Clash of Empires

Clash of Empires, Book 1

By: Ben Kane

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

When a new empire rises, and old one must fall

After 16 years of bloody war against Rome, Hannibal Barca is on the verge of defeat. On the plains of Zama, Felix and his brother Antonius stand in the formidable Roman legions, ready to deliver the decisive blow. Victory will establish Rome as the preeminent power in the ancient world.

But in northern Greece, Philip V of Macedon is determined to restore Alexander the Great's kingdom to its former glory. Charismatic leader, ruthless general, he will use the unforgiving might of his phalanx to unite Greece and to fend off Rome's grasping fingers.

In Rome, young senator Flamininus is set on becoming one of the Republic's greatest military commanders. With Hannibal on the verge of defeat, the as-yet-unconquered Macedon and Greece are ripe for conquest. Strategist and spymaster, politician and general, Flamininus will stop at nothing to bring Philip V to heel.

Demetrios slumps on the rowing bench of his Macedonian ship. Thirsty, hungry, burnt by the unforgiving Mediterranean sun, dreams are his only sustenance. Dreams of the perfect thrust of a 15-foot sarissa spear, of the unyielding phalanx wall, of the glory of Macedon.

The Roman wolf has tasted blood, and it wants more. But the sun of Macedon will not set without a final blaze of glory.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.

©2018 Ben Kane (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Critic reviews

"Who is the rising star of historical fiction? I say Ben Kane." (Wilbur Smith)

One of the best books I've read.

After listening to this book, Ben Kane is now one of my favorite authors. I've already listed to the falling sword which is just as thrilling. I will continue to purchase his works on audible. His depiction of the characters, Both historical and fictional are great. You'll truly love them or hate them. If you see this, Keep writing Ben, you can tell it has taken a lifetime of research and story telling to write this exciting historically based book. If not you're a natural. I hope you get rich.
Great work by Steven Pacey's awesome narration as well.

great book

great narration. thank you. g g g g g g g g g g g a a s

Great fun wonderful performance

After reading the Eagle series I was looking forward to Clash of Empires. At first lush I was unhappy with the change of reader. However, spacey did a great job. I’m enjoying this historical history genre and Ben Kane dose this very well. Great believable characters you just want to gobble it up and I have. The Eagle series was worth a second lister as is this book. Well done Ben 16+ hours of entertainment well worth the credit or the price.

Great story but....

This story was very good, but took till chapter four before it kicked off. Then it bounced between characters at different stages of a battle. Good Roman background history, Excellent details just not perfect. so is it a buy/pass...
It’s a buy!

Shades of Joe A.

It may have been the narrative aspect that called out to me. The narrator is terrific. Even if he’s using British Isles accents to Aegean and Mediterranean characters. I don’t care. He does a really good job. Writing was solid. I don’t know history well enough to vouch for the accuracy. But it jibed with what I do know. The writing was very similar to Joe Abercrombie. So much so I’m a wee suspicious. But I don’t care about that either. Because I really him too. All and all. If you like rousing stories. Lots of well written gritty battle and war. I mean what’s not to like right?
It was just pretty fun. And easy to follow. Not too bogged down with details that it detracts from the story.
Fans if Steven Pacey or Joe A will get onboard with this without much problem.

Fantastic Reading

I had never listened to a historical book before, nor heard of the author Ben Kane. I stumbled upon Clash of Empires as a result of my search for more books narrated by Steven Pacey. I loved his performance in the First Law series, and wanted to hear more. Clash of Empires turned out to be an incredibly written, dynamic, and enthralling book. The different character perspectives were great; I can’t wait to read more by Ben Kane.

Great

This is a great book. Encapsulates the glory and the horror of war. Excellent character development.

Fantastic Read!

I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy all of Ben Kane’s books. Every time I see he has put out a new one I immediately read it. I haven’t been disappointed yet. This was a great story here and I look forward to the second part coming out in May I believe. 10 out of 10 for me.

a fun historical romp

if you want to glimpse an warfare in the world of antiquity this is a fun book. the historicity was more than good enough. lots of cool references if things students of the Era would smile at and characters you root for and root against.

narration is excellent. Steven Pacey could read the phone book and I'd find it intriguing.

Excellent Historical Fiction.

I love this book because it’s not predictable. There’s no love story- which is refreshing. The author is able to take historical events and make them truly interesting. The characters are ball very different and I loved it. Glad I happened upon this author, I plan to read his Eagle trilogy after I finish book 2.
Narrator is first rate, really quite good. A great book with a great narrator makes for a wonderful listening experience.