Ben Kane

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Hannibal: Clouds of War

213 BC. Syracuse. Under the merciless Sicilian sun, a city is at war.

Outside the walls, a vast Roman army waits. Yet the city’s incredible defences, designed by Archimedes, mean that Syracuse will not be taken easily.

A veteran of the bitter war since its beginning, Quintus is ready to give his life in the service of the Republic. But dangers face him from within his own ranks as well as from the enemy – who include his former friend, the Carthaginian, Hanno.

Hanno has been sent by his general Hannibal to aid Syracuse in its fight against Rome. Pledged to bring death to all Romans, he is diverted from his mission by the discovery of Quintus’ sister Aurelia, a captive within the city.

Two friends on opposing sides. A woman caught between them. They are about to meet in one of the most brutal sieges of all time.

Who will survive?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi Ben, I would like to buy your latest (Clouds of War) Signed…How can I do that (Hardback)
    Many thanks
    Nigel
    PS. Great books !!!

  3. Can you purchase your books anywhere in the United States? You are right up there with Wilbur Smith as my favorite author!

  4. ¿Cuándo llegara a Montevideo, Uruguay? Lo espero con ansias!!! =D

  5. @pallettek: My sincere apologies for not replying until now. Life gathers pace every day.
    You should be able to buy my books in B&N, and in indie stores. You can also get them at bn.com, Amazon or from The Book Depository in the UK, which doesn’t charge shipping to the States. Thanks and best wishes – Ben

  7. Hi Ben, i have been a big fan of all your books, especially the Hannibal series. I was after The clouds of war book, will there be another book coming out?

    Todor

  8. When is going to be more books in Spanish in iBooks? we need it!!!! Special Hannibal: Clouds of War.

  9. @Todor: Sorry for the delay in replying! I’m so pleased you enjoy my books. Yes, there will be at least two more Hannibal books, but not for a little bit. I’m scheduled to write three books about the disaster in Germania in AD 9 and its aftermath first. Eagles at War, the first book, comes out in Feb. 2015…I hope it will keep you happy for the time being. Best wishes – Ben

  10. @aoxford: Espartaco: Rebelion saldo hace unos semanas. Nubes de Guerra saldra en febrero 2015… 😉

  11. Thanks Ben 😀 i cant wait until your new books come out 🙂 i think you are the best writer ive come across so far 🙂 and best books

  12. So there is going to be at least 2 more Hannibal books I look forward to these and will they still follow the perspective of Hanno and quintus and possibly aurelia and also maybe hanno’s brothers Sapho and bostar I really think you should consider trying to get a TV show and/or a game for this series
    And I also forgot to ask could you say when the next Hannibal book is due out

    I look forward to your reply

  14. @kyle: thanks for your message. Yes, there will be at least two more Hannibal books (maybe three). They will mainly follow Quintus and Hanno. I’d love them to be made into TV series or films, but I’m afraid that’s not down to me. I live in hope and expectation, however!
    The next Hannibal book won’t be out for a few years, I’m afraid, as I’m writing a three part series about the Romans in Germany. The first book, Eagles at War, comes out early next year. I hope that will keep you going – cheers – Ben

  15. Hey Ben!
    Love the new book! I am also very glad to see that you interact with your supporters as much as you do 🙂

    I enjoyed all the Hannibal books so far, however, I miss the intense interaction between Aurelia and Hanno. I would also have loved to see/read about how different Quintus and Hanno looked after many years of not seeing one another.eg. physically etc.

    I only wish to give you constructive criticism and wish you the best of luck with your new books!
    I will always be a fan!

  16. All your books make for great reading, I’m looking forward to future additions

  17. Hello Ben,
    I have read both Spartacus’s books and the two first about Hannibal. I really have enjoyed them as well as learning a lot of impressive history. The crossing of the carthaginian army through the Alps reminded me a little bit of the crossing of San Martin’s army through the Cordillera de los Andes 200 years ago 😉

    Can’t wait for the spanish version of Clouds of War. I think I’m gonna read it in english!!

    It’s really an honour having the possibility to write you from here. Thanks a lot for everything!

    Francisco
    From Buenos Aires, Argentina

  18. Hi Gideon, and many apologies for not replying for so long. Sorry that you weren’t as happy with the last book…
    Best wishes

  20. Hi Francisco, and many apologies for not replying for so long. I’m delighted you enjoy my books so much. I hope you like Clouds of War too! Saludos.

  21. Buenas noches desde Madrid (España) Ben. Quisiera preguntar si se dispone de la fecha de publicación de Clouds of War aquí en España.
    Muchas gracias y un saludo.

  22. Ben, I am super excited that there will be more books to come in this series. I for one love this series, the twists and turns, the true human element with choices being made by all the characters, no matter their importance of being a main character or just a street urchin you see for just a few pages. Keep up the excellent work! ~Krystal~

  23. Lo siento por estar tan tarde! Nubes de Guerra saldo en Marzo. Saludos!

  24. So so sorry for not replying until now, Krystal! Thanks for your message.

  25. My problem is that the relationships among Hanno, Quintus, and Aurelia is totally unbelievable. The idea that the members of a Roman aristocratic family would develop any sort of friendship with a Carthaginian slave, much less a romantic one, would be like Queen Elizabeth II wanting to have sex with Kanye West. It just would NEVER happen.

  26. @nosterrex: It is true that it’s stretching the truth a little to have a friendship/romance between a Roman equestrian and a Carthaginian noble youth. However, it’s no more implausible than many fictions readers are expected to accept in other novels, viz. Sharpe surviving every single skirmish and battle of the Napoleonic wars and beyond without being killed, Steven Saylor’s Gordianus being present at every single important historical event that took place in his lifetime – even the carpet-unrolling revealing of Cleopatra to Caesar and so on and so on. People accept these implausible plot devices…

    Moreover, your comment about QE II and Kanye West shows your ignorance of the period. First off, Aurelia’s family are of equestrian class, not senatorial. They were nowhere near royalty in mid Republican Rome. Hanno’s family is of equivalent, more likely higher class, Carthaginian, with a lineage that was older than the Roman equivalent – and certainly with way more ‘class’ than that muppet Kanye West. It’s your ‘black’ comment that’s most laughable, however. Carthaginians were not black, or even close to it. They were of Phoenician stock, and therefore probably looked like Israelis might today. Black Africans did not exist in north Africa at the time – even now, they’re rare.

  27. Hey Ben,

    I finished reading this series a couple of months ago, and I just wanted to leave a comment here to add my thanks to you for writing this incredible series! There aren’t many good historical fiction novels set during the Second Punic War, but this series really filled the void for me as it tells the side not just from the Roman point of view, but also of the Carthaginian (and even Greek). Plus, I really appreciated the witnessing of historical events and characters neatly tied in with the fictional elements plus the detailed descriptions of equipment/life in classical antiquity in general. The growing feeling of tension before and during the bigger, more famous battles – especially during the Battle of Cannae in the second book – kept on making me want to read more.

    However, I was just wondering – since this book is now three years old, and you’re releasing a book next year which I believe will start a new series(?) set during the Macedonian Wars, a war that Hannibal himself contributed towards after fleeing Carthage – if you were ever going to continue the series to conclude the war at the Battle of Zama and have it (possibly) lead on into your upcoming new book? Personally, I think that would be the perfect break-off point for the series – I imagine that a tragedy is building up for Hanno, his family and (possibly) Quintus / Aurelia, since we all know what concluded the war and Carthage’s eventual fate afterwards. The thought of the series just being left as it currently is, dangling without a proper conclusion to the characters and war that has been built up over three novels, is worrying.

    Thanks again,

    Ben Pratt

    P.S. One last thing – in the second book (Hannibal: Fields of Blood), on Location 952 • Page 53, there was a sentence which described Mercury as the “…god of WAR and messengers”. Is that correct? I thought that Mars was solely worshiped as the god of war in the Roman pantheon?

  28. Hi Ben, and many thanks for your message. Sorry for the delay – I am knee deep in edits with the latest manuscript, which has to be handed in by the 30th. I’m pleased you liked the Hannibal books. There will be three more books, at least. One in Spain, one for the Metaurus, and one for Zama – maybe even one in between Metaurus and Zama, or one after Zama. However – and this is a big however – there’s going to be a break before I can write them. My publisher, who is the piper playing the tune, isn’t happy with me writing more Hannibal books at the moment. This is because, for whatever reason, they haven’t sold as well as the others. That’s why Eagles at War, which no doubt you’ve heard of, and the following two books, are a different series. After that, I will probably write something different again – still Rome, but not Hannibal. I WILL get back to Hanno, Quintus and Aurelia one day, I promise you – but I can’t say when. Sorry – I know how frustrating that must be. I can promise you that it’s annoying from this side too.

    Anyway, I hope you can continue enjoying my books in the meantime, even if they’re not about the Punic wars.

    Very best wishes to you – Ben

  29. PS I think you’re right about Mercury – I’ll have to double check, and get it corrected if you are correct. Thanks!

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