Acacia

The bestselling historical novelist turns to epic fantasy with a powerful story of treachery, murder and revenge...

David Anthony Durham has won acclaim for his historical novels, and brings his knowledge of the past and other cultures to create a rich and compelling world on his first foray into fantasy. His skilful storytelling, depth of characterisation, and an ability to unsettle reader expectations is reminiscent of George R.R. Martin, but his is a distinctive new voice

Durham brings to mind Tolkien with the expert detail with which he's built his alternate land. This could be the arrival of a fantasy classic

Where this sort of thing really works is not just in the attention to detail, but the attention to character. And with its epic duels and mighty sea battles, the whole thing is suffused with a feeling of Greek myth and legend

He is a master of the fantasy epic...How will it all end? If the first volume of this projected series is any indication, in brilliant - and brutal - defiance of fantasy conventions.

Complex, multi-layered...a world whose history feels as real, complicated and unpredictable as our own...whose characters and events will be as real in the minds of his readers as history itself.

This is a novel that Shakespeare would have loved! Durham is rebuilding fantasy from the ground-up.

Entertaining and engaging...If War with the Mein is an indication of what is to come in this epic saga, Durham could be making a very big name for himself.

Vastly entertaining...Will good win out over evil? In Durham's morally ambiguous world, the uncertainty is part of the thrill

Sprawling and vividly imagined fantasy...Durham has created a richly detailed alternate reality leavened with a dollop of magic and populated by complicated personalities grappling with issues of freedom and oppression.

David Anthony Durham was born in New York City. He is the award-winning author of three acclaimed novels, Gabriel's Story, Walk Through Darkness and Hannibal: Pride of Carthage. He lived in Scotland for several years but now lives with his family in California, where he teaches at Cal State University.

Ruling from the island of Acacia, the emperor of the Known World has inherited an apparent peace and prosperity won by his ancestors generations ago. He's an intelligent man, a widower who dotes on his four children and it is this devotion that obliges him to hide a terrible secret from them: that their prosperity rests on the dark realities of trafficking in drugs and human lives. A man of integrity, he hopes that he might bring an end to this vile trade, but powerful forces stand in his way. And then an assassin strikes, a lone killer sent by the Mein, an ancient foe long ago exiled to the frozen north. Now the Mein have returned to take revenge on their old enemy and begin a series of brutal surprise assaults on Acacia. Mortally wounded, the emperor puts into play a plan that will allow his children to escape, to fulfil their destinies. And so begins a quest to avenge a father's death and restore an empire - this time on the basis of universal freedom...

Pride Of Carthage

Hannibal

Epic, panoramic historical novel about Hannibal and the brutal, bloody Second Punic War.

'An extraordinary achievement: Durham puts flesh on the bones of Carthage in a way that no novelist has done since Flaubert wrote Salammbô'

'Wonderful...an historical novel that's not only deeply evocative of time and place, character and situation, but is also lyrically written, compellingly composed...a masterpiece'

'Heady, richly textured...Durham weaves abundant psyhcological, military and political detail in this vivid account of one of the most romanticized periods of history'

'Magnificent...an old-fashioned historical yarn, it could hardly be bettered'

'Durham vividly captures the frenzy of ancient warfare...Pride of Carthage is a skillfully structured and often gripping novel'

'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'

Born in New York in 1969 to parents of Caribbean ancestry, David Anthony Durham has travelled widely throughout America and Europe. After living in Scotland for a few years, he and his family now live in Massachusetts. He is the author of two previous novels, the acclaimed Gabriel's Story and Walk Through Darkness but Pride of Carthage marks his UK debut.

In ancient Rome, parents used to silence misbehaving children with the utterance 'Hannibal ad portas' (Hannibal is at the door). Such was the fear and awe that Hannibal Barca instilled... 
Told in arcing, epic technicolour, this is the story of one of the ancient world's most remarkable figures and the long, bloody conflict between the two 'superpowers' of the times - the Second Punic War (218-202BC) - that hinged on the genius, the ambition and the personal tragedies of Hannibal Barca of Carthage, whose military prowess became the stuff of legend, and Publius Scipio of Rome. History, of course, tells us the outcome: that Rome would be the victor, surviving to become a colossal imperial power, while Carthage would be all but erased from history. It was, however, a close run thing. And the world might have been a very different place had Hannibal succeeded in thwarting the might of Rome. 
PRIDE OF CARTHAGE is a sweeping, thrilling story of ancient warfare, of armies traversing frozen snow-covered mountains, of battles won or lost by brilliant generals fighting in ingenious, cunning ways. And it's a story teeming with superbly drawn, memorable characters and players, historical and imagined - from Numidian horsemen and the Roman legions to the slaves and freemen from all corners of the ancient Mediterranean world...

David Anthony Durham

Durham combines sharp political manoeuvering with some breathtaking action sequences and equally sharp prose. He writes with great clarity. sweeping you up in the grandeur of his epic vision

Following in the footsteps of George R. R. Martin...a riveting and thought-provoking read

A big, fat, rich piece of history-flavoured fantasy...imagined with remarkable thoroughness

The apocalyptic struggle against the Mein has ended. A victorious Corinn Akaran reigns over the Acacian Empire of the Known World. Bolstered by her mastery of the sorcerous powers contained in the Book of Elenet, she rules with an iron hand. And rebuilding a war-weary empire is not easy. Disturbing news reaches her court from the mysterious Other Lands and Corinn dispatches her brother, Dariel, as her emissary across the uncharted seas of the Grey Slopes. From the moment he sets foot on that distant continent, this former brigand is caught up in a web of ancient rivalries, resentments, intrigue and burgeoning treachery. His arrival ignites a firestorm that once more threatens the Known World with invasion - one that will surely dwarf anything his homeland had yet faced. It seems the wheel turns again, and a new cycle of world-shattering and shaping events is about to begin...

David Anthony Durham

Praise for The Other Lands

Durham combines sharp political manoeuvering with some breathtaking action sequences and equally sharp prose. He writes with great clarity. sweeping you up in the grandeur of his epic vision

Following in the footsteps of George R. R. Martin...a riveting and thought-provoking read

A big, fat, rich piece of history-flavoured fantasy...imagined with remarkable thoroughness

Durham combines sharp political manoeuvering with some breathtaking action sequences and equally sharp prose. He writes with great clarity. sweeping you up in the grandeur of his epic vision

Following in the footsteps of George R. R. Martin...a riveting and thought-provoking read

A big, fat, rich piece of history-flavoured fantasy...imagined with remarkable thoroughness

Durham combines sharp political manoeuvering with some breathtaking action sequences and equally sharp prose. He writes with great clarity. sweeping you up in the grandeur of his epic vision

Following in the footsteps of George R. R. Martin...a riveting and thought-provoking read

A big, fat, rich piece of history-flavoured fantasy...imagined with remarkable thoroughness

Books by David Anthony Durham

Series by David Anthony Durham

The War with the Mein

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