By John Maddox Roberts
Ace Books
Hardcover

In Hannibal's Children, John Maddox Roberts presents a story of alternate history that branches from reality during the second Punic War by allowing Hannibal to be victorious over the Romans, casting them from their great city and sending them north into Europe and exile. In a society that has difficulty in remembering lessons from one generation past, his prologue provides the necessary historic background.

Without knowing what really happened, it would be difficult to determine where the changes lay. Roberts presents the facts in a manner that is compelling and concise.

Even though the majority of this story takes place a hundred years after Hannibal's war on Rome, Roberts provides very little in the prologue for comparison between historical reality and alternate fiction. Of course, all of the Carthaginians are fictitious due to the fact that Carthage was utterly destroyed during the third Punic War. However, it is an open question about how many of the other characters in this alternate history are based on real historical figures.

Hannibal's Children Excerpt "The Walls!" somebody said with a sob in his voice. The great, ancient wall was reduced in places to rubble, only small sections still standing to their full height. "What did you expect?" Titus Norbanus said. "Hannibal would never leave a strongly fortified enemy city within his domains, any more than we would. He pulled the walls down, so we will build them up again." "That we will," Marcus affirmed. "Come on, let's go see what the Carthaginians left us." ©2002 John Maddox Roberts Published with permission from Ace Books

Even without a complete historical comparison Hannibal's Children, is a compelling novel. Being that this is an alternate history, it is hardly a foregone conclusion that the exiled Romans will succeed in retaking their homeland. Still, seeing these Romans operate with such mechanical precision makes it all the more amazing that they could ever have lost to Hannibal, no matter how brilliant a general he was.

Even as they operate together with mechanical precision for the greater good of Rome, each Roman stands out with a distinct personality. Marcus Scipio, brilliant leader of an expedition to Rome, and descendant of native Romans strives to manipulate whole nations to put Romans back in Rome.

Titus Nabonus, descendant of northern barbarians conquered by the exiled Romans, faces the decadent temptations of Carthage as he seeks glory not only for Rome, but for himself. Flaccus, an elder intellectual Roman who has little love for battle, faces his own temptation at the seat of Egyptian learning. These and other characters come to life through the simple and direct writing of Mr. Roberts.

This entire book is the first portion of a greater piece. The Romans set into motion a chain of events that will affect all of the Mediterranean civilizations during the first century before the birth of Christ. Despite the difficulty in discerning history fact from fiction, if the following books prove to be as compelling as this first book, John Maddox Roberts will have created a masterpiece.

Bookworm's Briefing
Hannibal's Children, is a compelling and challenging study in the rise of Romans after Hannibal defeated them in 215 BC. John Maddox Roberts lives in New Mexico where he is writing the eagerly anticipate book, The Seven Hills, which continues this tale.