Nothing will ever dim the brilliance of Wodehouse's world or flatten his ever-sprightly and always entertaining prose

What can one say about Wodehouse? He exhausts superlatives. I am not alone in believing he has come closer than any writer of English to approaching Shakespeare's complete mastery and transcendency of language.

Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in

The writing is so sharp and waspish that comparisons with Evelyn Waugh are not misplaced

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'