The Coin of Carthage

By: Bryher

Narrated by: Nadia May

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

The war that began in 218 B.C. with Hannibal's march across the Alps is one of the familiar stories of history, but its details are little known. A struggle between an emerging barbarian power and an old culture, it pitted a Roman army of mostly farmers against the highly trained officers of Carthage. Hannibal's empire, founded on her control of the sea, would lose her fight against the Romans' new methods of naval warfare. Only through the wit of their beloved leader would the Carthaginians recover economically from the war, but internal strife would drive Hannibal to exile and eventually to suicide.

Brilliantly evoking the world of the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War, Bryher creates a common man's view of the greatest struggle in which ancient Rome engaged through the lives of two Greek traders.

©1963 Norman Holmes Pearsons (P)1996 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"The thick dust of history and change that hides the people of the Roman Empire from us, acts for Bryher like a dark tunnel intensifying the brilliant scene beyond." (Christian Science Monitor)

mundane tale

This is a book that should never have been published. It lacks a strong story line. The narrative is trite. There is no action, no moral, and no insight. With no clear purpose, the editor should have sent the manuscript back to the author. Sad business this.

A truly bad book

What disappointed you about The Coin of Carthage?

If you're looking for a story set during the Punic Wars and weaving the plot into the times, look elsewhere. This is a quintessentially boring story about lifeless characters that could have been set on any farm during any time period.

Has The Coin of Carthage turned you off from other books in this genre?

No connection to the era, no scholarship, no plot or character development, no action.

Which character – as performed by Nadia May – was your favorite?

None

What character would you cut from The Coin of Carthage?

The entire book. It's not of publishable quality.

Any additional comments?

Nothing remotely interesting, let alone exciting.

disappointing

This book is one in which the author tries to weave the life stories of various individuals into the scenery and time of anchient Rome and Carthage. The main characters in various preposterous situations keep running into each other and thus interweaving their experiences of the time. This is a fine book for primary school entertainment, but grossly lacking any depth or insight into the times. A very superficial and disappointing waste of valuable time, unfortunately.
If only Alan Furst or John La Carre had written a book on this time in history.
Finally, the recording would repeatedly skip back by 5-10 seconds, this occurred numerous times and was in the recording itself. Thus, adding insult to drudgery and tedious frustration.