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Pompeii
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
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Summary
A sweltering week in late August. Where better to enjoy the last days of summer than on the beautiful Bay of Naples? All along the coast, the Roman Empire's richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas. 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. Only one man is worried.
The engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct which brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. His predecessor has disappeared. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta's sixty-mile main line - somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.
Attilius - decent, practical, incorruptible - promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. But as he heads out towards Vesuvius he is about to discover there are forces which even the world's only superpower can't control. Pompeii recreates in spellbinding detail one of the most famous natural disasters of all time. And by focusing on the characters of an engineer and a scientist, it offers an entirely original perspective on the Roman world.
What listeners say about Pompeii
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- Anonymous User
- 18-08-19
Fantastic book
I really enjoyed this book. Beautifully written. Great characters and a very good story, with a satisfying ending.
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- Kindle Customer
- 26-09-21
Great book with wonderful narration....
...But definitely worked just a bit better as a paperback, the audio failed to build up the same feeling of disaster, or the feeling towards the characters.
similarly, the end of the book, as an audio, just presented too much of an anticlimax.
But that was only my opinion.
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- hfffoman
- 20-04-22
Well below his best
I have mixed views on this. The description of the geology and engineering, is first rate. The day to day life comes across as authentic and well researched down to tiny details. Unfortunately this on its own doesn't make an interesting book and to fill the gap he has spliced in a bit of romance, a bit of detective work, and a bit of good versus evil. All of these are somewhat corny and degrade the overall experience. It just scrapes 4 stars overall for me, for which Steven Pacey gets a lot of the credit. If you aren't familiar with Robert Harris, I would recommend An Officer and a Spy and the whole of the Cicero trilogy first, followed by Conclave and Ghost.
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- Alan
- 01-12-22
Decent read
It was good till the volcano ruined it. Decent if you like stuff and Rome.
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- Barbara Macdonald
- 29-12-22
A fascinating and highly entertaining, historical novel.
A fascinating and detailed account of an historical event, through the eyes of an array of fictional, but believable characters.
One gets an in-depth understanding of geology and technical engineering, alongside the social and moral norms of the age. Intertwined with the dramatic. unfolding of an historical event, still visible today, but personalised through an entertaining storyline of interesting characters.
A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book, which is hard to put down. Very worthy of five stars, for the writer and narrator.
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- Nicola
- 07-10-23
Gripping
The usual well-researched plot and context that I expect from Robert Harris. Another winner excellently narrated.
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- Anthea Simmons
- 13-03-24
Brought the nightmare to life
A gripping tale well told and read, bar the odd weird pronunciation. Robert Harris is a master.
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- Jem
- 13-04-19
A great listen
A great book that is superbly read by Steven Pacey and packed with historical detail.
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- Joe
- 29-01-17
Wow. This book perfectly captures the events....
Gripping and perfectly read, this book captures the terrible events with amazing accuracy and skill.
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- BRUCE WAITE
- 21-09-21
A brilliant account of one of the best known stories of history.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having visited Pompeii, and walked around the summit of Vesuvius a few years back I was able to picture the scenes so clearly described by Robert Harris, and I was surprised at the detail he was able to add. Harris has researched his book thoroughly and carefully, and so we are shown as accurately as possible the events leading up to this catastrophic occurrence. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
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