Rating: 
Summary: It plods....
Review: Alternate history is such a strange beast, full of windy unresolvable what might have beens. Ancient Rome has attracted its share of modern writers, speculating about its nemeses. And of these, none came closer to destroying Rome than Carthage. (With the exception of Rome's ultimate collapse in the 5th century to the Huns.) In the first and second Punic Wars, Rome was locked in a death dance with Carthage, whose greatest leader, Hannibal is remembered to this day. Several years ago, Poul Anderson wrote a novelette, "Delenda Est", invoking time travelling terrorists who use ray guns to put Carthage victorious. The result is an Earth utterly unlike ours.John Maddox Roberts chooses a different tack. Through the vagaries of the second Punic War, Hannibal crushes the Romans and forces them to migrate north. Hannibal's victory is not implausible. That war was a close run thing, to those who have read of it. All this is the prelude to the novel, set a century later. The Romans have conquered in central Europe, and are pushing back into Italy, thirsting for revenge. Some of you science fiction readers may notice the resemblance thus far to S M Stirling's "The Chosen". In that, a warlike people get defeated and forced into exile. But generations later, they have rearmed and are back for a rematch. The contrasts are interesting. Stirling's Chosen are the bad fellows (proto-Draka), while Roberts' Romans are our heroes. The Chosen and the Romans have a better military, and chalk up many successes. But somehow this novel plods. Technically each section of a chapter is ok. But something is missing. The Carthaginians seem more foolish than bad. The Romans effortlessly outthink and outfight their opponents, who are not actually Carthaginians in this novel, but Egyptians. The protagonists are almost cartoonish cardboards. Very little nuancing here. Clearly, a sequel is planned. Perhaps it will be more compelling.
Rating:
Summary: The more things change, the more they stay the same
Review: An interesting, if somewhat implausible, alternate historical novel. Unfortunately, Hannibal and the original Roman defeat - perhaps the most intriguing and interesting part of the story, and certainly ones which drew in many readers - are dealt with curtly in the first chapter. After that, the book skips forward over a hundred years, to characters we don't know and never really come to care about.
The climax of the book - in which Roberts seems to be trying to evoke Antony and Cleopatra's battle of Actium (Roman general and his Egyptian queen vs. Rome and, in this case, Carthage) - is stirring, but I wish Roberts had more confidence in it. Every character involved is constantly dismissing the Egypt-Carthage war as a routine, not-particularly important campaign. No one really seems to stand much to lose, thus the reader doesn't really care who wins.
My biggest beef is that the alternative history in this book is either a) absurdly improbable, or b) not really all that different from the way things actually turned out.
Rating:
Summary: Almost as Good as it Sounds
Review: Based on such a fascinating premise ("what if?") this books is bound to captivate the reader right off the bat. What the Romans accomplished in the North, how they adopted to the changes in their environment, how the rest of the world was affected by the power vacuum.. Unfortunatelly, the author seems to lack the attention span to delve deep enough into such detail. So the story moves along at a slightly rushed pace. We are only allowed glimses of Nordicum or post-Hannibal Italy. The characters suffer similarly: we get only a sketchy impression of both the hero and the main antagonist, to the point that at times their actions seem a bit innexplicable. I would disagree with fellow reviewers that the antagonist's persona is implausible, but I will agree that we were never quite shown why he is behaving the way he is. Other than that, the bulk of the book is very entertaining and at times rather insightful on the social and military structures of the era. The fast pace is also quite captivating and the technological "what if"s equally intriguing. I will also admit that the characters, cartoony as the may appear, they are certainly fascinating and "cool", in a Gladiator kind-of-way. Indeed, this entire novel feels like a Hollywood script, with beatifyl sets and masculine heros. The only other problem was the ending. The story ends quite abruptly I felt, most likely in anticipation of a sequel. I would have prefered a much longer first installment myself, but if there is a series I would follow it nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Much to look forward to, but without submarines please
Review: Hannibal defeats Rome and drives her people into exile but they make a MacArthur-style vow. 115 years later the Romans send an exploration party to their ancestral lands and things start to happen. Alternative history usually prefers to play with scenarios much closer to our present time, so it is an interesting idea to go back 2200 years and then go fast forward again. Now all the events of the civil war between Marius and Sulla, but also between Caesar and Pompeius, the third Punic war, the Roman expansion in the east,... can be packed into one generation and one set of protagonists. Part of the fun for the reader is to guess which particular event is played out a little bit different now. This could become a series with the potential for much fun. If the SPQR-series is a yard-stick then there is much to look forward to.
I just hope that Roberts can rein in his enthusiasm for Alexandrian inventions. There is no need for submarines in ancient times to make a story more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Rome is back
Review: Hannibal's Children is an excellent work of alternative history. His Roman characters show the complex mix of patriotism and backstabbing ambitions that made the Roman Republic master of the world (well a good chunk of it) in our timeline. His new Cleopatra is also excellent. The Carthagians were less convincing, simply coniniving rich folks with little competence. That future for a victorious Carthage is credible but it made the story less interesting. The new mechanical technology of the Archmidians was a bit much, I mean a submarine in the first century??
All around it was an excellent book, lots of good action and credible historical detail.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent alternative history
Review: HIstory tells us that Hannibal got to the gates of Rome in the Second Punic War, threw a spear over the Colline gate, then headed south into Campagnia.
In this retelling JMR has Hannibal ready to destroy Rome but offers a third option - national exile.
Fabius Maximus - who seems to argue both sides at one point, rather confusingly - and the Senate agree and Rome leaves the fabled Seven Hills (the forthcoming title of the very necessary sequel to this excellent novel) heading north to Transalpine Gaul to found Roma Noricum.
The novel moves forward just over a hundred years (Hannibal's arrival at Rome was around 205 B.C.), focusing on the efforts of one Marcus Cornelius Scipio (tag on the Africanus and you get the son/grandson of the original victor of the Third Punic War in true history) who is dictated to lead a delegation south towards Carthage to ascertain the ease with which the new Spartan-ethic Roman legions can reclaim the Seven Hills and launch an attack on Carthage itself.
History has now truly diverged and Scipio finds himself and his band of merry men heading to Carthage as guest of governor Hamilcar to meet the Shofet and his Tanit-priestess sister. At this point we get diversion into the customary love interest with both her and then later, the Queen of Eygpt, Selene. Throw in a bitterly ambitious second-in-command, Norbanus (from the Noricum nobility opposed to Scipio's old Rome patrician nobility), who then surprises everyone with his military ability, some familiar figures from history - Archimedes being the most prominent in name, though not in presence - and you get a rip-roaring move through North Africa under the Cathaginian Empire. Which in itself rather resembles an exotic version of the later Roman empire in real history. Nevertheless, Carthage attacks Alexandria, Scipio gets to use some great new weapons (the Alexandrian philosophers get very agitated at this - echoing SQPR III), the Romans get to really see the miltary might of Carthage and in the meantime recapture both Italy and Sicily.
The novel concludes with the kingly ambition of Norbanus developed ready to range through North Africa with four legions - echoes of Pompey - , Scipio in Alexandria being propositioned to become a king by Selene - echoes of Marc Anthony - and the Romans back in Rome. All of which neatly sets up the next novel.
You can't help comparing this to that great alternative historical novelist - S M Stirling, but, on the whole, this is a fine reinterpretation. I'll definitely read the next one.
Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. JMR is impressively knowledgeable about Roman military/history and presents it in an excellent alternate history. I agree with the reviewer from Knoxville- I wish there had been a little more humanitty in the characters, but assume that will come with the succeeding books (I can't wait!!) The character Marcus Scipio reminds me of Decius (SPQR series) minus the tongue in cheek humour and the awareness of human imperfection. All in all, Mr. Maddox brings to life a world dead two and a half milennia and invests the characters with so much humanity that we feel a connection to Scipio and Norbanus as well as the centurions and the "boys". Excellent!!
Rating:
Summary: Clever alternative view of history
Review: I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this at first despite being a huge fan of the SPQR series. It took a while to get started but John Maddox Roberts knows his history and he has really thought through this alternate version, constructing a very 'real' world. Pretty soon I was completely caught up in the story and all I want to know now is when the next book in the series is due out, because I want to know what happens next.
And when you think about it - you can't ask more of a series-opener like this, can you?
Rating:
Summary: Clever alternative view of history
Review: I'm not sure what some of the other reviewers expect, 800 pages of character development and dialogue or far more of the focus on the Carthaginians when the Romans are really the focus of the story. Extremely well researched and the research is presented in a meaningful, interesting way that develops the tale (rather than just "see all the facts I learned today about Rome!". It's actually a richer plot and story with better character development than most speculative or historical fiction so I'm not sure what paragons or perhaps other genres are being used as a yardstick here. Readers who enjoy Harry Turtledove, David Drake, S.M. Stirling, and Eric Flint will enjoy this author as well. It makes you think, it makes you wonder, and most important of all it keeps you always asking "what's next?"
Let's hope for a couple of sequels.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly conceived and well executed, great read
Review: I'm not sure what some of the other reviewers expect, 800 pages of character development and dialogue or far more of the focus on the Carthaginians when the Romans are really the focus of the story. Extremely well researched and the research is presented in a meaningful, interesting way that develops the tale (rather than just "see all the facts I learned today about Rome!". It's actually a richer plot and story with better character development than most speculative or historical fiction so I'm not sure what paragons or perhaps other genres are being used as a yardstick here. Readers who enjoy Harry Turtledove, David Drake, S.M. Stirling, and Eric Flint will enjoy this author as well. It makes you think, it makes you wonder, and most important of all it keeps you always asking "what's next?"
Let's hope for a couple of sequels.
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