Pompeii

a novel

by

278 pages

English language

Published 2005 by Random House Trade Pbks., Random House Trade Pbks.

ISBN:
978-0-8129-7461-4
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
62632161

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4 stars (1 review)

When the aqueduct that brings fresh water to thousands of people around the bay of Naples fails, Roman engineer Marius Primus heads to the slopes of Mount Vesuvius to investigate, only to come face to face with an impending catastrophe.

5 editions

reviewed Pompeii by Harris, Robert

Review of 'Pompeii' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Audiobook, excellently read by Steven Pacey.

A well told, engaging story threaded through the events of 79CE. The maguffin of hanging everything off the Aqua Augusta aqueduct works very well. Expertly researched period details (as far as I can tell). I very much liked the affectionate portrait of Pliny the Elder.

The characters are all a bit one-dimensional and clichéd - the evil baddie, the heroic and honorable protagonist, the beautiful & young love interest, feebly self-serving politicians, etc.

Loses a further ½* for the Hollywood ending and the unnecessary cheap shot at anthropogenic climate change.

Subjects

  • Water-supply -- Fiction.
  • Aqueducts -- Fiction.
  • Engineers -- Fiction.
  • Volcanoes -- Fiction.
  • Vesuvius (Italy) -- Eruption, 79 -- Fiction.
  • Pompeii (Extinct city) -- Fiction.