Rating: 
Summary: A Fun "Read"
Review: Harris wrote a great novel for those of us who can not get enough of the Vesuvius story of 79 AD. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It borders on being considered "faction".
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting premise but not a true thriller
Review: The year is 79 AD and the place is the Bay of Naples. The flow of water from the aquaducts have been interrupted leaving several towns without any water supply. It is up to the engineer, Marius Attilius Primus, who is in charge of the proper functioning of the aquaduct, to find out what happened. The problem is a potential catastrophe in that the water has been interrupted to over a quarter of a million people. In addition, sulpher gases have begun to appear from underground conduits and minor earthquakes have become more numerous. Attiilus soon fears an eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius. He must go to Pompeii for men and supplies to attempt to repair the aquaduct until his fears prove to be real.
Using an aquaduct engineer as a main protagonist is an original and inspired idea. This proves to be an excellent way to highlight the politics and city life at the time off the eruption. The problem with the book was that the plot was not thrilling enough to keep the pages turning. Interesting but not thrilling.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hollywood B Movie
Review: Pompeii was the first Harris novel I have read. I had looked forward to it based on some reviews only to be disappointed. He did a fine job with the historical and scientific material, but his plot was no better than the plots of Hollywood B movies of the 1940's and 50's. The central character, the young aqueduct engineer, was able to go without sleep or food for three days and survive the fantastic forces of the eruption of Vesuvius - more than once! Moreover, the moral stance of the novel is that it really did not matter what happened to all the other people in the path of the eruption - not just vile former slave now rich and manipulative land owner - as long as the young engineer rescued the young woman he met briefly just two days before the catastrophe. I think Harris really knows what are the geophysical consequences of a volcanic eruption, but not the human, and that is a serious fault as his central theme is the human response to the eruption.
Rating:
Summary: Drama & disaster dulled
Review: How is it possible for an author to take one of the most dramatic and destructive natural disasters in Western History and render it so flat and lifeless? One-dimensional characters are the problem. Harris's people have no personalities and no nuance; they wander through a book that has the formal tone and stilted style of '50s gladiator movies. The only way to read this book is on fast-forward. Or better, wait for the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Good but. . .
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excitement and suspense
Review: I have always enjoyed well written historical fiction, especially if the story line stays fairly close to actual events. This new book falls perfectly into that category: well written, historically accurate, and with a plot that keeps you turning the pages. It also has characters with whom you can become involved, and the writing is of a level that it makes you wish the actual events turn out differently, even though you know that's not going to happen. That kind of feeling only comes with a book that completely enthralls readers, as this one assuredly does. The reader does tend to learn a bit more about volcanoes than he really needs to know, but this information never interferes with the onrushing plot, and you really do care about the fate of the principal characters. It's a good read, and I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Stellar!
Review: What impressed me most about Harris's latest novel is the economical use of historical information to set the tone. He managed to get the "facts" straight without overkill. There was just enough there to add to the story and not too much as to bog it down. While at times I didn't think the writing compared to ARCHANGEL or ENIGMA, I was impressed nevertheless. Great dialogue, a wonderful setting (well, at least for a while) and intrigue makes this one of the best reads out there. Highly recommended. Also recommended: EMPIRE FALLS by Russo and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD by McCrae
Rating: 
Summary: Saving the Aqueduct
Review: Harris begins his historical thriller on August 22, A.D. 79,two days before Mount Vesuvius will erupt, burying the city of Pompeii and devastating the landscape around the Bay of Naples.Much of the dramatic tension arises because while none of the characters are aware of their impending doom, readers know what's coming.
The unlikely hero is Marcus Attilius, an earnest young engineer from Rome who has been put in charge of the Aqua Augusta, the massive aqueduct that provides water to the Roman colonies around the bay. There's trouble with the aqueduct, but even before Attilius can find the problem complications arise. His predecessor has mysteriously disappeared and his men are surly and rebellious.The corruptness of the world he finds himself in is personified by the millionaire Ampliatus, a former slave who having gained his freedom, used it to make a fortune capitalizing on the greed of the wealthy Romans who have settled in this part of the world.But Ampliatus is also the father of a beautiful and rebellious daughter, Corelia Ampliata, who, needless to say, catches Attilius' eye and plays a major role in the ensuing drama.
Harris provides a detailed picture of this world, which I enjoyed, although some readers may find it too contrived, too like a period room in a museum. I was also fascinated by his description of the aqueduct, its construction and its importance to Pompeii and the other settlements in Italy. Without water,he suggests, there could be no civilization.
The action moves swiftly to Pompeii, where Attilius confronts Ampliatus and the Board of Four, the corrupt magistrates who have developed the city with no regard for the volcano's destructive history. Determined, he sets off for the slopes of Vesuvius to repair the aqueduct in the final hours before the eruption in a breathtaking race with time. Suffice it to say that the suspense increases as the inevitable catastrophe comes closer. And when Vesuvius finally explodes, readers will feel they too are fleeing through the streets of Pompeii.
As suggested, some readers will no doubt find that Harris' historical material overwhelms the story. I, however, was convinced by it, and still enjoyed the story. While not a great writer, Harris knows his stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Plus/Minus
Review: I enjoyed the historical and technical aspects of this book...especially when Vesuvius erupts---however, I was disappointed on some of the formulaic- often predictable "bad guy/good guy" routine and the love story angle...but, I guess some readers need that!!! I still recommended---a quick and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to the hype
Review: For a writer of Harris's caliber, this was a disappointment. I've enjoyed his other books, but felt this one was filled with so much additional detail about the era itself that he lost the storyline.
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