I hope its not rude to say this book was a pleasant surprise to me.
Well written and researched, engaging characters and of course set in one of the most bloodthirsty times of the ancient world (and that’s saying something), throw that all together and you have a fantastic story.
The war between Rome and Carthage has been covered before in historical fiction, most notably I guess by Ben Kane and his Hannibal series. There are a couple of similarities, the obvious one being the thrust of the plot is driven by the Carthaginian soldiers, rather than Roman, who most authors seem to focus on.
I am familiar with the period and the history of the war, and that made the story all the more enjoyable. The battle scenes are well written and vivid descriptions really bring the action to life, though I think my favourite sections, as they often are, were the building of relationships between the soldiers, the vigour’s of life on the march, the brutality of a long campaign.
This is I believe, the fourth book in a series, I have not read the first three, but even so I slipped effortlessly into the story, anything integral I have missed described in enough detail for me to get the gist. I shall certainly be seeking the fifth (he says, hoping there will be a fifth)
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