Review of Pompeii by Robert Harris

The destruction of Pompeii by Mount Vesuvius is a lesson most kids learn at school early on and can be quite vividly described thanks to the words of Pliny and also the architects that dug it out of the ash, pumice and lava that engulfed it in 79 AD.

Another view you might take is that of the classic BBC comedy series ‘Up Pompeii!’ which starred Frankie Howerd as the slave, Lurchio. This looked at the hedonistic angle with lots of double entendres, suggestive language and the like. Subtle it was not.

Pompeii, the novel, is a historical fiction set over four days – two before and the eruption itself which lasted two days.

It follows the struggle of the local aquarius, Attilius, as he tries to repair a breach in the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct which feeds the whole of the Bay of Naples.

The picture that Harris draws of the Roman Empire ca 79 AD is very vivid and believable. The impression it gives is of a very civilised society that is happy with itself and its achievement. It is also obvious that in some respects certain issues are creeping into it that help to bring its downfall in a few centuries time, ie bureaucracy, corruption, complacence.

In the bookl, Attilius, is portrayed as a courageous, noble young man, who is there to make sure the job gets done no matter what.

After water starts drying up at the northern end of the aqueduct, he soon realises that there is a blockage further south and soon works out that this blockage is near Pompeii.

He assembles a team of workman, including the lazy, corrupt, Corax, and sails across the bay to investigate.

There he meets up with Ampliatus, the local proto Mafia boss, a freed slave who has Pompeii in the palm of his hand. Fortunately, Ampliatus is happy to lend him manpower and materials to help repair the aqueduct. At this point, Pompeii still has a supply so everyone is happy.

All the while there are signs that all is not well with minor earth tremors, rumbling and puffs of smoke from Vesuvius.

Obviously, we as an audience, know what’s going to happen when Vesuvius blows its top, but I suppose we’re rooting for some people hoping that they can survive.

Attilius manages to find his blockage and repair it before the eruption but decides to climb Vesuvius to find out what’s going on. Stupid idea you might think! At the top he finds the body of the former, aquarius, Exomnius, who died while investigating the volcano. At this point, Attilius realises, that Exomnius knew something was up and that Vesuvius might be about to erupt.

He descends the mountain and as he heads towards Herculaneum, the eruption starts.
The picture painted is awe inspiring and it has to be said besides earthquakes, volcanic eruptions on this scale are about the most violent thing that the world can produce.

At this point, its every man for himself and the whole bay starts fleeing.
Attilius decides he must get back to Misenum and find out what he can do to help.

Without going too much into detail the book continues with Attilius and Pliny attempting a rescue with the Roman Navy sailing across the bay. Unfortunately, this is doomed to failure and ends up with the fleet being sent every which way by the wind and the eruption.

The book ends as the eruption ends and it seems our hero may be dead or is he….?
After rescuing the bad guy’s daughter, Corelia, he holes up in the new bathhouse in Pompeii.
Legend has it that a couple was seen walking away from the ruins of Pompeii!


This is J adding a few comments as I've finished the book a couple of weeks ago. I liked it enough to finish it which is more than I can say about the last book group book. However I felt the book was generally too modern and out of keeping with the roman era. I read Pliny (older and younger) at school and felt the way he was portrayed very different from the way others have in the past.

Review of Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds

Redemption Ark is the second book in the trilogy which narrates humankind’s epic battle with the Inhibitors who are trying to ‘cleanse’ the Universe of all intelligence life forms.

The first, Revelation Space, was the first book I had read by this writer after a recommendation from a colleague. I have to say I was very drawn to the Universe that Mr Reynolds has creared. He has great imagination but also enough technological savvy to know not to go too far with some of his ideas. The fact that his day job was until recently a scientist with the European Space Agency obviously has its benefits.

First off, the second book in any trilogy has the problem that it is setting up the finale of the sequence. (Here that book is Absolution Gap, which is already weighing down my bookshelf).
With that in mind, I was looking forward to my re-encounter with Reynolds’ universe.

My first problem, was that I had forgotten much of what had transpired in Revelation Space, so I had some catching up to do with some of the storylines and characters, but didn’t take long because the story was very quick in getting going.

There are basically three plot lines followed from the start: 1, The conjoiners, lead by Skade, and their waging of the war with the Demarchists and her own ambitions to recover, the so-called hell class weapons. Initially, allied to the Conjoiners, there is also Clavain, an ancient (over 400 years old) who may be doubting his loyalties. 2, The Triumvir, Ilia and her friend Ana Khouri who are still parked in orbit around the Resurgam system in their plague infested starship, Nostalgia for Infinity. They are busy trying to evacuate the planet as well as trying to fight off the Inhibitor menace with the hell-class weapons, which just happen to be aboard their vessel. Only problem being, the mad captain who has been subsumed by the melding plague into the ship. 3, Antoinette Bax and her partner, Xavier, who run a merchant ship, Storm Bird, out of the Rust Belt. They become involved when Antoinette needs help being rescued from a Gas Giant where she was scattering her father’s ashes. That help happens to be Clavain.

It might all sound very complicated and I suppose at times it is. But this doesn’t get in the way of an exciting, intelligent, absorbing novel which does set up the finale but is a very good yarn in its own right.

This is the third book I’ve read by Mr Reynolds and I must thank him for helping me regain my interest in a genre I had mostly given up on except for the occasional tome by Iain M Banks.
I look forward with some anticipation to Absolution Gap.