Edgier than Bryson, hits harder than Mayle

The season's word-of-mouth book

Must-have comedy-of-errors diary of being a Brit abroad

Compelling...Picture The Matrix crossed with William Gibson and you'll have a sense of The Traveller

A cyber 1984...Page-turningly swift, with a cliffhanger ending

'Unpretentious and fast moving...would make a great film'

'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'