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I was curious how Robert Harris would write a novel about the day Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii. Could he make it interesting? How would he go about it?
I'm a sucker for apocalyptic movies. I discovered within the first few pages that Harris used a couple of tried a true methods that are used in those movies. First, we all know what's going to happen, so he starts with a countdown, beginning two days before the eruption. Next, each chapter is prefaced with an interesting fac ...more
I'm a sucker for apocalyptic movies. I discovered within the first few pages that Harris used a couple of tried a true methods that are used in those movies. First, we all know what's going to happen, so he starts with a countdown, beginning two days before the eruption. Next, each chapter is prefaced with an interesting fac ...more
It's obvious to me that Harris did his homework--even before I got to a list of his sources in his Acknowledgments at the end of the novel.
He picked an interesting character to carry most of the story, or at least someone in an interesting position to see signs of impending doom. Marcus Attilius is an "aquarius"--an engineer in charge of maintaining the Aqueduct that feeds water into the area of the Bay of Naples--which includes Pompeii. The last man holding his position suddenly disappeared we ...more
He picked an interesting character to carry most of the story, or at least someone in an interesting position to see signs of impending doom. Marcus Attilius is an "aquarius"--an engineer in charge of maintaining the Aqueduct that feeds water into the area of the Bay of Naples--which includes Pompeii. The last man holding his position suddenly disappeared we ...more
I never appreciated that the engineering marvel that were the roman aqueducts which brought a constant flow of water into cities and supplied water to public baths, latrines, fountains and private households. Nor did I appreciate sewage systems, removing waste water to keep the towns (relatively) clean. I was always puzzled why the inhabitants of Herculaneum didn't run to the sea and onto floating craft. The book explains the speed, the amount of ash and the quality of air that literally buried
...more
2.5
Great book, Robert Harris becomes my new fave author! =)
Dec 13, 2007
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
marked it as to-read
Apr 13, 2010
Stephanie
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Aug 27, 2010
Kat
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review of another edition
Shelves:
udate,
historical-fiction
May 31, 2011
Heather (DeathByBook)
marked it as to-read
Jan 11, 2012
Fanda Kutubuku
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
Oct 09, 2012
sash.
marked it as to-read
Jan 22, 2013
Kimberly
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Aug 16, 2013
Gaijinmama
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Jul 04, 2017
Leona
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Sep 10, 2017
Merrilyn
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Dec 24, 2017
Karawan
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Sep 08, 2025
Helena
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