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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Maybe not the most interesting story, but I liked it since we just visited Pompeii while on vacation.
An exciting historical fiction that takes place right when Vesuvius is about to erupt. The angle is the main character is an engineer tasked to repair the aqueduct that has suddenly, and for unknow reason (bet you can guess how), been damaged.
The details about what life was like in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding towns leading up to the eruption is impressive, and really sets the scene for the citizens experiencing something terrible and fantastic that they'd never before seen or heard of.
Where the book kind of falls flat (in my opinion) is the storytelling and characters. I didn't really like or dislike any of them (even though I was obviously supposed to) and it made the book a very interesting intellectual read but it didn't draw me into another world.
Recommended for fans of historical disaster fiction, and the history of Vesuvius & Pompeii.
The details about what life was like in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding towns leading up to the eruption is impressive, and really sets the scene for the citizens experiencing something terrible and fantastic that they'd never before seen or heard of.
Where the book kind of falls flat (in my opinion) is the storytelling and characters. I didn't really like or dislike any of them (even though I was obviously supposed to) and it made the book a very interesting intellectual read but it didn't draw me into another world.
Recommended for fans of historical disaster fiction, and the history of Vesuvius & Pompeii.
An engineer is an original choice of protagonist for the well-known drama of Vesuvius and lends a flavour of the practical, oft cannilty correct scientific tought of Antiquity.
This was a book club selection, otherwise I would not have read it.
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I rather enjoyed this story. I listened to the audio version. My only issue was a “rescue the damsel in distress” plot in the end that was a bit cliche. However, the writing and world building was strong. The characters were likable, when they were supposed to be likable. Even the bad guy was a well written, three dimensional character, and really just a more realistic person for that time.
I haven't ever not enjoyed a Robert Harris book, and that didn't change here. However it is the novel of his that has made least impact on me. I didn't feel greatly interested in any one character; the impending doom didn't feel apocalyptic enough, and although the author wants to connect Pompei's fate to that of, say the contemporary American empire, that never really shone through. Enjoyable, but not quite what I hoped for given the strength of Fatherland or the Cicero novels.
I'm about to see the Pompeii exhibit in Portland and thought this would be a fun read to set the mood. Little did I know that not only was it about August 24, 0079, but it is also about the aqueducts that fed ancient Italy. I love stories about ancient plumbing. ha! (weird, but whatever) give me an underground cistern, a mossy tunnel, and a cave-in. I'm happy. So the story thrilled me to no end. Seriously, if you are interested in the workings of the Roman world beyond the Palatine hill, this story will do it.
We know the tragic ending, but how we get there is what makes the book fun. Who will die, who might live? That compels the story along just as surely as the water flowed down the Aqua Augusta.
We know the tragic ending, but how we get there is what makes the book fun. Who will die, who might live? That compels the story along just as surely as the water flowed down the Aqua Augusta.
Pompeii by Robert Harris
An entertaining little diversion in which Robert Harris energetically conjures up the hot and dry days of AD 79 in the lead-up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the immediate impact on the surrounding towns. The author treats us to a tale of intrigue, ingenuity, human avarice, corruption with a cursory love story thrown in for the bargain.
Our hero is suitably heroic, our heroine stoic, and the bad guys are variously psychotic, egotistical and lazy. The usual beats of a heart-racing adventure are both present and satisfying. I reckon that this has the makings of both Hollywood blockbuster and triple-A video game material.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
An entertaining little diversion in which Robert Harris energetically conjures up the hot and dry days of AD 79 in the lead-up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the immediate impact on the surrounding towns. The author treats us to a tale of intrigue, ingenuity, human avarice, corruption with a cursory love story thrown in for the bargain.
Our hero is suitably heroic, our heroine stoic, and the bad guys are variously psychotic, egotistical and lazy. The usual beats of a heart-racing adventure are both present and satisfying. I reckon that this has the makings of both Hollywood blockbuster and triple-A video game material.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2