Pompeii

A Novel

By: Robert Harris

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Best seller

"Terrific...gripping... A literally shattering climax." (The New York Times Book Review)

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta’ s 60-mile main line - somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius - decent, practical, and incorruptible - promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work - both natural and man-made - threatening to destroy him.

With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, best-selling author of Archangel and Fatherland, re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.

©2003 Robert Harris (P)2003 Books On Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Blazingly exciting...Pompeii palpitates with sultry tension.... What makes this novel all but unputdownable...is the bravura fictional flair that crackles through it.... It is hard to imagine a more thoroughgoingly enjoyable thriller.” (London Sunday Times)

"Breakneck pace, constant jeopardy and subtle twists of plot...a blazing blockbuster... The depth of the research in the book is staggering.” (Daily Mail)

“[A] stirring and absorbing novel...The final 100 pages are terrific, as good as anything Harris has done; and the last, teasing paragraph, done with the lightest of touches, is masterly.” (The Sunday Telegraph)

Before and after Pompeii visit

I listen to this book before we visited Pompeii in Italy and found it fascinating to learn more about the city. I recently listened to it again after we've been home for six months and was thrilled to realize I could picture places he described in the book after being there myself in the ruins. How could any story be more realistic than that?
The story is told from the POV of the Aquarius who is newly appointed to care for the aquaduct that's supplied all of the Bay of Naples. There are other true historical figures such as Pliney the Elder and bits of Roman culture sprinkled throughout, and I learned a lot about history and the architecture of the area.
Even though we all know what happens in the end I became invested in the characters and was on the edge of my seat until the end to see who lived and who died.

Delightful for Roman History fans.

Solid story from an author who knows how to structure a story. Harris creates some solid stock characters and one or two compelling ones. He builds a pretty good world for the reader to get lost in. Quick moving plot and the narrator gives a great performance!

no one could have survived

I am without words to describe this shocking and amazing true event. Good characters kept my interest and made the story move along with the volcano. John Lees voice and erudition are unsurpassed.

Good book with some unnecessary junk

The narrator is excellent - it's easy to keep track of the characters thanks to his skill with multiple voices.

Harris is a great writer, but -- and I realize I'm going to sound prudish here -- there's some junk in there I could have done without. It's almost like he had an f-word count requirement he had to meet, forcing him to have characters say things like "you and your [eff-ing] mother" when the protagonist asked if he were strong enough to pull him out of a pit. (Wouldn't a simple "you and your mother" have worked fine?) There's also a lot of locker room talk about male (and some female) anatomy and awkwardly placed homoerotic episodes that I suppose are in there to further establish the debauchery of the "bad guys" in the story.

None of this was needed to further the plot, in my opinion, and even seemed to interrupt the flow -- "we interrupt this story to briefly talk about erections again". Harris is a good enough writer to not need to fall back on the cheap titillation and shock value that seem to be all the rage these days.

It would have been a great book without it.

Wow

I'm 10 minutes from the end of this book and I'm on the edge of my seat. Knowing the inevitable end doesn't detract from it at all--in fact, it enhances it... will they make it out alive? I can't wait to get to the last sentence.

Average story...better than average narrator

This story is pretty good and the plot is easy to stay up with. My only complaint is the thinness of the content in places. (If you want to hear what ancient Romans probably sounded like, try Robert Graves' "I, Claudius.") "Pompeii" is not literature, but it is a good yarn, and if you use your imagination, you can travel back in time on the strength of the better-than-average writing. For a nice diversion, and because the narrator is easy to understand, though he pushes too hard in places, I give this a thumbs up...three stars for the story and four stars for the narration. If you like historical novels and you know something about ancient Rome, you'll probably like this one.

Awesome! - Brought me back to Italy!

Having lived in the Bay of Naples for a few years, I found this book to be most accurate with the descriptions of people and places. The narrator and the author brought to life the city of Pompeii and I could follow the story with the astounding visual descriptions of Roman life. It brought me back to Italy!! What an AWESOME book! It's a must listen!!

KABOOM!

This story posesses you until the end even though we all know the ending. I think they would call this a dramatic documentary that excedes the coolness scale for interesting. Well worth the time!

Excellent

A great book. I enjoyed the scientific details and the characters were believable. My only quibble is that I would have preferred a different ending (I won't give it away).

One of the best audios yet....

With its ideal matching of author to narrator, "Pompeii" transports you to the last days of the city in August 79 AD. Close your eyes and allow the outstanding narration to guide you into the fray of the corruption and superstition as the signs of impending disaster are encountered. The accurate historical and scientific information pulled it all together with perfection. For 2 days, me and my iPod were inseparable until I had heard the entire 13 hours. A great summer read!