Hannibal: Fields of Blood

Hannibal #2

by Ben Kane

The killing fields of Cannae provide the setting for one of the bloodiest battles in history. But who will triumph? Hannibal and his warrior army, or the mighty legions of Rome. By the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Legion trilogy.

Hannibal's campaign to defeat Rome continues as he marches south to confront his enemy. With him is a young soldier, Hanno.

Like his general, Hanno burns to vanquish Rome. Never has the possibility seemed so likely.

But a stealthy game of cat and mouse is being played as Rome's generals seek to avoid confrontation.

Eventually the two armies meet under a fierce summer sun. The place is Cannae - the fields of blood.

The battle will go down in history as one of the bloodiest ever fought, a battle in which Hanno knows he must fight as never before - just to stay alive.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, War, Roman, Military Fiction, Audiobook

528 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

About the author

Ben Kane is a bestselling Roman author and former veterinarian. He was born in Kenya and grew up in Ireland (where his parents are from). He has traveled widely and is a lifelong student of military history in general, and Roman history in particular. He lives in North Somerset, England, with his family.

Reviews

[Javir11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

Me ha gustado un poco menos que el anterior y de hecho ha habido un momento que hasta se me hizo algo pesado, situación que nunca me había pasado con este autor. Por fortuna al final remonta bastante y se queda con 4 estrellas, aunque como digo no ha estado lejos de quedarse solo con 3.

Con respecto a la historia en si, la narración se centra en los preámbulos y el desenlace de la batalla de Cannas, una de las mayores, sino la mayor, derrota de toda la historia de la República/Imperio Romano, suponiendo un gran cambio en la formación y la estructura militar romana, la cual se volvió con el paso de los años mucho más profesional.

Los personajes protagonistas son los mismos que en los libros anteriores, por lo que podremos tener POV desde el lado romano, como desde el lado cartaginés. En ese aspecto no tengo demasiada queja. El problema en mi caso ha venido con el exceso de protagonismo de uno de los personajes, y sus idas y venidas amorosas, que lo cierto es que me han interesado entre nada y menos y cuyo aporte a la novela era prescindible.

La narración en general cumple bien, salvo a mitad de la novela que pierde ritmo por culpa de alguna de las tramas secundarias ya mencionadas con anterioridad, pero por fortuna remonta bien al final y se nos ofrece una buena recreación de la gran batalla, sin que esta llegue a hacerse muy pesada para el lector, al estar centrada sobre todo en los dos protagonistas.

Continuaré con el tercer libro, pero es cierto que por ahora esta trilogía está un peldaño por debajo de otras que he leído de su autor, aunque obviamente sigo disfrutando las lecturas, sino las dejaría de lado.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a while but been watching documentaries about Spain & her origins so this series came back to the fore after a long hiatus.

So its the BBC’s fault...... it made me pick this series up after 3years......

DNF at around 150 pages

Why?

At the end of the last book we had finally got onto Hannibal so I was hoping for more of him from the get-go....... BUT......... We start with chapters about Hanno, then Quintus & finally Aurelia....... the yoofs from the prior book are back & its their lives/tribulations (such as teenage whims be) that we follow & not the advertised Hannibal which I was kinda hoping it would switch across to in the second of the series after how book 1 finished..... it is an ok read despite many cringeworthy passages when it comes to Aurelia but we at least get the prospective views of life under Rome/Carthage from two albeit impetuous (trying to prove their worth & then some) yoofs, who are in reality friends despite being master & former slave, on the eve of Hannibal’s march through Roman territories proper after the battle of The Trebia in 218BC.

It’s amiable enough in a YA sort of way, although I could really have done without the woes & loves of a 15 year old teenage girl. I’m not going to finish this trilogy as the story of the trio doesn’t really interest me.... & so I wrapped my hand in at the 150pages mark. What I shall do is search out a book/series which captures Hannibal’s tale from his viewpoint & not some teenage kids of the era.

I’ll give it a three because if it’s what yer after & you can put aside all the YA stuff you’ll probably enjoy it. For me its a shame as the h/f side of things is quite enjoyable & very readable.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book of a trilogy and the first book must be read before this one. In this one we pick up the action several months after the conclusion of the first book. Hannibal and his troops have the Romans reeling. Our characters that we are following are all split and figuring out their places in the world. Will they meet up again or will they die because of this war?

I have to diagnose this novel with a strong case of middlebookitis. We all have read trilogies where the middle book basically spins their wheels in the mud. The first book opens with a bang but the second book cannot do much because the explosive finale has to happen in the concluding book. That is what happened in this offering. For the most part nothing was accomplished. I liked it and we have the gory action battles that I expect from this author. Unfortunately the majority of the book was little progress in the main story. Instead we received a lot of story of characters adjusting to their new roles while being wistful of their old lives or what could be if it was not for this war. Don't get me wrong. This makes sense. It just does not make for the most exciting reading as I wondered when something of consequence would happen.

I liked this book but is not the strongest offering from this author. Actually I can say that about this series so far. Once again Hannibal is on the periphery and used as a reason for the story we are following. He is not involved directly at all. This book also did not add much progression on the overall arc as it really can be considered a side step instead of a forward step. I look forward to the final book because I do like the whole story. But it looks like this could have been a duology instead of a trilogy.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2013, and its the 2nd volume of the "Hannibal" series.

This book tells the tale of Hanno after returning with the Carthaginians, and now he's part of Hannibal's army who's marching over the Alps, and south into Italy and Rome.

Hungry for glory and hoping to vanquish Rome, Hanno is determined to give his life for Carthage, and thus also for his great General Hannibal.

Seeking to avoid a confrontation, the Romans are playing a game of cat and mouse, but in the end a place of war will be chosen, and that killing ground will be, Cannae, the Fields of Blood.

This battle of Cannae, one of the bloodiest in history, is described and pictured by the author in a most amazing and atmospheric fashion, so much so that you will be taken along on this battlefield of slaughter and death from beginning to end, and in which Hanno must as hard as never before, just to stay alive and live for another day.

Highly recommended, for this is a tremendous retelling of the Battle of Cannae, and subsequent consequences, and thus a stunning addition to this series, and that's why I like to call this wonderful episode: "A Terrific Hannibal Sequel"!

[Shane Findlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get your Cannae on!

I had a decision to make when I received my copy of Hannibal: Fields of Blood for review. I had not read the first book, Hannibal: Enemy of Rome, although it had been on my hitlist for reading maybe this year, but I had been putting it off. I admit it. I had so many other books to get to, that sometimes it takes a publisher to send you a book for review, or a friend to force a copy on you, before you finally run out of excuses.

Being sent book two was the incentive I needed to get to this series and give it a try, only what was I supposed to do about book one? To get to Fields of Blood, I told myself, I should be reading Enemy of Rome first. Except life doesn't always deal you books in order does it? And after much deliberation I decided to skip book one and head straight into book two.

My plan was to review it through the eyes of the casual reader. The reader who picks up book two in the airport or bookshop 'because it sounds good and has a nice cover'. That person does not realise it is not the first in a series until they have been parted from their money. I wanted to review through that person's eyes. To give people feedback on how relatable this book is if you haven't read Enemy of Rome first. After all, it should be standard for an author these days to write each book in a series so that they can stand alone. To do otherwise is foolish indeed and it will lose you readers.

So, how relatable was it? I give it a ten out of ten on that. I did not need the first book to understand or get into the Fields of Blood story. The only place I perhaps felt a little let down on that score was in the physical appearance of Hanno, the Carthaginian.
There are three main characters in this series, Hanno – the Carthaginian, and Quintus and Aurelia – the Romans.
Naturally, being Roman, Quintus and Aurelia were easy to visualise, but Hanno was a complete mystery to me. Since Carthaginians can be of many shades of skin colour and ethnic appearance, I had no idea what he should look like and had to ask people who had read book one what I should be visualising.

What added to the confusion was the fact that, and this was a flaw I found in the book, most male characters came across as practically the same. Especially Hanno and Quintus. They read like the same person and since there was very little cultural imprint on the Carthaginians, they all sounded like the Romans and the Romans sounded like the Carthaginians.
While I had other smaller issues such as modern sounding dialogue from time to time (not all the time though) it was the cultural void that was my big issue with the book. A big black hole where the Carthaginians should be, but were present in name only.

I expect every individual has their own favourites amoung the three main characters. These were mine.
Hanno was my favourite of the triumvirate. I always enjoyed getting back to his chapters. I had no interest at all in Quintus and felt nothing for him throughout the book.
The girl character Aurelia for the first half of the book was irritating me and her scenes were my least favourite. However, into the second half of the book as she started acting more like a woman and less like an annoying child, she became a character I could relate to more. I began to look forward to her scenes since they paid to break up the Hanno and the Quintus chapters. And since Hanno and Quintus sounded the same to me, I needed their scenes to be split up by the Aurelia chapters. Otherwise I would have lost interest.
Other than that though, this was an interesting and easy flowing story that rolled along under my eyes. I sat up late at night reading it and not many books can make me do that.

For the casual reader who has picked this book up and did not realise there was one before it, this is my feedback. Don't be concerned. It will all make sense and you will not lose anything by not having read the first book.

As for me, well, I felt it was not a bad book at all and I would genuinely consider reading the next one when it comes out. I think it stands alone perfectly well and the author has done a great job with that.


Thankyou to Random House Australia for sending me this book to read and review.

NB* Earlier this year I interviewed Ben Kane on my blog and he spoke a little about this book and the series: http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogs...

[Marius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book continues where the preview one left off. It's basically the build up and conclusion to what is known to us today as the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal's most decisive victory against the Roman Republic. The book is aptly named "Fields of Blood".

Good historical accuracy, well, as far as my memory serves. I had some issues though. Aurelia's POV was completely irrelevant, unless the author has some plans for the next book with Publius. Quintus's POV was annoying.
The two most important aspects however that bothered me was, first, Hannibal was underdeveloped, I wanted to know more about him, and second, the big battle kinda fell short. Considering it's magnitude, I was expecting more, a broader view of how it went down.

Still a decent read though.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars
This was another enjoyable book by Ben Kane, taking forward the story of both Hanno and Quintus in the lead up to the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC. What is very clear is what a major tactician Hannibal was and that he out thought and out fought the Romans, and they took a beating which shock the Empire to its foundations. I will be very interested to see how the story ends in the final part of the Trilogy, which I am eager to read. I love the way Ben Kane weaves in the everyday story of people around the main events. Would definitely recommend.

[Aviones de papel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

Me ha gustado también, aunque no tanto como el primero, esta segundo libro se siente demasiado en muchas partes como un libro de transición, creo que bien podría haber sido una duología en vez de una trilogía, pero aún así los personajes que crea Ben Kane y las escenas de acción molan tanto que no se llega a hacer aburrido. Mis partes favoritas han sido la batalla de Cannae y la historia de amor frustrada entre Hanno y Aurelia. Veremos que tal el tercero.

[S.J.A. Turney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Ben Kane’s books since the Forgotton Legion, and when last year I read Hannibal: Enemy of Rome, it shot up into my top Historical Fiction reads and came out as clear top of Ben’s books. Given the fact that my love of Rome tends towards the Principate era and that I’ve never really concentrated on the early Republic, it surprised me how much it gripped me. And then Ben disappeared off for a while to write his Spartacus series. Don’t get me wrong: the Spartacus books were excellent books and I thoroughly enjoyed them, but when Hannibal was my fave, it made me twitch having to wait so long for a second in the series.

And finally, as time allowed, I managed to get stuck into Fields of Blood.

Taking up where the first book finished, with Carthaginian forces firmly ensconced in Italy and threatening Rome, we knew this book was going to involve some of the most brutal fighting in the republic’s history. Most likely, it was going to involve Cannae – a name that despite my lack of in depth knowledge of this early era, I was well aware of. No one can give any level of study to the roman military without hearing the names of a few choice battles: Alesia, Adrianople, Actium, the Teutoborg forest… and of course Cannae.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This book is still about people primarily, rather than powers or armies. It still centres on the Roman group of Aurelia, Quintus and Gaius and the Carthaginian family of Hanno, Sapho and Bostar.

And what this second book in the series does (and does very well) is to grow the characters beyond the bounds of the first book, and to deepen and expand the relationships between them, largely by testing those relationships to breaking point.

Quintus and Gaius and Fabricius are away at war, leaving the women at home, where Aurelia struggles against her apparent destiny in an arranged marriage while the man she really loves fights for the Carthaginian general intent on destroying Rome. While she does what she can to fight this fate, her mother struggles with family troubles and loan sharks intent on ruining her.

Quintus finds himself threatened with dismissal and being sent home, and decides on a drastic course of action that will see him beginning his military career over, from the bottom, where he will encounter dangers from within his own ranks as well as from the enemy.

Hanno is still recovering from having let Hannibal down and has narrowly escape brutal punishment. Now he is doing all he can with his phalanx of men to regain the favour of his general while at the same time trying to decide whether his brother Sapho is really mad enough to want him out of the way.

The scene is set. Hanno and his army are worryingly close to the farm where he had first got to know Aurelia, and she is almost all he can think of – her and a Roman officer who has become the focus of his vengeance.

Parallels can be found between the two young men’s journey throughout the book, the main of which is watching their progress and growth as military men while having to keep out a wary eye for the dangers that hover about them waiting to put a knife in their spine.

As usual with Ben’s books, the level of historical detail included within is stunning, with close attention paid right down to sentence level, and the authentic feel that lends the book is intense.

And on to the battle. I won’t ruin it for anyone. There will be people who do not know how great and important Cannae was to Rome. There will be people who do not know which side won. And therefore I’m not going to tell you. Read the book and find out. But suffice it to say Cannae was immense. In fact, Ben described it just today as ‘the bloodiest battle on Italian soil for 2000 years’, so that gives you some idea. And the level of attention Ben has lavished even on the battle means that it occupies a sizable chunk of the book.

Given that the entire battle is seen through the eyes of Quintus and Hanno, it is quite impressive how the epic scale is made plain to the reader while maintaining a personal point of view of the close action encountered by the characters. It is hard not to be swept up in the action, rejoicing and cheering for both sides when things are going their way and panicking and fretting for them all when they’re not. And if you’re not familiar with the battle already, you will be kept guessing about the outcome for a while.

But despite all of this, and the power of the battle itself, the thing that the book actually left me with more than anything is something I encountered with Giles Kristian’s Bleeding Land. It was the aftermath of the battle. Just as with that other book, where we experienced the dead freezing on the field below Edgehill while ghouls snapped off their fingers for the ring they bore, in Fields of Blood we get to experience all the horror of the battlefield in high summer, full of the most unimaginable sights, to witness the relief of the victors as soldiers seek out their family among the survivors or the dead, to see the surviving losers running scared, hiding in groups and experiencing utter despair. To see what happens to the people as they hear the news.

The story of Hannibal is far from over and Ben Kane has many more books in the series before he writes of Zama and the fall of Carthage, but this is a significant step in the tale both on the scale of the nations themselves, and of the characters that go through it all.

With some series, I find myself beginning to get irritated with characters in the second book because they are not changing or growing, or just become stagnant. Such is not the case in Fields of Blood. I just want to see more of them and am now going to have to impatiently anticipate ‘Clouds of War’.

Bravo once again, Ben. For you to produce a book that actually manages to get me behind Rome’s enemies is quite a feat!

Kane’s top series and it looks to be going from strength to strength, people. Buy and enjoy.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 2 of the series, it continues to follow the parallel experiences of two soldiers, one Roman and one Carthaginian, as their respective armies battle each other in one of the key conflicts of the ancient world. It's interesting to see the conflict from both sides - as well as seeing how it impacts their loved ones waiting at home for scraps of news.

The sub-plot with Aurelia provides both a break between battles, and a reminder that away from the battlefields, people were trying to get on with life as normally as possible even as they worried whether their towns were safe from the violence.

Hopefully it won't take me too long to find the third book.

[Beorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to bite the bullet and put aside the respect in which I hold the author - who seems a genuinely nice guy who regularly has time for his readers unlike some - and review this book objectively for the impact it had on me.

I'll be honest, one of the things that appealed to me about the first in this series, Hannibal: Enemy of Rome was the palpable depth of humanity in the characters and how, in the case of the leads, they overcame their circumstances & rivalries to forge a bond. After that powerful writing, the battles when they came about were almost surplus to requirements.

Due to the arc of the story however it was necessary that the emphasis switch for this second book as the two sides - Rome and Carthage - became far more militarily active and all out conflict was begun.
Sadly there isn't the same level of tense anticipation, uncertainty or sense of impending chaos that I've felt in other books written about similar circumstances - ie Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest where the English army is the invaders into 13th century France. Also, as the characterisation had already been established and had to take a seat behind the military action for logistical reasons, there was for the most part not much to endear the new reader to any of the characters in the book, even making those (or at least me) who had read the previous book care a little less about the main protagonists with the exception perhaps of Hanno who suffered a little less than the others in that respect.
Add in to that the fact that the battle scenes seem a little on the lean side, and nowhere near on the visceral gore-drenched man-grinding killing machine side that can often make Roman period books so compelling. That's not to say they're not navigable, just that they seem to have as much menace as a riot in a football stadium not a might clash of thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty dealers of death sewing the ground with a field of corpses.

The book maintains Ben's stoically solid & worthwhile level of writing, it's just that this feels very much like it suffers a little like the archetypal case of sequel-itis. It feels very much like being a large extension on the back of or straight continuation of the previous book rather than being particularly of note in it's own right.

At times like this I feel a little frustrated reading Ben's books as I know they can and often do tick my boxes, only to find myself in the position where I'm having to will myself to like a book more than I do.

Overall I'd probably summarise this book in the lazy phrase of "It's okay" but it's far from a book or series that I'd actively go and recommend to a friend or someone looking for an invigorating Roman era story, as the likes of Anthony Riches or even the family friendly MGM stylings of MC Scott knock this into a cocked hat.

Somewhere lower down than the visceral grit of Anthony Riches and imperial grandeur of MC Scott but higher than the hack & slash MDF of Simon Scarrow.

[Peter Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find myself engrossed in historical books, a trait I adopted in recent years as I never had interest in my youth. The only downfall of them is it never really gives you the feel of what it might of been like in events. This is where historical fiction brings you into what it must of been like for the common soldier on a battlefield. Ben Kane is a master of achieving your imaginations desire to experience this. With his writings, in this books particular story, you can imagine yourself in the shoes of a roman or carthiagian soldier at cannae as a slaughter developed. You really felt for the side defending their own life's as the battle came to a close and also the elation of being in the winning but exhausted side. If Ben Kane is not in my top 5 authors then he is definitely in my top 8 along with William Golding, Mary Shelley, stephen king, Bernard Cornwell, Angus Donald and Robyn young. Bring on his next book!

[Speesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The real art with books like this, where anyone with half an interest in history can tell you that Hannibal lost, eventually, is how to write the story fresh, exciting and even how to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I always remember reading Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal and being held captive, kept guessing and on the edge of my seat - even though I am/was old enough to know that De Gaulle didn’t die in that way at that time. So I think it says much about the quality of Ben Kane’s writing that he pulls off the story with ease. It’s exciting, it flows like a river in spring flood, it’s sometimes tense, mostly thrilling, always well-worth reading.

I suppose there is a slight familiarity breeding comfort-type feeling. I wasn’t as blown away as I was reading the first, but that’s only because by the second (of three) I know the characters, the story so far and so it would really have to be a monumental work to throw me off a cliff like that did. It is however, at least on a par with the first, maybe not better, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s job is to get us from book one and set up the third in the trilogy, which will of course see Hannibal, or Rome, win, or lose...

I have been surprised by these two books. I’m not sure why really. I’ve read Ben Kane’s work before, but maybe long enough ago to have forgotten what a superb writer he can be. I was also surprised, after book 1, that he could do it again. I shouldn’t have been. The good characters are still with us and are developing nicely. I still feel a bit frustrated that Hanno doesn’t stick on on (one of his) older brother(s), but there you go. I’m not really sure how his part in this will end, and that’s as it should be. The climactic battle at Cannae is handled really well - Giles Kristian had better watch out there. Aurelia is the chief character on the Roman side and she has developed to be a cut above a lot of the women characters in Hist Fic books like this. Still, BK has always has written strong - and interesting - female characters. And I think possibly one of the main reasons why I’m liking these books so much is, that the religion ‘everything in the hands of the gods’ nonsense is pretty much kept to a minimum.

My only quibble is, that he could have looked a bit more at why/how Hannibal inspired such devotion and loyalty in his troops. An inspired General, isn’t enough. The Cannae tactics aren’t earth-shatteringly different to do it, I didn't feel. Why the Carthaginians is obvious, but as this is the Second Punic War, only a generation after the first, where the Carthaginians haven’t had time to replenish their armies with Carthaginians and have to take in mercenaries and allies, I think I’d have liked a bit more in that direction. However, the books aren’t really about who Hannibal was and why and that would be too restrictive for BK, I’d guess. Here, he wants to tell the tale and its background from the point of view of those who fought and were affected by it, which is, as ever, open to discussion and interpretation. If he tried to write about Hannibal, he’d no doubt suffer from Scholar-Attack, as all the dusty old professors who have devoted their lives to the study of Hannibal, would pop up to poo-poo his conclusions. Better to shoot high, aim low - as Yes once said. My other qui…my TWO quibbles are all that, and an occasional feeling that he spreads himself a little thin over the social media. I agree that it is a superb way of interacting with your readership, potential readership as well, However, one gets the feeling sometimes, that he barely has time to do what after all IS his job, that of writing books. Hence the “today’s 5,000 word target reached!”- type posts here and there. What I read - and to be fair to BK, it isn’t just him, other writers are infected with this disease - “switched the Writing Machine on for a couple of hours while I went out on a bike ride, gave a talk, walked for charity, got back and, hey presto! 5,000 words done. Let’s send it off and see if the Agent can make a book out of it!” Remember knitting? Your Gran used to sit there twiddling wool into incredible knots with skill built up over generations and handed down to her from her mum and her mum’s mum…and then those knitting machines? Where someone like me (if I’d had the interest) could have connected some wool to it and moved the shuttle thing from left to right and a couple of hours later, there’s a jumper! I could write 5,000 words in a day, no bother. The’d be absolute shite, but I could do it alright. I'd be fine if an author posted "wrote 17 words today - but they're the result of 8 hours hard work and they're the best 17 I've ever written!" I'd buy that book! It's about quality, not quantity. And a book doesn't have to reach a certain number of words before it's 'a book.' Nor is it finished, just because it has reached a certain number of words. I don't want that. Personally, I’d like to feel that BK does all these other things after he’s sweated over the writing of the book. Partly because if his books are excellent as it is, think how they’d be if he put his mind to it? Or at least, I’d like to get the impression he was books first, all the other, fourth and fifth. Just me. Buy this one, and the one before, they're excellent.

More musings masquerading as reviews : Speesh Reads

[Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read! Interesting characters together with great action!

[Javier Tutau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen libro, pero que deju de leerlo un par de dias por examenes, pero muy bueno y recomendable

[Matt TB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst I enjoyed this there are a few drawbacks!

As per review on the first book I’ve been reading these for inspiration for a Punic wars wargaming set, the battle info and descriptions of troops etc are all wonderful. Action is vicious and well told.

BUT it seems very repetitive the way certain characters refer to their thoughts on others in almost every chapter, “X was sad about not seeing Y” etc, and sometimes making a U turn on their feelings within a page.

That said it is nice to have had gentle reminders of things that happened either in the previous book or earlier in this tale, so I can’t quite make up my mind as to if I like the way these parts are written or not!

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

La descripción de la batalla de Cannae lo salva.

[adam-p-reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on the day of its release and was extremely eager to get stuck into it because the first book in the series, Hannibal: Enemy of Rome was so good!

However, two years later I still hadn’t started and became determined to get re-emerged in this series. Now that I work a pretty boring job, I found the time to be able to finally get through the novel and that was by downloading the audiobook. I’m extremely glad I did because I was gripped by this book from the very start and ended up finishing the 16 hour long audiobook in two days!

As I said above, this book is the second in Ben Kane’s Hannibal series and is set a few months after the end of the previous novel. The plot follows three main characters: Hanno a Carthaginian, Quintus a Roman Cavalryman and Aurelia, Quintus’s sister. Quintus is part of the defeated and quite frankly embarrassed Roman Army dogging the footstep of the infamous enemy of Rome- Hannibal.

After being overpowered at the River Trebia, the Roman Cavalry is licking its wounds and its hurt pride. After a stupid hunting incident, Quintus is ordered to return home by his father in shame. Being the patriotic Roman, Quintus decides to defy his father’s orders and enlist in the Roman infantry as a Velites, the lowest form of soldier in the army. Having been in the infantry a few hours, Quintus learns that it is not as easy or as civilised as the life of a cavalryman. Adjusting quickly to his new role and to new enemies, Quintus must prepare for the greatest battle in Roman history, the Battle of Cannae.

Hanno is an infantry officer in the Carthaginian army and is currently out of favour with his general Hannibal. After releasing his old friend Quintus at the River Trebia, Hanno is desperate to show his worth to his general. On a scouting expedition Hanno is captured and tortured by the Romans, igniting a flame of hatred for Carthage’s oldest enemy that can only be quenched by Roman blood. However, there is one Roman he would love to meet again and that is Quintus’s sister Aurelia. As the Carthaginian army passes Capua, a chance encounter with Aurelia causes Hanno to look at his life differently.

Missing her brother and father (and Hanno) terribly, Aurelia is in despair as news from the battle at Trebia is slow to reach her farm in the Italian countryside. Because of the lack of news, her father’s debtors come knocking and Aurelia is force to marry a rich Roman noble to pay the debts. After her meeting with Hanno she falls even deeper into depression, dreaming of a life that might have been if the war never happened.

This book was great, even listening to the audiobook I was absolutely staggered at the amount of detail Kane puts into the book. His description of the hierarchy in the Roman army and the battlefield of Cannae make the events of the battle so real, making you feel the horror of the soldiers who were trapped so perfectly in Hannibal’s web. In addition, I loved the change of fate Quintus has in the book. If any of you have read my other reviews, you’ll know I love a zero-to-hero protagonist. Putting Quintus in the Velites fills that role perfectly for me as I didn’t find him that interesting of a character until then.

This was a great historical novel and I loved every minute of listening to Michael Praed read the story! I’d suggest this book to anyone who likes other authors such as Simon Scarrow and Anthony Riches. I just downloaded the audiobook for Hannibal: Clouds of War and can’t wait to listen to it!

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[Paul Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tackling an epic time of history, one in which the outcome will determine the future of Western Europe and beyond, is a heady task to say the least and Ben Kane has met the challenge. Think about the enormity of the consequences of this decade's long conflict between Carthage and Rome. If Carthage wins then our world today would be different in some fashion...hmmm, sounds like a good idea for an alternative history story; but I digress.

Cannae - 50,000 Roman soldiers, 8000 Carthaginians - that is indeed a lot of blood. This second book in the series takes off where Hannibal Enemy of Rome ends. Rome is reeling from Hannibal's successes in crossing The Alps and defeating every legion it comes up against, leading to the twin disasters of Lake Trasimene and Cannae. The main characters, Hanno and Quintus have grown much during this time, are now war hardened, blooded infantrymen. The author does a superb job in his development of his characters, both major and minor, good guys and not so good guys. You can still feel the emotion and struggles of Hanno regarding his slave past, his love for Aurelia and the intense friction between he and his brothers. Quintus in the meantime has rebelled against his father and has secretly become an infantryman rather than suffer the indignity of being sent home.

The story goes back and forth between Hanno, Quintus and Aurelia so we get good views and descriptions of the daily lives of a Carthaginian phalanx, a Roman maniple and the struggles of those left behind to keep the family out of the clutches of unscrupulous loan sharks. The author is in top form as he brings us into the lives of these perplexed individuals as they contend with the fact that their countries are bitter foes and yet they have emotional bonds with each other that transcend the hostilities.

The two major battles of this book, Lake Trasimene and Cannae are dramatically retold and one cannot help but wonder at Hannibal's military genius and the confounding inability of the Romans to counter that genius. The end of this episode finds Hanno exultant and Quintus wondering how he is still alive. This well crafted story is a must for any who love stories that bring you the agonies and ecstasies, the highs and lows of human emotions in a war torn country. Well done Mr. Kane, looking forward to the next installment. I rate this book at 4.8.

[Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, and picked up after a slow start. I'll admit I read the first in this trilogy not long after it came out, and a few years - and a lot of other Roman historical hack and slash books later - I was having trouble remembering exactly who the characters were when I started. A multi-character book with both Roman and Carthaginians in the second Punic war, starting with Hannibal over the Alps. But it took a wee while for me to get back into it, and the first half was quite formulaic, with the female lead struggling with the 'probably historically accurate but ultimately quite dull because-women-weren't-really-given-much-to-do-in-society (so fall in or out of love, dull). Much of the rest is clearly just moving the pieces until we got to the big battle at the end. Even the nobleman sent from the officer class and rejoining at the bottom to hide his identity was hitting the ends of my credulity - and fair play to the author who acknowledges this in his postscript.

But then it moves onto the battle for the last third or so and really comes to life. And Cannae was quite the battle - possibly the largest single loss of life in a battle until WWI and the invention of the machine gun. Won by Hannibal's tactical genius, a real challenge for the author is writing a convincing scene, while also managing to give the reader the wider strategic view of exactly where and why this was without breaking the narrative or shoehorn it in unrealistically - if you're with your characters in the front lines, they rarely have the chance to really consider the big plans. Kane does this really well here - helped by the planning which allows Hannibal to brief his troops (and the reader) before the battle of the plans, then a switch to the Roman side to see it swing into effect. A really well written section that does justice to the battle. Sags a bit, but really hits its stride with the final section. I should read the next one sooner.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the novel Hannibal Fields Of Blood by Ben Kane which is an excellent book which I bought from a local supermarket. This book is a historical fiction novel based on the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage which incidently Carthage won. It's rather a famous war and is the one where Hannibal marched from Carthage in Modern Day Tunisia, via Gibraltar, the Pyrenees & the Alps with elephants, into Italy and had the famous Battle of Cannae. Ben tries to give this bloody war a human face. The tale is mostly told from the perspectives of Hanno, a soldier in Hannibals army, also a soldier in the Roman Army & also a Roman well to do young who is being married off to a wealthy Roman citizen but who is pregnant by another man. At the beginning of this book which kicks where the other book in this duology finished in Gaul is that Hanno has been captured by the Romans and tortured but is saved by some of the Carthaginian Army. The soldier in the Roman Army has been ordered home by his father but refuses to go and changes his identity and re enlists. The young Roman lady is being married to a Roman citizen but has to go along with it. Her family need the money a dowry will provide although unknown to them at first her suitor has gambling debts and is hooked on gambling. The Battle of Cannae was one of the bloodiest in history and the Romans would avenge their defeat in the Third Punic War when they would destroy Carthage. Ben is a bit of a Roman History and has written various historical fiction novels on this period. He is also a trained veterenarian surgeon and has visited all the historical sites featured in this story. He has also walked the length of Hadrian's Wall in Roman army uniform.

[Neil Basnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, as much as the first one of the series. I did get in a muddle from time to time with the names of so many of the Romans but that is down to age! It was good to have a break from the battles from time to time in the book by narrative of what was going on back in Capua with Quintus' sister - Aurelia and her mother. The author must have done so much research to describe the battle of Cannae - the world's largest number of battlefield casualties until the Somme in the 1st World War. The tactical genius of Hannibal was shown up in that he led his hugely-outnumbered army to ultimate victory. All credit to the author for this series of books and I look forward to reading the next one...

[Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Ben Kane and yet it took me three weeks to read this book. I realised I was going to finish it simply because it was a Ben Kane novel. At times I thought it was becoming a bit of a soap opera and the military cut and thrust Ben is known for was missing. Even the Cannae account seemed a little lacking.

Additionally, I think the title of the book, relating to Hannibal is a little naughty as he features only in a small way in the books so far. I also thought the cover was not fitting for a book such as this, reflecting the Iwo Jimo photograph. Still, perhaps Clouds of War will get our hero back on track.p

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories of Hanno, Quintus and Aurelia continue, set against the backdrop of Hannibal's march across Italy culminating in one of the bloodiest battle in history - the Battle of Cannae. Ben Kane, as we have come to expect, demonstrates great knowledge of the period and of the minutiae of ancient combat. These were bloody times for both sides - the title is well chosen. I would argue, though, that for me at least the predecessor Hannibal: Enemy of Rome is a more enjoyable read.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first in the series, but still good.

[James Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am wondering why I didn’t make a review for the first book ‘Enemy Of Rome’ then I would have had a slight recap on how it all started, because it was nearly three years ago and I have read so many books since then. Anyway it seems to me that it carries on with the same main three characters, the two Romans, Quintus, his young sister Amelia and Hanno, their Carthaginian slave who has now joined Hannibal’s Army.
Hannibal is now travelling down the south eastern side of Italy and no matter how they try the Romans cannot stop him. Quintus has joined the cavalry under his fathers command and although he is relishing the battles ahead he falls foul of his fathers discipline and is ordered to go home. He does not heed these orders and instead joins the infantry and under a different name ’Crespo’ becomes a lowly Veles (just a spearman who doesn’t carry a sword) he makes few friends but does make one vicious enemy and has to watch his back wherever he goes.
Amelia comes to learn that her home is under threat because of debts that her father undertook before he went to war, her mother is struggling to pay them and so the money lender keeps upping the interest. Amelia becomes betrothed to a man that she does not love and although he is a decent and honest man her love lies elsewhere with Gaius, who is fighting with her father and also Hanno even though that love could never be.
Hanno has achieved his goal, to be fighting alongside his two brothers and also his father but most of all under the total command of Hannibal. However, one day while on patrol and after a skirmish, he is captured by some Romans who torture him and he is branded with an ‘F’ as a runaway slave. This stirs his hatred for all Romans (except Quintus and his family) and he vows to kill the man who did the branding. There are times though in his reverie when he does dream of Amelia and the love that they maybe could have shared.
Ben Kane writes a bloody good story, and I mean BLOODY! his battle and fight scenes are quite explicit, they had me gritting my teeth, especially during the final battle and his characters are all really well built and believable. He keeps the plot flowing and keeps you turning the page. When I finished it and put the book down I thought to myself WOW, that WAS a really good book. It definitely won’t be three years before I read the third part ‘Clouds Of War’. Mr Kane I can only mark this really engaging book with 5/5! Thank you.

[Desislava Filipova · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ханибал – Кървави полета" втората част на трилогията за Картаген е чудесно продължение. В бележките на края на книгата сякаш авторът се обръща към чиаттелите си, за да изясни и мотивира художествените си решения, на мен ми бяха много полезни, те дават източниците и хрърлят светлина върху някои моменти, в които съм се чудела защо нещата са се случили по този начин.

Обичам художествени романи, които се опират на исторически събития. Втарата част от романа описва две изключително интересни битки - при Тразименското езеро и при Кана, втората остава в историята като една от най-драматичните и кървави, битка, в която стратегията на Ханибал играе много важна роля. Винаги съм намирала за много интересна военната стратегия, тя е тази, която играе ключова роля в древността от една страна, от друга организираността и дисциплината на Рим, които не само носят изключителни териториални завоевяания, но и успяват да подчинят тези толкова различни територии и в значителна степен да асимилират населението за дълъг период, давайки усещане за принадлежност към империята.

Сюжетът отново е върху тримата герои от първата част - Квинт, Аврелия и Ханон. Пътищата на тримата се разделят, Квинт ще трябва да намери своето място в армията и да се докаже като достоен (тук има някои малко странни логически решения), от друга страна Ханон също трябва да заеме своето място сред картагенците, Аврелия трябва да се омъжи. В това отношение авторът решава да не се отклони прекалено много в художествените си идеи, спрямо стандартните разбирания за епохата - така се движи света на древността, много войни и ранни бракове, за да се подсигурят наследници, любовта няма място в този свят.

Може би най-много ме впечатли картинността, с която се описват походите и битките, с много мащабност и динамика. В образите на римските и картагенските войници и техните командори е въплътена идеята за дълг и чест. Макар и с не малко художествени отклонения, книгата успява да създаде подходяща атмосфера и да увлече читателя.

[Lashanti Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

*sigh
I truly found this novel so boring. I read the first in the series maybe a year ago and wasn’t the biggest fan of it but was hoping since the boys had ran off to the join the war that it would start getting better. That wasn’t the case.

The series really follows 3 main people and none of them are Hannibal. Hannibal and his war is like a double subplot. Background noise really. I didn’t care for any of the characters the story followed, they are all pretty dull and anticlimactic. The author fought tooth and nail to make Aurelia relevant. Granted I have no idea why, I sighed heavily everytime the story switched back to her. That little ordeal between her and Hanno had to be the biggest stretch in the book. Them pining after one another really made no sense. I felt as though Quintus character depiction was slightly inconsistent. One moment he couldn’t possibly kill a man in cold blood even though said man hated him, but he admitted “savagely” that he would kill Hanno if they came across one another even though he seems to still care for him a great deal.

There was a constant mental back and forth with the characters. They continually questioned themselves in their head with no real definitive outcome. I really don’t know, a lot happened with seemingly nothing happening. There were two battles that were vaguely interesting but that was about it. Some slight amusing scenes dabbled here and there but few and far between. I plan to read the last book, but only because I’ve already purchased it. Kind of surprised with this series seeing as how much I loved his Spartacus series. My biggest complaint I guess is the lack of Hannibal and the creative story that involved those around him.

[Rebeca · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5

*Algunos spoilers*

A ver...a ver. Cuando retomé esta saga sabía este libro iba a ser malo, muy muy malo. En verdad yo solo tenía curiosidad por si el autor había sido coherente con el desarrollo de su historia y había terminado por liar a los protagonistas, porque de verdad que en el primer libro su relación era más que evidente.

Pero no solo no ha obviado sus sentimientos ni ha desarrollado lo que podría haber sido una pasable y entretenida historia de """amor"""", si no que ha forzado relaciones heterosexuales sin sentido, se ha cargado el desarrollo de sus personajes y de paso ha escupido a la Historia a la cara. Así, todo a la vez y sin despeinarse.

Hechos históricos fatal explicados, anacronías, personajes planos y un sin fin de "hijos de puta, gilipollas, por la verga de Jupiter y vete a la porra". Que también esto es problema del traductor, pero vamos, es que menudo bochorno me ha dado leerle.

La historia en si no tiene mucho, tan solo se ha dedicado a describir la batalla del lago Trasimeno y Cannas (de una forma muy pobre, banal y desorganizada) desde el punto de vista cartaginés (Hanno) y el romano (Quintus). Bueno, le voy a dar un aplauso y dejaré que se vaya porque al menos lo ha intentado. La forma de escribir de Kane es tan sumamente pobre que los momentos en los que debería sentir tensión, rabia o miedo no han logrado llegarme. Le falta alma, pasión, adentrarse en el miedo de los protagonistas y contagiarnoslo aunque ya sepamos cual va a ser el resultado de la batalla. De verdad que ha intentado transmitirnos ese aire tan imponente que destilan ambas batallas, pero se ha quedado muy corto. Porque a mí que me digas simplemente que un personaje está sudando, que le den ganas de mear del miedo de escuchar lo gritos de la batalla que acontece unos metros más allá, no me sirve. No me sirve que diga "Quintus se sentía nervioso". Ponle corazón a lo que estás escribiendo y no seas tan cutre, hazme el favor.

Entre batalla y batalla nos ha metido alguna escena de relleno para que comprobemos lo mucho sobre Roma y digamos "uy si, cuanto sabe este hombre." Pero vamos, que por consultar un bibliografía no hace que el libro sea bueno o que no contenga fallos históricos (que los hay a patadas).

A Quintus no deja de pintarle como un machote por haberse metido a los "velites" y por mirar de forma MUY MASCULINA a las prostitutas. Todo un macho que se pelea con los compañeros vete tu a saber porque. Todo un hombre de Roma que cada vez que insinúan que es gay aparece otro tipo para desmentirlo porque Quintus es muy recto. Un chico que cada vez que piensa en Hanno o dice que le echa de menos en seguida admite que es solo COMO AMIGO. Esto ocurre varias veces y mira, si te ha salido un personaje bisexual que se quedó pillado del esclavo cartaginés, pues coño, deja que la cosa fluya y no te cargues todo el desarrollo de personaje del primer libro. Si Hanno hubiera sido una chica ya hacía tiempo que habrían follado pero mira, en fin.

Pero con destruir a Quintus no le valía, no. Tenía también que joder a Hanno. Hanno, que no gana para desgracias y es de naturaleza torpe. Que al chaval le ocurre de todo, así que cada vez que aparece ya sabemos que o se va a caer del caballo o se tropezará con su propia sombra. Pero no pasa nada porque Kane es muy predecible y al final Hanno siempre sobrevive porque será inmortal o algo, no lo sabemos. Lo que sí sabemos es que se pasa todo el libro repitiéndose una y otra vez que su hermano no es tan cabrón como parece y de repente le entra la adolescencia y se pira del campamento para follar con la hermana de Quintus porque al parecer no puede vivir sin ella. Todo muy hetero.

Y bueno, creo que Aurelia es la que peor ha salido parado. Kane no tiene ni idea de mujeres. Ni de follar, pero eso es otra historia que yo no me meto. Tiene quince años, vale, pero es que no me creo que vaya a crush por semana. Que de pronto se quiera liar con el mejor amigo del hermano (Gaius) que le conoce de toda la vida pero de pronto pum hostia que guapo es a ver si me empotra contra el suelo. Que a los dos capítulos tenga un flechazo con un tío por la calle. Que por cosas del autor ese tipo convierta en su marido pero es que le sigue gustando más Gaius porque NO HABLA TANTO. Pero no, de pronto Hanno va a buscarla y se olvida de todos los demás chicos porque Hanno siempre va a ser el único y por poco follan contra el árbol del jardín.

Que no, que no tiene sentido, que lo único que ha hecho Kane con Aurelia es jugar con sus sentimientos y hacer que toda su vida gire entorno a los hombres porque ¡sorpresa! no tiene ni idea de mujeres. No sabe describir a una mujer sin que tenga a un hombre detrás. De Aurelia solo sabemos que ""no es como las demás chicas" porque quiere aprender a montar y a pelear. Que se quiere casar por amor. Y ya. Nada más, es un cliché con patas porque Kane no ha sabido aprovechar todo lo que este personaje podría hacer.

Tengo que mencionar también que se nota mucho que el autor está del lado de los romanos. A la hora de hablar de los cartagineses, de sus comportamientos en batalla y tal, los ponen como unos puñeteros salvajes. Lo de que Anibal diera sepultura a todos los cónsules que asesinó lo dejamos ya para otro día, que no interesa. No le interesa que conozcamos ese lado de Anibal. Tan solo sabemos de él que es un gran estratega (eso ya lo sabíamos en fin) que tiene un buen porte, es un bueno general y....ya. Fin. No hay más. Vale que la historia gire en torno a otros personajes, pero es que Hanno, por ejemplo, solo respeta a Anibal por lo buen general que él. Quiere que le reconozca y se sienta orgulloso de él, pero no tiene ni idea de como es Anibal.

Ni olvido ni perdono que apenas ha mencionado a Fabio Maximo. Ni a los Escipiones. De lo que sí ha hablado es de que tener deudas es malo y nunca pidas dinero a un griego, que son malos. Porque eso de pedir de vuelta el dinero que has prestado es de malas personas.

Y bueno, creo que ya me he quedado a gusto.

En resumen, que el libro es malo, muy malo. No te sirve ni como lección de historia porque te pierdes. Que el primero estaba mejor porque a Hanno y a Quintus los podías shippear a gusto y en este ni se han visto y eso no es agradable. Que Ben Kane se lea a Posteguillo si quiere escribir novela histórica. Y que ni se le ocurra volver a escribir por la verga de Jupiter porque es sacrilegio.