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Home > Books > Fiction > Historical Fiction Books > P Historical Fiction Books > Pompeii - Robert Harris

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for Pompeii - Robert Harris

Rating Summary based on 8 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		1
  • 4 Stars
    		5
  • 3 Stars
    		2
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Characters
  • How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  • How does it compare to similar books?
  • Readability
  • Story
  		• 3.4
  		• 2.0
  		• 2.3
  		• 3.8
  		• 4.3
Previous page Next page Page 1 of 1 | 1 to 8 out of 8 Review(s)
  • 25 of 25 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of mystikchick17

    Level 4 mystikchick17

    Member since 09/06/2004

    Reviews written: 66

    4 Stars A mystery from the ashes of Vesuvius Review with images 01/08/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Easy read, entertaining, well written

    Disadvantages Disadvantages None really

    ‘Pompeii’ is not what you would consider to be your normal historical thriller. There is no great unsolved historical mystery at work here, but rather, an event that everyone knows the outcome of: the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 that buried alive the residents of the town of Pompeii, perfectly preserving their bodies for posterity. Stranger yet is the hero of the story. He’s not a battle hero, nor even a member of the Roman senate, but an aquarius; an engineer whose responsibility it is to maintain the vital aqueducts that supply Roman towns such as Pompeii with their vital water ... more
  • 43 of 43 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Andy.mack

    Level 8 Andy.mack

    Member since 29/08/2002

    Reviews written: 905

    3 Stars Even The Roman's Can't Tame A Volcano 20/03/2008
    User doesn't recommend the product

    Advantages Advantages A very good story

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Poor characters

    It was the end of the summer in AD79. A large number of the richest members of the Roman Empire were enjoying a break in their Villa's around the Bay Of Naples. For everyone it's a time to relax and enjoy themselves, although one man has found something that worries him ever so slightly. The new engineer on the Aqua Augusta aqueduct, Marius Attilius has noticed a serious problem that needs his urgent attention. The problem isn't just with the aqueduct though and as Attilius heads towards Vesuvius he is about to encounter something that not even the mighty Roman's can appose. This is the 4th ... more
  • 31 of 31 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of lobourse

    lobourse

    4 Stars Pompeii - nearly a fabulous book, but not quite 11/08/2007
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages The main character, lots of interesting detail, portrayal of Roman engineering

    Disadvantages Disadvantages You know what is going to happen, some of sub-plots a bit half-hearted

    Pompeii is the fourth novel by Robert Harris, author of Fatherland, Enigma and Archangel. It is set in the last week of August, AD 79, covering four days starting two days before the eruption of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius up until the last day of the eruption. = WHAT IS IT ABOUT? Marius Attilius Primus is an aquarius, an engineer whose live revolves around the great aqueduct projects, which have been the great triumph of Roman civilisation. The engineer in charge if the Aqua Augusta, the 60-mile long aqueduct that brings water to the towns around the bay of Naples, has disappeared, and ... more
  • 24 of 24 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of SuperSpy

    SuperSpy

    4 Stars A book of two halves 07/03/2006
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages It takes you there - eventually

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Do you want to be buried alive?

    Pompeii by Robert Harris was my most favourite and most unexpected present I received last Christmas. Since both my son and I had read and enjoyed Fatherland and Enigma by the same author, and my son had also read Archangel and raved about it, it was a very thoughtful gift from him. Especially as we had, as a family spent a fascinating (and tiring) day visiting the remains of the real thing while on holiday in Sorrento, a few years previously. Of course, everyone knows the rudiments of what happened, when and where. But like the film Titanic, if you get the characters right and engage the ... more
  • 33 of 33 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of shirley49

    shirley49

    4 Stars an explosive read about an eruption 05/06/2006
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages easy to read, learn history without pain

    Disadvantages Disadvantages none

    Purchase paperback from Amazon for £5.59 I was moaning about having no new books to read and my friend lent me this. I liked it enough to read it in a couple of days. Synopsis: The Roman Empire's richest citizens are enjoying the heat wave whilst relaxing in their villas in the bay of Naples. The book centres around the remarkable achievement of the roman water system called Aqua Augusta which delivers water to about a quarter million people. It is set in august AD 79 in the few days leading up to and including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. There are excellent descriptions of the amazing ... more
  • 15 of 16 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of luleaexile

    luleaexile

    3 Stars Last Days... 31/10/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages A storyline that we are somewhat familiar with given greater depth and context

    Disadvantages Disadvantages If you dont like history or engineering....

    Most of have images of the fate of Pompeii. Many will have seen pictures from the recent documentary of the twisted forms left by the advancing lava in the town. You may have seen the drama ‘Last Days of Pompeii’. Robert Harris’ novel captures the final four days of Pompeii’s existence before Vesuvius vents its wrath of the bay. The primary narrator of our tale is Attilus, a young engineer in charge of the section of the Roman aqueduct serving Pompeii, Cumae, Misenum and the rest of the Bay of Neapolis. The aqueduct was one of the finest examples of Roman ingenuity and allowed an otherwise ... more
  • 9 of 9 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of sunbeams_99

    sunbeams_99

    4 Stars Pompeii 09/06/2006
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Fast paced and dramatic

    Disadvantages Disadvantages We all know what happened at Pompeii...

    I was leant this book by my parents who had both read it already, but don't let that put you off! This book has a wide appeal, as every member of my family has now read and enjoyed it! The plot centres around a young engineer, Marcus Attilius, as he fights against the odds to maintain the water supply provided by the Aqua Augusta - one of the aqueducts of the Roman Empire. In doing so he must battle against not just the forces of nature, but also the web of political intrigue that he is unknowingly drawn into. I think the best thing about this book is that the author is very good at making the ... more
  • 6 of 12 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of cupcake77

    cupcake77

    5 Stars A cracking read - absolutely loved it 31/05/2007
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Fantastic fictional story interspersed with facts

    Disadvantages Disadvantages None

    Having visited Pompeii and climbed Mount Vesuvius on my honeymoon, I quickly became obsessed with anything about the area around Naples, especially Pompeii. I was therefore drawn to this book. It's a fictional account of the three days before Vesuvius erupted in AD79 and also during the eruption. Its told through the eyes of four different characters, one an engineer working on the local aqueduct, one a teenaged girl who is stifled by her cruel, rich father, one by her father and one by Pliny, a volcanologist who is actually a historical figure (obviously his 'story' within this book is ... more
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