Terry McCarthy (1)

The Sword of Hannibal is a pretty standard military fiction set in the ancient past. There is a hero who does, well, heroic things. There are Improbable schemes, unlikely situations, and lots of over-the-top action that tests the reader's ability to have their disbelief suspended.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you are looking for some sort of in-depth look at the war in question (Second Punic War and Hannibal's march across the Alps) you won't quite find it here. This reads more like an action adventure novel that just so happens to take place during this time period. There are nonfictional sections (usually a paragraph or two) dedicated to informing the reader about the war in question at the end of each chapter, which were nice, but they mostly feel tacked on. The book could have just about any setting and the story would still remain intact.

The story itself is about a mercenary who finds himself joining with a band of Asturians on a search and rescue mission. He struggles to maintain a professional relationship with a group of people he quickly becomes friends with, kills a bunch of people (naturally), and develops a romantic relationship which is about as believable any other romantic subplot you'll find in similar books.

So, what can I say? It's good for what it is intended, and if you can look at the cover and honestly say 'that looks interesting' then heck, you'll probably like it. I did, and I did. If you're looking for action, the book is serviceable I suppose. It's not really much more than that, however. 3 stars.… (meer)