Rating: 
Summary: A bland writing style hampers a fine tale
Review: From the pedestrian dialogue to the adequate prose, Harris attaches lots of research. But there's a reason he opens each chapter with quotes from texts on volcanoes. He's too inadequate an author to incorporate this material into the actual text. No Leon Uris he! All the characters are cardboard with the possible exception of Pliny, but Pliny's views as expressed here on sexuality do not seem bona fide. Additionally, the hero's behavior and thoughts are inconsistent. A better writer would have used this book as an outline for a much richer work. The basics are here, but little else. Don't be surprised to find yourself skimming towards the end.
Rating:
Summary: INSTRUCTIVE BUT BORING
Review: Robert Harris' novel, POMPEII, is an instructive book. The reader learns about the Roman aqueduct system and about erupting volcanos. She also learns about the effects of the exploding volcano on the town of Pompeii and the people in it. The reader is also learns how people lived in 79 AD, what they wore, what they ate, their customs and religious observations. It's all very instructive and....(yawn)....very boring.Unfortunately, the novel framework around all this research is weak and falls apart long before Vesuvious blows its top. Perhaps the worst transgressions in POMPEII are the cartoonish characters, cardboard thin and sterotypical. Hate that, don't you? There is the evil contractor, the learned philospoher, the upright, honest hero, the innocent maiden in distress. Give me a break! There is very little action in the book except running around trying to find the leak in the aqueduct or dodging falling rock fropm the eruption. The best action takes place when a hapless slave was fed to a nasty eel as punishment for killing some fish. There aren't even any (...) scenes in libidinous ancient Rome! I think this was a good idea and there is a good novel in in all this somewhere. Robert Harris just didn't manage to find it this time. But I learned a lot and there is something to be said for that: two volcanos out of five.
Rating: 
Summary: Pompeii fizzles
Review: A fascinating look at the ancient city of Pompeii, but it seemed rather dull at times. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Rome's aqueduct system. One would think the eruption of Vesuvius would merit more than just a glancing treatment. Somewhat disappointing, but still a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Page turner
Review: I'm hesitant to ascribe the term "page turner" to a book (since everyone seems to do it nowadays) but what else can you call this work? Fast-paced like Brown's DA VINCI CODE and well-written and plotted like McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, this stellar piece of fiction hits the mark. Only Harris could create a work this good around a subject that could possibly turn so bad. My first thought was, "Oh, no, a book about a volcano," but as another reviewer stated, the giant earth-pimple doesn't really rear its ugly head (excuse the imagery) until toward the end of the book. It is as it should be, for everything up until that point is a build-up to the climax. And what a climax it is! Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and COLD MOUNTAIN
Rating:
Summary: Vesuvius in Heat
Review: The world's only superpower, an abundance of advanced technology, rich people who cheat on their taxes, corrupt functionaries, a huge gulf between the have's and the have-not's. All of this plus an event so horrendous no one could ever have imagined it. How very much Rome, AD 79, resembles a certain other place we all know. This sense that the world Robert Harris creates in "Pompeii" is at once alien (when was the last time you feasted on flamingo tongues?) while at the same time familiar is a part of the appeal of this book. "Pompeii" concerns an aquarius (an engineer in ancient Rome who specializes in aqueducts) who has just taken over responsibility for the aqueduct that supplies a quarter of a million people in towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has mysteriously disappeared, and he is noticing some very funny goings-on in the functioning of his aqueduct. I loved Harris's descriptions of Roman hydraulic engineering, his blow-by-blow account of the eruption, and the scenes in which Pliny the Elder - scholar, commander of the Roman navy, and eyewitness to the big event of AD 79 - is present. The book has been painstakingly researched, as the acknowledgements attest. However, I thought that the book dragged a bit in the middle, and that the love story could have been given a bit more substance. But I put that aside when I came to the book's last memorable chapters. The last sentence of this book is one of the best book-last-sentences I have ever read. But it won't mean anything to you until you've had the pleasure of reading this fine work, which I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Six stars please
Review: Perhaps it was because I was expecting this book to be some semi-historical stody account of long ago, or perhaps it was becuase I was only midly interested in the era the action takes place, but for whatever reason, I was (pardon the pun) blown away. For what happend was this: I got a fun, easy-to-read, interesting and well-written work of fiction, peppered with interesting facts and some great writing. Homosexuality? Nudity? Sex? Hellooooo?!!! This is Pompeii we're talking about. The only thing better than reading this book is actually going there to see the ruins. Would also recommend another great read, though it's nothing like "Pompeii" in setting or plot, and that is a book called "Bark of the Dogwood" by Jackson McCrae. Also check out "The Girl with the Pearl Earring," for something really different.
Rating:
Summary: Fast paced and vivid!
Review: I love Ancient Rome, and I greatly enjoyed "Pompeii". It was a fun, light, lively, quick read. Robert Harris manages to vividly recreate the era - the imagery of day-to-day life in 1st century Pompeii was outstanding. I have to vehemently disagree with Anthony D'Amico's comment about the nudity and homosexuality. There are hardly any occurrences of such scenes in the book, and what little that appears is indicative of the Roman attitudes and times.
Rating: 
Summary: Did I miss something?
Review: I've read many books, in all genres, but I can only remember a few which made me throw the story aside half way through. The story set up far too many scenes dealing with nudity, homosexuality, and sexual fantasy. I thought the story was about a very entertaining aquarius and his quest to get the water running again in Pompeii. This story was too much for me, and I would never suggest this novel to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Stellar!
Review: Three books you have to read: Brown's "Angels and Demons," McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood," and Robert Harris's "Pompeii." All three are stellar reads but by far, "Pompeii" is my favorite. I was prepared for this draggy novel with stilted dialogue and characters I couldn't relate to. Not so. "Pompeii" is brilliant and one of the best things I've come across in years.
Rating:
Summary: Great premise
Review: Great premise--great follow through. Robert Harris is so much better a writer than many others out there. He's taken a subject that's remained interesting over the ages, given it new twists, shown us what life was like in Pompeii, and somehow woven it all into a great read. The characters were well-developed in this book, and the settings were so well described that I actually felt I knew what it was like to live in a time so long ago and far away. Just great fun. Also recommended: THE DA VINCI CODE and McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
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