We all know about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, which obliterated several towns in southern Italy – such as Pompeii and Herculaneum.My first Robert Harris novel and I enjoyed it. He integrated the factual aspects of this event with a cluster of characters which provided a personal perspective of this tragedy. Attilius is our main character – he’s an engineer of the extensive, and remarkable Aqua Augusta, that provided water to numerous towns in southern Italy during this period. This ...

This is only the second Robert Harris novel I’ve read, the other being An Officer and a Spy. On the whole I didn’t find this one quite as compelling – apart from the last 100 pages or so – but it was still a decent story. Harris knows how to deliver for his readers.The main character here is one Attilius, who arrives in Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius, to take up the post of Aquarius, or chief engineer of the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct bringing the water supply to the...

I've been to Pompeii twice, once in 1992, and again in 2017. And I'd go again in a heartbeat. What happened in Pompeii is a valuable lesson in listening to the scientists - which we should always do! This book was a breathless romp through the Roman aqueducts, and the life giving importance of water to the townships they served. I couldn't put it down. If you've ever visited the ruins of Pompeii, or dreamed of visiting them, then this is the book for you. Everything is so beautifully described -...

I started to read this novel after I visited Pompeii. I was impressed by the ruins of the city and its tragic history. in addition, I am a bit of a Volcano enthusiast, so I thought reading this will both help me find out more about life in that period and about the eruption. Reading a fast paced novel while travelling was a plus. It did deliver on all aspects, but it was nothing extraordinary. What made me give the novel less than 4 stars, was the inappropriate language and behaviour compared to...

Pompeii... demolished in the world's most famous volcanic eruption in A.D. 79 killing thousands at the apex of the Roman Empire, ironically the people never knew Mount Vesuvius was this a volcano; understandable since the previous significant one occurred 1,800 years before, no town existed, and the name unknown to them because the word hadn't been invented yet, but soon would... lets say by borrowing from the Roman god of fire... Vulcan... Our story unfolds when a young despondent man of 27, a ...

A natural history page-turning thriller!Dateline, August 79 AD: Marcus Attilius Primus, a young, savvy aquarius, or water engineer, has been sent from Rome as replacement for the AWOL Exomnius to ensure the proper maintenance of Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct that supplies Pompeii, Herculaneum and the towns on the Bay of Naples. Investigation into the problem of the aqueduct drying up and its failure to deliver its critical liquid payload uncovers not only municipal theft of water and graft of epic ...

I have been a bit fascinated with the idea of Pompeii since I was a girl and the National Geographic ran photos of the people frozen in mid-flight trying to escape the horrors of the eruption of Vesuvius. Robert Harris has visited Pompeii through the story of Attilius, the engineer in charge of the aqueduct that served the area. Before the eruption, before the horror, there is a problem with the flow of the water. Attilius seeks to repair the breach in the aqueduct and this leads him to be in Po...

This is the story of a latter day Super Mario, an Italian plumber who overcomes very difficult challenges to fix the water supply to Napoli and surrounding areas before the local volcano erupts to ruin everything for everybody. OK, I admit that I am grossly trivialising a tremendous story, which is really about Marcus Attilius Primus, the aquarius, or chief water engineer, who is sent to the Bay of Naples to manage the water supply to all of the towns in the area. The main artery of the supply i...

It should be a Two-For-One: A suspense novel to take to the beach; and some insight into life in the Roman Empire and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. (And maybe a small tutorial in primitive plumbing.) Unfortunately, it turns into an 0-For-One.The plot is serviceable. Marcus Attilius Primus is an engineer newly in charge of the section of aqueduct that services Pompeii. He investigates the mysterious failure of the water supply and along the way, discovers that his predecessor was corrupt. He fall...

Attilius's occupation is an aquarius in the Roman Empire, a job description that nowadays would be "director of waterworks operations and maintenance for the southern district of Italy." As the earth beings to swell and shake in ominous warning in advance of the tragedy that is to come, the main aqueduct cracks and fails and Attilius is sent out to repair it. So this is a historical novel and we learn of life in the Roman Empire around AD 79 at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius. Here are mast...