Rating: 
Summary: An In Depth Exploration of an Alternate History
Review: 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. 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.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Idea, Average Execution
Review: In John Maddox Roberts' world, Phillip of Macedon stopped dithering around and sent reinforcements to Hannibal, giving Hannibal the numeric superiority he needed to force Rome's surrender. Hannibal - implausibly - gives the Roman's the option of exile. Over one hundred years later a once-again powerful Rome seeks to return to the Mediterranean. Other than Hannibal's gaffe, Roberts' vision rings true in nearly every respect. One cannot help but believe that this exactly how the western world would have looked after a Punic victory. Unfortunately, Roberts' prose is average at best and at times plodding: the Grisham of alternative history novels, if you will. Some maps, any maps, would have been helpful also, especially for picturing the extent of the Roman Norican empire. Overall, Hannibal's Children is an amusing tale but by no means fine literature.
Rating: 
Summary: great book, dying for the sequel
Review: John Maddox Roberts did an ubelievable job at building up the suspense for the oncoming war between Rome and Carthage. This book ceases to bore me. My only problem was the little obsession between Marcus Scipio and the School of Archimides. I mean it was an interesting way to help in the defense of Alexandria, but it really wasnt necessary in my opinion. This series will be awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the read if you're interested in the subject, But..
Review: Not too much more. Several levels below the McCollough series in detail, authenticity and character development. I agree with the previous reviewers about the mono-dimensional characters and de-fanged Carthage. My biggest complaint is the clumsy depiction of the antagonist, Norbanus. It severely detracts from the story. I will read the next book in the series; However.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read
Review: Once again John Maddox Roberts displays his extensive knowledge of ancient Rome (like in the SPQR series), and in this book Carthage as well. In this alternate Earth, unlike our own, Hannibal gets assistance from Philip V of Macedon during the Second Punic War and forces Rome to conditionally surrender. Rome's leaders agree to emigrate north out of Italy into the Roman province of Noricum: comprising most of present day Austria and bits of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The plot is revenge. After 115 years of forced exile the descendants of the Romans feel the time is right to send an expedition into the Italian penisula and down to Rome. The leader of the expedition is Marcus Cornelius Scipio, whose ancestor Scipio Africanus ultimately defeated Hannibal in actual history. The Roman party then visits the cities of Carthage and Alexandria and partakes in a war between the Carthaginian Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt. This book is very interesting and I found it quite a page-turner. Maddox gives eloquent descriptions of the gods of the Roman pantheon, as well as those of many Eastern religions (Carthage and Egypt's). The reader is also given thorough explanations of Roman military tactics and warfare in general from that era. In all, the book is quite informative. My only problems with this historical fiction novel are the development of the protagonist (M. Scipio) and the antagonist Titus Norbanus. Titus is descended from a Germanic tribe that is absorbed into the population of Roma Noricum. The Norbanus family is one of the "new" patrician families in the Senate who are at odds with the "old" patrician families that migrated from Rome, such as the Scipios. The author grants Marcus Scipio with all the virtues that Romans were noted for, while Titus is an incidious compilation of Marius, Sulla, and Caesar. I found these two characters simliar to John Maddox Robert's "Islander" fantasy series in that: the good guy is too good to be true, and the villain is so obnoxious that the reader (this one anyway) wishes that somebody would simply strangle the antagonist and remove him from the story. Further, I found the authority that the Senate gives Titus Norbanus not to be credible in the slightest degree. The author knows that Romans during the Republic were required to serve two magisterial positions and have some actual military experience before they are given the command that Titus gets, no matter how influential his family is. John Maddox Roberts glosses over this problem by saying that these were extraordinary circumstances, but that is poor justification in my opinion. All in all, I highly recommend this book and will definitely read the next book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: fascinating alternate history
Review: Rome and Carthage went to war three times with Rome defeating her enemy the first and third time but in the second Punic war, the armies led by Hannibal won heavy victories against her enemy. Rome had to rebuild her army to finally crush Carthage. On an alternate Earth, in the second Punic war, Carthage is poised at the gates of the city of Rome, ready to destroy the city if the Romans don't surrender.
When a party of Romans go out to negotiate with Hannibal, he gives them a chance to survive if they accept exile. The people vote to acquiesce to the Carthaginian terms, but vow to return one day to reclaim their land and beloved city. One hundred and fifteen years later, the exiles have created another mighty empire called Rome Norricum and are ready to fight Carthage one more. They send out a small war party disguised as a trade expedition to see what they will have to face when they try to reclaim what was once was theirs.
John Maddox Roberts, the author of the historical series SPQR, has written a fascinating alternate history novel in which the exiled Romans conquer the land around the Danube River. The reader is immersed in the culture of Rome as seen through the eyes of Tribune commander Marcus Scipo. Marcus, the hero of this novel, is a very sensitive man in touch with his feelings and he is the reason readers will want to read the next book in the series. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Eternal Rome in an Alternate World
Review: Rome's rise from a tiny group of clans to a vast empire that endured for centuries has something inexorable about it. So it seemed to the Romans themselves when Virgil talked of destiny, to the Christians when Augustine proclaimed the empire divinely ordained, and to the barbarians who encircled and attacked it, yet always desired it. However you interpret Rome's history, the City's survival was on a knife's edge more than once. If the Etruscans had conquered the new Republic or Alexander the Great had turned west to Italy or Hannibal had led Carthage to victory, all of subsequent history would have been different. Or maybe it wouldn't have been? What if the Romans were exiled after the second war with Carthage and sent into exile, still a nation? That's the premise of Roberts' novel. The book is fun, fast paced, backed up with lots of historical knowledge and some interesting characters. I'd like to see a deeper sense of contingency and human imperfection in the sequel, with Roman soldiers who are not so perfect and undefeatable and with two main antagonists who are not so completely Good Guy vs. Bad Guy. But mainly I want to see how Roberts works things out. Will history resume along the lines we know, making the Mediterranean a Roman lake and the Hellenistic kingdoms Roman provinces? This book is good summer entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A good attempt at Alternative History
Review: The book starts off strong,with excellent military history details and good action,but the book is strongest when it focuses on the Roman people in exile and on the character Marcus Cornelius Scipio.Unfortunately the book doesn't develop the Carthaginians as strongly as the Romans,and the book completely loses steam when it reaches Egypt.Sadly the ending of the book leaves alot open and unfinished. The plot lines and characters hang all over the place,so much so,that it appears that the author suffered an appendicitus attack as he was working on the last chapter.I do recommend the book to anyone with an interest in Roman history,especially since he sets up the clash of cultures between Republican Romans and the Imperial Carthaginians very well.Too much emphasis was put on the Archimidean machinery however and not enough on the Library of Alexandria itself.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read, but...
Review: The central conceit of the book is intriguing but this is not a stand alone book. Mr. Roberts left himself plenty of room to write a series and it shows. This book does not have any sense of completion about it. The ending such as it is, consists mostly of plot hooks for at least one future book.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like this book...
Review: The Premise: In 216 B.C., the largest Roman army ever fielded is destroyed by the Carthaginian general Hannibal near the small town of Cannae. It was among the worst reverses in Roman history, and the estimated fifty thousand Roman dead (not casualties - dead) is a staggering number even in modern terms. Rome came back quickly, replenishing its legions and dispersing them throughout Italy to frustrate Hannibal's attempts to win allies. In the alternate history Roberts presents, Philip of Macedon, to whom Hannibal was allied, sends an invasion force to Italy. The Romans are forced, under the threat of this massive army, to leave Rome as a people, retiring north of the Alps. There they carve out a new empire among the Gallic tribes, though the old families recall an oath that was sworn to one day take back their sacred city. The story picks up in 100 B.C., and situations ensue. I wanted to enjoy this book. The Second Punic War fascinates me, and I was practically jumping for joy to read an alternate history whereby Hannibal won. To those familiar with the war, though it at times seemed close, total victory was all but impossible for Hannibal, for he had not the strength to take Rome. Like the Confederacy in the Civil War, Hannibal was facing an enemy with access to far more men, food, and equipment. Needless to say, I was curious. And I am thoroughly disappointed. The premise itself is implausible. Philip never came close to bringing over an army. If he had decided to in the wake of Hannibal's success at Cannae, it would have taken months upon months to assemble the forces he did in the novel. How could this force have been transferred so quickly following Cannae, which took place in August? By the end of the year Rome was standing on its own again, bristling with numerous, albeit inexperienced, legions. In addition, Fabius Maximus was dictator after the disaster at Trasimene in 217, not after Cannae. I must also disagree with Roberts' characterization of Scipio would-have-been Africanus, who is portrayed as little more than a brute, when he was anything but. The meat of the story itself I found rather dry. We get only a rare glimpse of Rome's vaunted legions, most of the novel take up with people talking about Carthage, or exclaiming that they'd heard rumors that the Romans yet lived. It quickly grows tiresome. I found it difficult to sympathize with Marcus Scipio, who would seem to the rest of the Romans to have turned traitor. I also find the easy granting of so much power to Norbanus a bit baffling. He is clearly being set up as a Marius/Sulla character, though only in his twenties. Marius and Sulla were both far older. The only aspect of that both the author and myself found interesting (i.e. he focused on it) concerned the inventions of Archimedes. Roberts put forth several ideas that should have been further explored. A map of the empire of Roma Noricum would have been nice. A better exploration of society, and how deep the rift between old and new families was, would have been nice. Giving Marcus Scipio flaws, or Titus Norbanus redeeming qualities, would have been nice. As the saying goes, there is nothing worse than a bad argument for a good idea.
| 
