The Bottom Line
Pompeii, by Robert Harris, is a retelling of the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius from the perspective of an ancient aqueduct engineer.
It is a carefully researched modern thriller set in August A.D. 79 in Campania, where Pompeii is located. Robert Harris tells the story of corruption, politics, love, Roman superstition, slavery, and engineering, all set against the power of Mt. Vesuvius.
It is a carefully researched modern thriller set in August A.D. 79 in Campania, where Pompeii is located. Robert Harris tells the story of corruption, politics, love, Roman superstition, slavery, and engineering, all set against the power of Mt. Vesuvius.
Pros
- Lessons in volcanology
- Lessons in aqueduct architecture
- Brings ancient Campania to life
- Retells an ancient story well
Cons
- The good guys win and the bad guys get their just desserts
- The hero never really seems in danger from the bad guys
Description
- Premonitions about the eruption could have been read in the disruption of the Aqua Augusta aqueduct.
- Marcus Attilius, scion of an incorruptible engineering family, is sent to Campania.
- The water tastes sulfurous which means something major is wrong.
- Marcus Attilius tries to enlist local politicos to help, but meets some resistance.
- Water is a carefully guarded illegal perk and Attilus threatens the deluxe lifestyle.
- With the help of the main bad guy's daughter, Marcus Attilius saves the day but loses the girl.
- Guilt drives him to hunt for her among the debris that has fallen on Pompey.
- Pliny the Elder needs to see the eruption up close and thinks his life a suitable sacrifice.
- Powerful descriptions of the effects of volcanic asphyxiation.
- Makes the area of Campania seem a coherent geographic unit.
Guide Review - Pompeii
Marcus Attilius comes from an incorruptible family of engineers. When he arrives in Campania to learn why water isn't flowing from the great aqueduct (the aqua Augusta) the way it's supposed to -- even in a heat wave and drought, he finds other problems. One is that the man in charge of the aqueduct, the Aquarius, has disappeared. Another is that there is a taste of sulfur in the water. The most difficult problem for Attilius is the power structure.
Attilius needs to requisition supplies and manpower in Pompeii to de-clog an hypothesized blockage in the aqueduct. He needs them immediately, but doesn't want to incur any obligation to Ampliatus, the nasty freedman who has everyone, including his former master's family, in his pocket. Although Ampliatus has limited sympathy for the plight of the rest of Campania, so long as his own baths work, he can't resist obligating someone new. He offers all the supplies that Attilius needs, but he wants Attilius to take over where the Aquarius left off -- cooking the water books.
After Attilius takes care of the blockage, survives attempts on his life, and visits the summit of Mt. Vesuvius with only minor residual ill-feeling, he joins the Pliny family in Misenum. Pliny the Elder is admiral and wants to take his boats close to the area that is beginning to suffer the wrath of Vulcan. Paralleling Attilius' foolhardy trip, Pliny wants to watch the "manifestation" up close, and while they're there, use the boats to save the residents.
Attilius needs to requisition supplies and manpower in Pompeii to de-clog an hypothesized blockage in the aqueduct. He needs them immediately, but doesn't want to incur any obligation to Ampliatus, the nasty freedman who has everyone, including his former master's family, in his pocket. Although Ampliatus has limited sympathy for the plight of the rest of Campania, so long as his own baths work, he can't resist obligating someone new. He offers all the supplies that Attilius needs, but he wants Attilius to take over where the Aquarius left off -- cooking the water books.
After Attilius takes care of the blockage, survives attempts on his life, and visits the summit of Mt. Vesuvius with only minor residual ill-feeling, he joins the Pliny family in Misenum. Pliny the Elder is admiral and wants to take his boats close to the area that is beginning to suffer the wrath of Vulcan. Paralleling Attilius' foolhardy trip, Pliny wants to watch the "manifestation" up close, and while they're there, use the boats to save the residents.
