Pompeii

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With trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris recreates a world on the brink of disaster. Along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman Empire's wealthiest citizens enjoy the last days of summer in their luxurious villas, while the largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. Tourists flock to the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii, oblivious to the impending cataclysm. Only one man, the young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus, is concerned. Recently appointed to oversee the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct supplying fresh water to a quarter of a million people, he faces a crisis as springs fail for the first time in generations and his predecessor has mysteriously vanished. Attilius learns of a critical issue along the aqueduct's sixty-mile main line, somewhere north of Pompeii on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. He vows to Pliny, the renowned scholar commanding the navy, that he will repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. Planning to gather an expedition in Pompeii, Attilius soon encounters a corrupt and violent environment, revealing powerful forces—both natural and man-made—that threaten his mission and his life. Harris masterfully builds tension as Attilius navigates this perilous landscape.