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megswhitaker's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abandonment
books_and_lattemacchiato's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.75
gallorf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.75
emilyfcass's review against another edition
4.0
Good book, took me a while to get into, but did get into the story! nice to look at a historical event in a fictional sense
mattcollard's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favourite Robert Harris book but still a good story on an interesting topic. I found the subplot and characters to be lacking in substance but there was still enough tension to keep the story interesting and moving along.
rosa_mariposa's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
mmmiaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
gnewick304's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
bks37's review against another edition
4.0
The first half of this book before the eruption starts is honestly incredibly boring in the most delightful way for me. I love Marcus Attilius and his single-minded devotion to such a mundane and yet incredibly important source of Rome's greatness: the aqueduct. Almost all of the story here is introducing characters to breathe life into the world of 79AD Pompeii and I really think Harris succeeded in writing a nice glimpse into that time period.
Marcus is an engineer in charge of a branch of the Augusta branch of the Italian Aqueduct. The way he treats his job with such reverence and importance is really refreshing. Nobody thinks about the amount of effort, planning and upkeep time it takes to make water appear from dozens if not hundreds of miles away. I really identified with Attilius and his job as it felt like he was describing the modern electrical grid, which I work on today.
I could have done without the love plot, but as it unfolded I understood why it was included. Without it there was no real reason that Attilius would have stuck around to be part of the disaster. It gave him a goal, albeit a pretty shallow one. The rest of the side characters felt like real people with hopes and dreams. The way we get to see how almost all of them faired through the worst Vesuvius had to offer was fun and makes for a very tight story.
Marcus is an engineer in charge of a branch of the Augusta branch of the Italian Aqueduct. The way he treats his job with such reverence and importance is really refreshing. Nobody thinks about the amount of effort, planning and upkeep time it takes to make water appear from dozens if not hundreds of miles away. I really identified with Attilius and his job as it felt like he was describing the modern electrical grid, which I work on today.
I could have done without the love plot, but as it unfolded I understood why it was included. Without it there was no real reason that Attilius would have stuck around to be part of the disaster. It gave him a goal, albeit a pretty shallow one. The rest of the side characters felt like real people with hopes and dreams. The way we get to see how almost all of them faired through the worst Vesuvius had to offer was fun and makes for a very tight story.