Geordie Sharp
Encyclopedia
Geordie Sharp is a fictional character featured in a series of military novels written by Chris Ryan
. He is a Sergeant
in the British Special Air Service
(SAS), and appears in four of Ryan's best-selling works.
at the age of 16. When he eventually was badged a member of 22 Regiment Special Air Service
he felt as if his life had actually been worth living, through the best and worst of the times. But this begins to change when Sharp returns from the Gulf War
, severely wounded after an accident deep in Iraqi
-held territory which resulted in his brief internment as a Prisoner of War
.
Sharp begins to suffer from marriage problems when he is dispatched to Northern Ireland
to train with the SAS, but the problem becomes personal when his estranged wife is killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
and, nearly maddened with sorrow and rage, Geordie goes on a personal vendetta to hunt down the terrorists responsible, putting at risk his entire military career in the process.
He soons finds himself thrown into danger again when the PIRA attempts revenge by forcing Geordie to assassinate the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by threatening to murder his only son, Timothy Sharp.
A few years after this incident, Sharp is reassigned to Moscow
, supposedly to train a Spetnaz unit, although Geordie is secretly expected to plant nuclear explosives under The Kremlin while using the military as his cover. However, he goes on to compromise the entire operation by launching an unauthorized mission against the Chechen Mafia
, which leave several Russian gangsters dead. Moscow's Underworld is swift to retaliate, kidnapping two of Sharp's SAS contacts and getting control of the nuclear device. Although Geordie is quick to attempt a remedy of the situation before it spins out of control and causes a major international crisis, he finds himself reassigned again at the operations' end, this time to Southern Africa
.
Sharp's new post is Kamanga, a former British colony now prone to brutal tribal massacres. The corrupt dictatorship government is led by General Bakunda, a Kaswiri member of the majority northern tribe in Kamanga. The majority southern tribe, the Afundis, wages a brutal guerilla war against the regime under the direction of their unlikely leader: Gus Muende, Bakunda's former adopted son and an avowed Marxist of mixed European/African ancestry
. Geordie and seven other UK military operatives are asked to train one of Bakunda's anti-Afundi death squads, a special forces militia known as the Alpha Commando. Again, things go wrong on the operation's first week, when a member of the team driving a truck strikes and kills a local village boy. The Witch Doctor
in the region puts a curse on Sharp if he refuses to leave Kamanga immediately: Ten white people
shall die, and their blood will be on Geordie's head. In the days that follow, the curse comes horribly true: Two South Africans traveling with a German Namibian woman are killed in a plane crash which Sharp witnesses; the woman herself is saved but promptly reveals she is in the Afundis' employ and betrays Sharp to the rebels. One by one, several members of Sharp's team die: The first trampled by an elephant, a second cannibalized
by Gus Muende, and a third shot dead during a daring escape attempt. The next three next victims are local Afrikaner
mercenaries in the employ of a rogue private military corporation
: The first is executed by the Alpha Commando, the second is killed trying to help Sharp escape a rebel camp, and the third is thrown out of a helicopter by Geordie himself. The Alpha Commando promptly turn against Sharp and declare him and his team wanted criminals in Kamanga, due to the greed of a a major who believes they are in possession of a diamond stolen from a government mine.
It is eventually revealed that this diamond in question was hidden in the plane piloted by the Namibian woman and her companions when it crashed. She subsequently recovers it with Muende's help; the two, facing only inevitable defeat against Bakunda's army as it rapidly intensifies the fighting, decide to go into exile in Central America, dividing the proceeds of the diamond's sale. However, a vengeful Geordie tracks them down, and both are shot dead by a Kamangan soldier. This brings the figure of dead whites since the Witch Doctor's curse up to nine. While later attempting to stop the rebels from getting their hands on an old stockpile of Soviet warheads, Sharp is exposed to a near-fatal dose of radiation
.
He eventually flees Kamanga and soon afterwards learns he may have contracted Cancer
. This earns Sharp a discharge from the army, and he retires to Northern Ireland to live with his child. However, even here the Witch Doctor's curse haunts him; his son notes that if Geordie dies from his radiation exposure, the prediction would come true: He would be the tenth white man down.
Chris Ryan
Sergeant ‘Chris Ryan’ MM is the pseudonym of a former British Special Forces operative and soldier turned novelist...
. He is a Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in the British Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS), and appears in four of Ryan's best-selling works.
Fictional Character History
Geordie Sharp (born George Sharp) had an unhappy childhood which prompted him to join the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
at the age of 16. When he eventually was badged a member of 22 Regiment Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
he felt as if his life had actually been worth living, through the best and worst of the times. But this begins to change when Sharp returns from the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, severely wounded after an accident deep in Iraqi
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
-held territory which resulted in his brief internment as a Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Sharp begins to suffer from marriage problems when he is dispatched to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to train with the SAS, but the problem becomes personal when his estranged wife is killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
and, nearly maddened with sorrow and rage, Geordie goes on a personal vendetta to hunt down the terrorists responsible, putting at risk his entire military career in the process.
He soons finds himself thrown into danger again when the PIRA attempts revenge by forcing Geordie to assassinate the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by threatening to murder his only son, Timothy Sharp.
A few years after this incident, Sharp is reassigned to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, supposedly to train a Spetnaz unit, although Geordie is secretly expected to plant nuclear explosives under The Kremlin while using the military as his cover. However, he goes on to compromise the entire operation by launching an unauthorized mission against the Chechen Mafia
Chechen mafia
The Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...
, which leave several Russian gangsters dead. Moscow's Underworld is swift to retaliate, kidnapping two of Sharp's SAS contacts and getting control of the nuclear device. Although Geordie is quick to attempt a remedy of the situation before it spins out of control and causes a major international crisis, he finds himself reassigned again at the operations' end, this time to Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
.
Sharp's new post is Kamanga, a former British colony now prone to brutal tribal massacres. The corrupt dictatorship government is led by General Bakunda, a Kaswiri member of the majority northern tribe in Kamanga. The majority southern tribe, the Afundis, wages a brutal guerilla war against the regime under the direction of their unlikely leader: Gus Muende, Bakunda's former adopted son and an avowed Marxist of mixed European/African ancestry
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
. Geordie and seven other UK military operatives are asked to train one of Bakunda's anti-Afundi death squads, a special forces militia known as the Alpha Commando. Again, things go wrong on the operation's first week, when a member of the team driving a truck strikes and kills a local village boy. The Witch Doctor
Witch Doctor
"Witch Doctor" is a song written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., and released in 1958 by Liberty Records under the name David Seville, a character whom Bagdasarian portrayed.-Song information:...
in the region puts a curse on Sharp if he refuses to leave Kamanga immediately: Ten white people
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
shall die, and their blood will be on Geordie's head. In the days that follow, the curse comes horribly true: Two South Africans traveling with a German Namibian woman are killed in a plane crash which Sharp witnesses; the woman herself is saved but promptly reveals she is in the Afundis' employ and betrays Sharp to the rebels. One by one, several members of Sharp's team die: The first trampled by an elephant, a second cannibalized
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
by Gus Muende, and a third shot dead during a daring escape attempt. The next three next victims are local Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
mercenaries in the employ of a rogue private military corporation
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
: The first is executed by the Alpha Commando, the second is killed trying to help Sharp escape a rebel camp, and the third is thrown out of a helicopter by Geordie himself. The Alpha Commando promptly turn against Sharp and declare him and his team wanted criminals in Kamanga, due to the greed of a a major who believes they are in possession of a diamond stolen from a government mine.
It is eventually revealed that this diamond in question was hidden in the plane piloted by the Namibian woman and her companions when it crashed. She subsequently recovers it with Muende's help; the two, facing only inevitable defeat against Bakunda's army as it rapidly intensifies the fighting, decide to go into exile in Central America, dividing the proceeds of the diamond's sale. However, a vengeful Geordie tracks them down, and both are shot dead by a Kamangan soldier. This brings the figure of dead whites since the Witch Doctor's curse up to nine. While later attempting to stop the rebels from getting their hands on an old stockpile of Soviet warheads, Sharp is exposed to a near-fatal dose of radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
.
He eventually flees Kamanga and soon afterwards learns he may have contracted Cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. This earns Sharp a discharge from the army, and he retires to Northern Ireland to live with his child. However, even here the Witch Doctor's curse haunts him; his son notes that if Geordie dies from his radiation exposure, the prediction would come true: He would be the tenth white man down.
Geordie Sharp Stories
- Stand By, Stand By (1996)
- Zero Option (1997)
- The Kremlin Device (1998)
- Tenth Man Down (1999)