Hannibal [Hardcover]

Ross Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996

Leckie presents a vivid recreation of the life of the great Carthagenian general; succeeding in bringing the warrior to life. man as but a shadow of a dream.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ride on the historic charge across the Alps and into battle against the Romans in Ross Leckie's debut novel Hannibal, an exuberant account of the life, love, and inner torment of the great Carthaginian general sworn to bringing defeat to the Romans. The novel begins with a scarred and defeated Hannibal, who recounts how he came from the shores of North Africa to the heart of the Italian peninsula. Leckie's book brings Hannibal to life through a realistic psychological profile and a well-researched account of the ancient general's life and military exploits. Leckie excels at describing Hannibal's tactics and the brilliance of his strategy, while rounding out the story with insights into Hannibal's family and marital life. Strap on the battle armor and mount your pachyderms--charge!!!

From Publishers Weekly

"A battle is like lust. The frenzy passes. Consequence remains." So reflects the 65-year-old Hannibal as he recounts the trials of a battle commander's life in British writer's Leckie's first novel. Readers may already be somewhat acquainted with the warlord's record: how the Carthaginian was born and bred to become the leader of a great army, how he marched toward Rome in the company of thousands of mercenaries and elephants, crossing the Alps in a legendary winter of privation. Less familiar will be the portrait of Hannibal as a lover (of Similce, a Spanish woman whom he marries) or as an introspective man well-versed in the Greek philosophers. Published to fine reviews in England, Leckie's fictional memoir is written in a simple, visceral style that brings a raw immediacy to descriptions of ancient battle. The Oxford-trained author, who drew on many classical sources, is as authoritative about crucifixions and the torture of pregnant women as he is about the details of the great warrior's brilliant military strategies. Leckie seeks not to bury Hannibal in analysis but to portray him. He gives readers a taste of an outsized man whose obsession to conquer Rome made him as bloodthirsty as he was bold. This is a ripping good read whose lesson in ancient history is yet another reward.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc.; 2nd edition (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895264439
• ISBN-13: 978-0895264435
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,114,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Thin Gruel, May 9, 2000

By 

Paul McGrath (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hannibal: A Novel (Paperback)

Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, had one of the most spectacular careers in military history. At the time of his birth there were two major powers in the world: his, and the burgeoning Roman empire. Hannibal correctly foresaw that his people would eventually be swallowed by the Romans, and therefore decided to go on the offensive. As every schoolchild knows, he assembled an army in Spain, fought his way across southern Europe, and with his huge army crossed the Alps in the middle of winter. His appearance in northern Italy in 218 B. C. caused widespread panic in Rome.

During his first two years in Italy, he inflicted crushing defeats against the Romans at Trasimene and at Canae. These successes were to be shortlived. He was heavily outmanned by the Romans, his supply was indifferent if not non-existent, and the leaders in Carthage refused to send him the support he needed until it was too late. Nevertheless, Hannibal spent 15 years in Italy, gaining and losing alliances, fighting, struggling, and never giving up in his effort to conquer Rome. He was never defeated in a face to face battle with the Romans in Italy. Finally, in 204 B. C., he was forced to return home when the Romans invaded Africa.

Interestingly, the name Hannibal means "Favorite of Baal:" Baal being the chief Phoenician deity at the time.

You won't learn this from Leckie's book. In fact, all you really need to know about Leckie's book is that Hannibal gets to Italy on page 165, and leaves again for Carthage on page 219. Thus, 15 years of Hannibal's Italian campaign is reduced to 54 pages.

I hope you enjoyed my review. You now know as much about Hannibal as you would have if you had wasted your time with ridiculous book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste time, money, brain cells on "Hannibal", October 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hannibal: A Novel (Paperback)

When I got to the chapter where a young Hannibal tames his horse, I put down the book, picked up Mary Renault's "Fire From Heaven", and encountered the same scene, practically word for word, of Alexander's taming of Boukephalos. The difference? Ms. Renault wrote her book first. And it's genius. Ross Leckie is an unbelievably bad writer, unintentionally funny in a "dark and stormy night" sort of way. The book is slow, flat, and derivative. But that scene made me close it up and return it to the library. If I'm going to read second-hand fiction, I'm going back to the original source.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unhistorical and unentertaining, June 14, 2000

By 

Michael O. Akinde - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hannibal: A Novel (Paperback)

I was astounded by inaccuracies of this novel - though one would hardly notice as Leckie doesn't spend much time on history in any case. About Hannibal's life we know next to nothing which gives the writer a lot of leeway; the story immediately uses this leeway to introduce plot elements that are unhistorical - Hannibal's wife certainly did not follow him to Italy as suggested. The atrocities that Leckie so lovingly details only really began during the later parts of the war.

The story generally left me astounded. This is a period of history for which there are few sources, meaning that - unlike e.g. Caesarian times - it is pretty easy to introduce elements without contradicting known "facts". However, doing this seems to be the only interest of the story, when it does bother to delve into history. The story is so consistently wrong on so many things that it's almost as if the errors have been introduced on purpose.

All in all, this is THE worst military history story I've read in a long time (and I've studied the Punic wars extensively and am generally a huge military/fantasy fan). The potential reader would be better served by reading any of the historical works on Hannibal (which are far more interesting and much better reading). I'm certainly happy I borrowed this book rather than buying it.