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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Another really enjoyable historical novel. Definitely recommended.
It takes an awfully long time for the volcano to finally erupt, but when it does, the pace picks up fast.
I appreciated the detail work about the aqueducts and how they operate, as that can be rather dry reading on its own. The thriller plot kept the book moving, which makes it a perfect long car/train/plane journey read.
The fixation upon some of the more grotesque aspects of Roman living were a bit gratuitous (I'm not sure they added much) and over-simplified, as was the fixation upon Stoic philosophy (which was not as widely practiced or talked about at this point in history as the author seems to think), but the setting was rendered realistically enough. The parts with Pliny the Elder were the best of the novel's story arcs and I felt were the most vividly rendered.
I'm not sure how much the academic descriptions of volcanic eruptions given at the beginning of each chapter really serves. I get that it's to help the reader understand what is happening naturally during the chapter they are about to read, and some of the facts are quite fascinating (the thermal energy released by Vesuvius in AD 79 was 100,000 times that released by the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, for instance) but when highly technical formulas are thrown around in those descriptions, my eyes glaze over and I just skip to the beginning of the chapter proper. A bit amending of those excerpts at the beginning of each chapter to make them more layperson friendly wouldn't have gone amiss.
I appreciated the detail work about the aqueducts and how they operate, as that can be rather dry reading on its own. The thriller plot kept the book moving, which makes it a perfect long car/train/plane journey read.
The fixation upon some of the more grotesque aspects of Roman living were a bit gratuitous (I'm not sure they added much) and over-simplified, as was the fixation upon Stoic philosophy (which was not as widely practiced or talked about at this point in history as the author seems to think), but the setting was rendered realistically enough. The parts with Pliny the Elder were the best of the novel's story arcs and I felt were the most vividly rendered.
I'm not sure how much the academic descriptions of volcanic eruptions given at the beginning of each chapter really serves. I get that it's to help the reader understand what is happening naturally during the chapter they are about to read, and some of the facts are quite fascinating (the thermal energy released by Vesuvius in AD 79 was 100,000 times that released by the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, for instance) but when highly technical formulas are thrown around in those descriptions, my eyes glaze over and I just skip to the beginning of the chapter proper. A bit amending of those excerpts at the beginning of each chapter to make them more layperson friendly wouldn't have gone amiss.
Excellently researched and great plot. Cardboard cutout characters, but for a plot driven novel, I’ll take it
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The best sort of page turner, gripping all the way through.
Everyone knows how the story ends, but how you get there is that counts. I would never have thought that a story about a guy who works on the aqueducts would be an exciting way to tell the story of Pompeii. It's a slow burn, but once the mountain starts erupting it's warp speed. There are facts about volcanoes peppered through the book, so what you are about to read after that fact it's a little harder. There are characters you love and characters who hate, there is Roman life on display, and famous names. It's imaginative and exciting.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Still not the Pompeii book I was looking for. My favourite part was the very serious subplot about aqueduct engineering. Infrastructure is very important!
*listened to an abridged audiobook* wasn’t like the most gripping story but it’s good for me to mix up the time periods of my historical fiction and it did make me want to read the Wikipedia page for Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius.