend this and any other of his novels to anyone who would care to listen. Great performance by Bowerman, giving even further depth to the characters.

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The Fort

Set in the 18th century in the middle of the American war of Independance. This book tells a classic Bernard Cornwell tale of great imagination mixed with his unnerving ability to make actual history come to life. A small british force of sailors and royal marines are instructed to occupy and hold a small fort. In what seems a hopeless task when they come up against an overwhelming force of rebels.There are many side stories in this book but none of more interest than that of Paul Reveer. the Hero of the Boston night ride comes to life with some unexpected endings.

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5 people found this helpful

A slice of the American war with the British

A very American tale of wartime confusion. Disappointing naration.
The editors would have been better of offering this story in the third person .
A clearly defined map would have helped enormously. But this is a very Swiss perspective.

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2 people found this helpful

Solid Cornwell story

Reviews were a real mixed bag here, so I was very intrigued given Cornwell is such a successful author, and one I am a big fan of. 

Personally I found it an entertaining standalone story but I understand some of the criticism leveled at it, and perhaps some is down to misunderstanding the nature of the novel. This is not a character driven narrative; yes there are the main players at the heart of the event but this is a more factual account/dramatisation of the affair rather than placing an invented character at the heart of a historical event.

So those expecting more of a Sharpe/Last Kingdom style adventure may feel disappointed.
However I do agree the narration is not one of the strengths here, I he lacked the range of voices required for the large number of overlapping conversations, which meant you could get confused as a fair few sound the same, a handful do standout (some unfortunately on the grating side) but this means there is a reliance on telling us who spoke and when which doesn't help with the flow.

This was an incident I was unaware of and as always with Cornwell, seems very well researched and highlighted the nature of each side's strengths and weaknesses. 

I also found such standalone novels a great break from the growing number of long running epics I'm finding myself tied up in!

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1 person found this helpful