Kindle Edition Audiobook Amazon charleybrindley.com Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Amazon ISBN-10:  9798249428891 Type: Fiction Pages: 532 Copyright:  March 26, 2013 Price: $1.99 (eBook) A unit of the U. S. Army's Seventh Cavalry is on a mission over Afghanistan when their plane is hit and torn to pieces. A combat mission over Afghanistan becomes something no soldier has ever trained for. When their aircraft is struck and a platoon of the Seventh Cavalry bails out, they don’t land in a war zone they recognize. Instead, the 13 soldiers hit the ground two thousand years in the past—in a world of empires, iron weapons, and wars fought face to face. Cut off from their own time and surrounded by forces that will kill them without hesitation, the men and women of the Seventh must choose quickly: remain outsiders and perish, or intervene in a history that was never meant to be altered. As modern weapons collide with ancient armies, courage, discipline, and ingenuity are pushed to their limits—and every decision carries consequences far beyond survival. Because once the past is changed, there may be no way home. Written by the author of a meticulously researched trilogy on Hannibal and the Second Punic War. Excerpt The aircraft jerked violently to the right and tilted into a dive. The captain was thrown hard against the weapons container, knocking him unconscious. He tumbled off the tailgate and into the air as his static line yanked tight. “We’ve been hit!” one of the soldiers yelled. The metal of the airframe groaned as the plane twisted to the left, then seemed to right itself for a moment. Alexander worked his way forward to the cockpit door. When he pulled the handle, the door flew open, hitting his helmet and almost tearing off his arm. He pulled himself into the doorway, leaning into the wind howling through the open space. “Holy Mother of Satan!” He blinked, not believing what he saw: the entire nose section of the C-130 was gone, including the pilot and co-pilot seats. The navigator’s seat was still in place, but it was empty. When he looked forward through the gaping hole where the front of the plane should have been, he was terrified to see they were spiraling toward a jagged mountaintop, no more than two miles ahead. “Everybody out!” he yelled into his mic. His soldiers stared at him, frozen in place, as if they didn’t understand his order. “Out the back, NOW!”

Fascinating take on history
The characters in this novel are wonderful in their diverse personalities. It makes their adventure all the more interesting and it is impossible not to care about them. I loved the dialogue and how they developed such a deep camaraderie in the face of such overwhelming circumstances. It is a testament to their strength to see how the author guides them to deal with their challenges.


The story lands these unlikely people back, way back, in time. Hannibal crossing the Alps complete with all the fanfare, elephants, an army that exceeds any other and true grit is a unique setting to discover for a group of hard tack Marines. I really enjoyed reading this novel and I can say from my perspective, it has all the elements of a fascinating story. I would love to see it made into a film.

Positively stunning storytelling
From the very first paragraphs, and to the last line of the last page, an incredibile, hold-your-breath journey into a past accompanying one of the greatest military leaders of all time. The 7th Cavalry Airborne through a fluke? a weird natural event? end up thrown back in a time they need to quickly come to Terme with if they want to survive. Superbly written, most historical facts accurate (well, mostly) and characters one gets to know and care for. All in all, can't recommend this book too highly; truly an awesome read which will have you flipping pages far into the night!