Ship of Rome

Ship of Rome is the first in a series by new writer John Stack and if this is any indication a first class series it will be! The story is set at the beginning of the Punic Wars, that epic conflict between the newly emerging power of Rome and the established mercantile empire of Carthage. After a series of wars with other city states Rome has become the dominant power on the mainland of Italy and now looks to the island of Sicily on which Carthage already has several bases. The Carthaginians had been defeated at the Battle of Agrigentum confirming the superiority of the Roman Legions in land battles but the Roman forces needed constant re-supply from the mainland and this was their weakness as Carthage was as dominant on the seas as Rome on land. How Rome built a navy from scratch and defeated the blockading Carthaginians is the story that Ship of Rome tells in a narrative that propels the reader onwards like a galley at ramming speed. This kind of book would never be reviewed by the Times Lit Sup and would be greeted with utter disdain by the literati but for those of us who like a rollicking good story straightforwardly told this is about as good as it gets.