What do you think?
Rate this book
The War God's Men
264 B.C. For Rome, the road to empire begins at sea. But it is Carthage who rules the waves, and her generals in Sicily have already warned that Romans will not be allowed "to even wash their hands" in the water.
With no fleet of its own, Rome is nothing more than a regional upstart with delusions of grandeur. But with the domination of the Mediterranean world on her mind, Rome will do more than wash her hands. For when Rome and Carthage decide for war, all the ancient world will be washed in blood.
Dramatizing Rome's rise from obscurity to world power, The War God's Men follows the fortunes of common soldiers, generals and politicians alike. From the carnage of the battlefields of Sicily to the blood-soaked decks of great warships at sea to the gleaming halls of power in both Carthage and Rome, The War God's Men is an epic tale of an ancient world engulfed in flames.
Here you'll meet unforgettable Hannibal Gisgo, the beleaguered Carthaginian general, more at war with the powers in Carthage than the armies of Rome; Boodes, the aging politician who wants just one last shot at military glory; Gelon, the flamboyant Syracusan cavalry commander with a burning hatred for all things Rome; Archimedes, the famous mathematician who invents a secret weapon that will change the course of history; and Juba, the Numidian cavalryman whose thirst for vengeance propels him on an odyssey that takes him from bitter betrayal and alienation to the edge of madness itself.
With no fleet of its own, Rome is nothing more than a regional upstart with delusions of grandeur. But with the domination of the Mediterranean world on her mind, Rome will do more than wash her hands. For when Rome and Carthage decide for war, all the ancient world will be washed in blood.
Dramatizing Rome's rise from obscurity to world power, The War God's Men follows the fortunes of common soldiers, generals and politicians alike. From the carnage of the battlefields of Sicily to the blood-soaked decks of great warships at sea to the gleaming halls of power in both Carthage and Rome, The War God's Men is an epic tale of an ancient world engulfed in flames.
Here you'll meet unforgettable Hannibal Gisgo, the beleaguered Carthaginian general, more at war with the powers in Carthage than the armies of Rome; Boodes, the aging politician who wants just one last shot at military glory; Gelon, the flamboyant Syracusan cavalry commander with a burning hatred for all things Rome; Archimedes, the famous mathematician who invents a secret weapon that will change the course of history; and Juba, the Numidian cavalryman whose thirst for vengeance propels him on an odyssey that takes him from bitter betrayal and alienation to the edge of madness itself.
557 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2011
7 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2011
A Good Book Alert Review (http://goodbookalert.blogspot.com/)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars
The War God's Men brings the initial years of the First Punic War to life in epic detail.
Summary:
Rome. Carthage. The two great powers have been destined to clash over control of the Mediterranean. On the island of Sicily, the beginning of the brutal First Punic War will spill the blood of thousands.
Review:
The War God's Men manages the Herculean task of exploring every major aspect that influenced ancient Roman and Carthaginian warfare, while still providing an engaging story. The author wisely restricted himself to only the initial years of the First Punic War, but the huge number of major events in that period provide more than enough interesting narrative fodder.
The novel uses a number of different points-of-view to give readers a greater perspective of the war on a number of levels. While this works for the most part, I felt the author perhaps should have reigned himself in a bit. With all these different POVs, it was a bit harder to engage with individual characters on occasion, thus robbing the narrative of some the potential dramatic and emotional impact.
This particular weakness is somewhat unfortunate because the author demonstrated he was capable of delivering a completely satisfying, engaging character arc in the character of a Numidian cavalryman, Juba. Despite all the Roman consuls and famous engineers floating around the narrative, Juba's strong character development and progression make his chapters more compelling than many of the ones featuring famous Romans and Carthaginians.
Given the author's willingness to use multiple POVs, I was slightly disappointed to not see a sustained lower-ranking Roman character POV. The events of this novel precede the Marian reforms that would transform the Roman military (and ultimately the Roman society). The addition of such a character would have allowed some interesting exploration of the mind set of a true legionary of the Republic, rather than the imperial legionaries that often dominate our modern thinking on Rome.
Land warfare, siege warfare, the importance of calvary, logistics, and even some of the politics of Rome and Carthage are explored in The War God's Men. Students of ancient history will particularly enjoy the dramatization of the the rise of the Roman fleet.
Even if a reader is not a student of ancient history, the well-rendered battle scenes make for a exciting read. As this book covers two clashing major armies, many of the battles have an epic, cinematic feel to them.
I was particularly impressed how the author managed to often display the superiority of certain types of tactics and military units without dragging the narrative down with too much exposition. Given that ancient Roman-era warfare is often just depicted as nothing more than men mindlessly charging into each other (e.g., the opening scenes of Ridley Scott's Gladiator), I was very pleased to see the author's very historically-grounded depiction.
In general, the author's restraint strengthened the narrative. The reader may not learn every last detail of how the Roman maniple formation worked, for instance, but they will come away from this book knowing why it's generally better than a phalanx. I will note that the author's obvious enthusiasm and knowledge for the period perhaps got the better of him in some of the naval portions, where there were a few scenes that came off a bit more educational than dramatic.
The author has an obvious and thorough command of his ancient Roman history. There are some deviations and slight timeline changes in the novel, but nothing serious. There were also a few times when he, for dramatic purposes, inserted a historical personage, such as Archimedes, into certain key events without a firm historical basis for their inclusion. Most of these cases are mostly a matter of filling in details and blank spots in the lives of these ancient men. After all, detailed biographical notes from people who died over two-thousand years ago often have more than a few holes.
These minor changes and extrapolations, for the most part, enhance the narrative, including the creation of a few completely fictional characters inserted into some of the key roles in the narrative. To the author's credit, his appendices lay out what sources he used, what deviations he made from history, why he made certain dramatic choices, and what logic he used when dealing with competing sources.
Anyone who wants to experience the chaos of the initial years of the First Punic War should checkout The War God's Men.
4 Stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars
The War God's Men brings the initial years of the First Punic War to life in epic detail.
Summary:
Rome. Carthage. The two great powers have been destined to clash over control of the Mediterranean. On the island of Sicily, the beginning of the brutal First Punic War will spill the blood of thousands.
Review:
The War God's Men manages the Herculean task of exploring every major aspect that influenced ancient Roman and Carthaginian warfare, while still providing an engaging story. The author wisely restricted himself to only the initial years of the First Punic War, but the huge number of major events in that period provide more than enough interesting narrative fodder.
The novel uses a number of different points-of-view to give readers a greater perspective of the war on a number of levels. While this works for the most part, I felt the author perhaps should have reigned himself in a bit. With all these different POVs, it was a bit harder to engage with individual characters on occasion, thus robbing the narrative of some the potential dramatic and emotional impact.
This particular weakness is somewhat unfortunate because the author demonstrated he was capable of delivering a completely satisfying, engaging character arc in the character of a Numidian cavalryman, Juba. Despite all the Roman consuls and famous engineers floating around the narrative, Juba's strong character development and progression make his chapters more compelling than many of the ones featuring famous Romans and Carthaginians.
Given the author's willingness to use multiple POVs, I was slightly disappointed to not see a sustained lower-ranking Roman character POV. The events of this novel precede the Marian reforms that would transform the Roman military (and ultimately the Roman society). The addition of such a character would have allowed some interesting exploration of the mind set of a true legionary of the Republic, rather than the imperial legionaries that often dominate our modern thinking on Rome.
Land warfare, siege warfare, the importance of calvary, logistics, and even some of the politics of Rome and Carthage are explored in The War God's Men. Students of ancient history will particularly enjoy the dramatization of the the rise of the Roman fleet.
Even if a reader is not a student of ancient history, the well-rendered battle scenes make for a exciting read. As this book covers two clashing major armies, many of the battles have an epic, cinematic feel to them.
I was particularly impressed how the author managed to often display the superiority of certain types of tactics and military units without dragging the narrative down with too much exposition. Given that ancient Roman-era warfare is often just depicted as nothing more than men mindlessly charging into each other (e.g., the opening scenes of Ridley Scott's Gladiator), I was very pleased to see the author's very historically-grounded depiction.
In general, the author's restraint strengthened the narrative. The reader may not learn every last detail of how the Roman maniple formation worked, for instance, but they will come away from this book knowing why it's generally better than a phalanx. I will note that the author's obvious enthusiasm and knowledge for the period perhaps got the better of him in some of the naval portions, where there were a few scenes that came off a bit more educational than dramatic.
The author has an obvious and thorough command of his ancient Roman history. There are some deviations and slight timeline changes in the novel, but nothing serious. There were also a few times when he, for dramatic purposes, inserted a historical personage, such as Archimedes, into certain key events without a firm historical basis for their inclusion. Most of these cases are mostly a matter of filling in details and blank spots in the lives of these ancient men. After all, detailed biographical notes from people who died over two-thousand years ago often have more than a few holes.
These minor changes and extrapolations, for the most part, enhance the narrative, including the creation of a few completely fictional characters inserted into some of the key roles in the narrative. To the author's credit, his appendices lay out what sources he used, what deviations he made from history, why he made certain dramatic choices, and what logic he used when dealing with competing sources.
Anyone who wants to experience the chaos of the initial years of the First Punic War should checkout The War God's Men.
4 Stars
May 5, 2012
Even though I'm into fantasy, historical fiction has always been a huge influence, in part because there is quite an overlap in many of the ways that matter. Both tell stories that take place in worlds which do not exist, the main difference being that with historical fiction it's a world that was was in the past, while fantasy is set in a world that never was and never could be.
With that in mind, THE WAR GODS MEN is a solid entry that should appeal to readers looking for a fast paced tale of war, betrayal and bloodshed that will satisfy fans of both Robert E. Howard and Bernard Cornwell, and should prove especially appealing to those with an interest in stories set in the glory that was Ancient Rome. Most Roman historical tales focus either on the era of Julius Caesar and the Fall of the Republic, or on the final Collapse of the Empire four centuries afterward. David Ross Erickson's story instead places it;s focus on an era usually ignored by readers and writers – the First Punic War.
When most people think of Rome's struggle with Carthage, they think of Hannibal and his elephants crossing the alps and the titanic Roman defeat at Cannae. THE WAR GODS MEN is set a generation earlier, when Carthage was the dominant power in the Mediterranean and Rome merely an Italian upstart with no navy to speak it. Several narrative threads are woven together, the main one being that of Juba, a Numidian cavalryman in service to the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal Gisgo (a different man with the same name.) The action begins at the city of Acragas in Sicily, where a Roman army is besieging the Carthaginian garrison. After seeing one of his men crucified at the city gate by Hannibal Gisgo, Juba swears vengeance, embarking on a long strange journey that see's him fighting on no less than three separate sides. Meanwhile, the Roman Consul Scipio has recovered an abandoned Carthaginian warship, which the Romans use as a template to construct their own war fleet. Having little experience with fighting at sea, they enlist the help of the ancient genius Archimedes to design a new weapon that will even the odds with their enemies in naval battle.
Erickson is a talented writer, and the story flows well. The level of historical detail is quite high and the characters well rounded, giving the impression that they were actually living in their period. That said, I do wish the author had explained more – the reader is dropped right into the story, and immediately surrounded by numerous characters and historical facts without much in the way of context. More than once I found myself asking “who are these people?” and logging onto Wikipedia to find out. Also, the narrative is a bit off-putting. The plot basically follows the fortunes of Juba, Hannibal Gisgo and Scipio over the course of several years without weaving them into some sort of larger plot, more like a documentary about ancient warriors than a traditional story. The book ends every abruptly with a “the battle shall continue” set-up and no sense of resolution for two of the main characters, suggesting this is merely the first part of a larger series.
Still, the good parts of the story balance out the bad. The characters were compelling, and Erickson's level of historical knowledge, and the sheer joy he takes in exploring this ancient conflict, comes through with every word. A good read, all things considered.
With that in mind, THE WAR GODS MEN is a solid entry that should appeal to readers looking for a fast paced tale of war, betrayal and bloodshed that will satisfy fans of both Robert E. Howard and Bernard Cornwell, and should prove especially appealing to those with an interest in stories set in the glory that was Ancient Rome. Most Roman historical tales focus either on the era of Julius Caesar and the Fall of the Republic, or on the final Collapse of the Empire four centuries afterward. David Ross Erickson's story instead places it;s focus on an era usually ignored by readers and writers – the First Punic War.
When most people think of Rome's struggle with Carthage, they think of Hannibal and his elephants crossing the alps and the titanic Roman defeat at Cannae. THE WAR GODS MEN is set a generation earlier, when Carthage was the dominant power in the Mediterranean and Rome merely an Italian upstart with no navy to speak it. Several narrative threads are woven together, the main one being that of Juba, a Numidian cavalryman in service to the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal Gisgo (a different man with the same name.) The action begins at the city of Acragas in Sicily, where a Roman army is besieging the Carthaginian garrison. After seeing one of his men crucified at the city gate by Hannibal Gisgo, Juba swears vengeance, embarking on a long strange journey that see's him fighting on no less than three separate sides. Meanwhile, the Roman Consul Scipio has recovered an abandoned Carthaginian warship, which the Romans use as a template to construct their own war fleet. Having little experience with fighting at sea, they enlist the help of the ancient genius Archimedes to design a new weapon that will even the odds with their enemies in naval battle.
Erickson is a talented writer, and the story flows well. The level of historical detail is quite high and the characters well rounded, giving the impression that they were actually living in their period. That said, I do wish the author had explained more – the reader is dropped right into the story, and immediately surrounded by numerous characters and historical facts without much in the way of context. More than once I found myself asking “who are these people?” and logging onto Wikipedia to find out. Also, the narrative is a bit off-putting. The plot basically follows the fortunes of Juba, Hannibal Gisgo and Scipio over the course of several years without weaving them into some sort of larger plot, more like a documentary about ancient warriors than a traditional story. The book ends every abruptly with a “the battle shall continue” set-up and no sense of resolution for two of the main characters, suggesting this is merely the first part of a larger series.
Still, the good parts of the story balance out the bad. The characters were compelling, and Erickson's level of historical knowledge, and the sheer joy he takes in exploring this ancient conflict, comes through with every word. A good read, all things considered.
September 7, 2011
The War God's Men is a dramatized account of the events surrounding the First Punic War between ancient Rome and Carthage. As a long-time Latin student fascinated with Roman history, the concept of this book truly appealed to me. Both historical and fictional characters and events were blended within the story with some slight deviations from generally accepted historical timelines and events. But, considering that ancient history is often in conflict, these changes were very slight and generally served to fill in missing time or events in the stories being told.
The book was told from several different points of views, something I really enjoyed as it told the story from all sides as opposed to the usual narrative from only one side. The author clearly knows his history and it showed in the details of the campaigns, the characters, the events, the logistics, and the politics of the time. There were times were some of the battles depicted felt more educational in nature than entertaining, but it wasn't overwhelmingly so.
This is definitely a book that would be enjoyed by anyone who is into ancient history.
The book was told from several different points of views, something I really enjoyed as it told the story from all sides as opposed to the usual narrative from only one side. The author clearly knows his history and it showed in the details of the campaigns, the characters, the events, the logistics, and the politics of the time. There were times were some of the battles depicted felt more educational in nature than entertaining, but it wasn't overwhelmingly so.
This is definitely a book that would be enjoyed by anyone who is into ancient history.
March 26, 2013
Entertaining Historical Fiction from the 1st Punic War
November 5, 2013
Good Historical fiction of Ancient Rome
July 1, 2012
A good beach/summer read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews