Pompeii (2003)

I think Harris picked the wrong protagonist and surrounding characters.
I understand why he wanted an elite Roman, Marcus Attilius Primus, so that he would have someone with a reason to interact with Pliny.
The dynamic of the young outsider Marcus and his crew that has open contempt for him doesn't ring true.
Rome is all about status and privilege. Their open contempt would close off many future possibilities and is out of context for a strongly hierarchical society.

In any case, this dynamic just makes for unpleasant reading/listening, basically they argue and snipe for hours (in the audiobook version), deploying the full force of (historically accurate) Roman visceral language.

The book should really be titled something more like "The tale of a Roman aquarius", as it's much more about the aqueduct and associated engineering, with volcanic details, than it is about Pompeii.

It's not really about Pompeii the place that much at all. It's much more about elite Roman interactions.

If you're looking for a stronger story by Harris about elite Romans, his Cicero trilogy is much better.

Unabridged audiobook:
There are two unabridged audiobooks, a 2015 one read by Steven Pacey and a 2003 one read by John Lee.
They both seem to be good readers but I chose Steven Pacey as his voice reminded me of Oliver Ford-Davies, who reads the Harris' Cicero books.

Well read by Steven Pacey.

Exploding volcano, ancient city, seedy sex and corrupt governments-one can be forgiven for thinking that such a combustible mix cannot spawn any novel offering something new. But Harris says 'hold my cup, I offer you 'Pompeii.''

We have an unlikely protagonist, a water, engineer, a contumacious daughter who falls in love with the protagonist and a corrupt riches-to-rags father and assassins.

What 'Pompeii' has going for it is a edge-of-the-seat novel. Otherwise its stale wine new bottle. ( )

full review can be found here:

https://nordie.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/book-review-pompeii-by-robert-harris/

The eruption of Vesuvius foreshadowed by trouble with the aqueduct supplying water to the district. Young hydraulic engineer becomes involved with politics and corruption in the city government and falls in love.

Robert Harris has recreated the days of total destruction wreaked by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius upon the thriving cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum brilliantly, weaving together tales of intrigue, corruption, love and survival. Engrossing, vivid, unputdownable! I wonder how fantastic it would have been had this story been made into the eponymous hollywood movie instead of that pathetic one that was actually made... ( )