Favorite characters, and beyond....

[Anomalocaris]

Private, then corporal, then lieutenant, then major, then finally lieutenant colonel Richard Sharp is a pretty cool character. Sean Bean's is good as Sharpe in his way, but does not do full justice to the character in the novel.

Steven Maturin and lieutenant, lieutenant commander, post captain and finally rear admiral jack Aubrey are also cool characters. However Russel Crowe and Paul bethney mutilated both the characters and the atmosphere. An atrocious lack of appreciation for the subtler qualities of the novels.