Hannibal: Pride of Carthage review

I'm not really sure why siroswold thought I would a fictionalised account of the Second Punic War, but I'm glad he did, because Hannibal: Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham is an excellent read.  I have no idea if it is historically accurate or not, but I really enjoyed it as a novel.  Durham manages to give a fascinating overview of the whole period of the war, while at the same time making the story a very personal one by following various individuals throughout the conflict.

I'm sure quintus_marciuscould tell me all the book's flaws from a historical point of view, but I was glad of my general ignorance of the period, as it meant I had no idea what was going to happen next, and I wasn't distracted by glaring innacuracies.

 

A well balanced nerd am I!

47.61904761904762% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?

The Truth-Teller's Tale review

The Truth-Teller's Tale, by Sharon Shinn, is loosely a sequel to The Safe-Keeper's Secret, and it follows much the same pattern. Effective set-up of an ordinary feudal society village, with the addition of certain people who have special powers for keeping secrets, telling truths and granting wishes. The characters are likeable, the story is engaging, but it's all a little too neatly tied up at the end, with none of the revelations being remotely startling and the happily ever after somewhat on the twee side. It's a sweet story, and I enjoyed it, but the memory of it is likely to last as long as it took to read - about three hours.