'Good spacefaring fun'

'Combining colourful characterizations, lots of fast-paced action, and a decided sense of menace...this is entertaining fare indeed'

Demonstrates the storytelling expertise of co-authors McCaffrey and Scarborough. Old and new characters, exotic alien races, and unique methods of problem-solving make this a good choice

Khorii is definitely a chip off the old horn...Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough are experts at being able to draw their readers into quite a complex and already well-established world, without making too many narrative demands with regard to the previous books. Their style is, as always, eminently readable

Consistently inventive and entertaining

A novelist of prodigious talent

'Durham has reimagined this vanished world in stunningly precise detail, and his lucid explanations of the give-and-take of military decision-making help the reader through some dauntingly complicated material. Nor is this novel merely a pageant: the author vividly portrays both Hannibal's driven resolve and Scipio's ruthless efficiency, as well as the conflicted emotions that rule several powerfully realized secondary figures . . . One of the best of the current crop of historical novels, and a career-making march forward for Durham'

'What I particularly liked about the book was Durham's even-handedness. He shows both empires were capable of cruelty, greed and criminal stupidity...An epic treat'

'A grand recounting of the second Punic War...Durham's epic is truly a big, magnificent, sprawling story complete with a sizable cast of compelling characters, intricately drawn battle scenes and fluid, graceful prose'