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Apr 05, 2011miaone rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I've read this novel twice now and will no doubt read it again and again through the years. Perhaps the best parts, for me, were those taken from ancient accounts of Vesuvius' 79 AD eruption, i.e. from Pliny and his nephew. Harris makes the reader feel the heat, the desperation, the confusion. It was satisfying that some very arrogant characters met with fates worthy of their cruelty and ignorance, and others, good people, whose fates were also painful, met their ends with dignity and courage. But overall was the mystery of why the water sources are failing which the young engineer solves piece by agonizing piece that I find so mesmerizing. If you've been to Europe and have seen the aqueducts that have survived 2000 years and countless wars, or maybe the ruins of Pompeii, you will especially like this book. But even if you've never seen them, you can still get caught up in the drama and truth within this novel. Oh, and not everybody dies!