Customer Reviews

Pirates of Pompeii (Roman Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Pirates of Pompeii was a captivating book that took you from the night after the horrifying volcanic eruption to the healing of one of the four detectives. On the day after the eruption, the slave girl Nubia and the freeborn Roman, Flavia went out to look for the healing flower for the doctor of Pompeii, scrounging in the ash of the aftermath. When the two girls found the flower they also found a girl who could not find her brother. They took her to the village where the other two detectives were waiting Jonathan and Lupus. In the village they found out another boy was missing they were all curious to find out who it was they have clues but will they find the pirates of Pompeii? This book is very intriguing it takes you in to a new ancient world. Pirates of Pompeii are the third of Caroline Lawrence's three books. I truly recommend this book to inquiring readers wanting to know more.

My son and I discovered the first book in The Roman Mysteries series in our local library. We both loved it - and waited so patiently for the second! Then, in the summer, we visited England. And discovered the rest! Pirates of Pompeii, which is, thankfully, available in America, was our favorite. If it was possible to choose. We could not put this down! I would recommend reading this after The Secrets of Vesuvius, since the action picks up from the next day. What a great page turner!

The Pirates of Pompeii brings more complexities into the lives of Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan and Lupus. In the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius a refugee camp has been set up where Doctor Mordecai spends his days treating the injured. No one knows what happened to Clio and there is little hope that she survived. The people of the camp are visited by the Emperor Titus, who has brought supplies paid for out of his own funds.

Amid the hope that life might return to normal, parents report that their children are missing. In a nearby cave, Flavia finds a little girl who was almost kidnapped by two men wearing masks - her brother was not so lucky and has joined the missing. Flavia becomes determined to find the missing children and after an initial investigation has more questions than answers.

The setting of the majority of this story is at modern Sorrento at a fabulous villa built on a small island. Our intrepid children are guests as they go about solving the mystery but in the process their relationships with each other undergoes a test.

The Pirates of Pompeii is a nicely conceived mystery and is beautifully written by Caroline Lawrence. Ms Lawrence has really outdone herself in the complex weaving of the plot and her descriptions of places and daily life are magnificent. The series of the Roman Mysteries seems to get better with each book, and I must admit that my enthusiasm for Ms. Lawrence's book has spread to more people as I have talked about each volume.

The Pirates of Pompeii follows immediately after the events in The Secret's of Vesuvius, and is the third in Lawrence's Roman Mysteries Series. Here we rejoin Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan, and Lupus as they find themselves in a refugee camp near Surrentum. As with the previous books, this volume is set in the first century, 79 A.D. As we start out here, the group (along with Uncle Gaius, Aristo, Miriam, Mordecai and the dogs) are working hard to help the survirors with Mrodecai offering his services free of charge and running a surgery out of a bath house near the harbor of Stabia. Not long after arriving there, the foursome discovers a frightened young girl hiding in a cave on the mountain and learns that children are disappearing from the refugee camp...and we all know this is a mystery that Falvia and her friends cannot turn their back on. They begin immediately trying to solve it, a task which takes them to Villa Limona the home of Publus Pollius Felix. Their mystery leads them to search for a man known as "The Patron" and they have encounters with run away slaves, pirates, and the Emperor himself all in the course of solving this mystery!

As with the previous book, this is an excellent glimpse into the daily life of the Roman people and deals with wide ranging issues from disaster relief, the treatment (abuse of slaves is a big topic in this book) of slaves, the division of the class system, and the fall of Jerusalem (ten years prior). The children must deal with all manner of human failings from pirates who want to sell them as salves, to spoiled bratty rich children, to the issue of profiteering from the disaster at Pompeii. All in all, it manages to address a lot of series issues, give a solid look at life in the given time period, and still be entertaining and fun to read! The Pirates of Pompeii the focus is almost exclusively on the four children with the adults playing only a brief role at the beginning and end. The only adult to have a significant part here is Pollius, who I would label as a "guest star" in this volume.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable mystery/thriller/adventure book for young readers that is heavy on the details of Roman daily life and is highly descriptive with likable and believable characters (for the most part). Previously, what I felt that there was a bit of a heavy handed Christian message to the series, however it's much more subtle in this book and is more welcome...woven into the story with more skill. I also liked that the inequality between Falvia (freeborn) and Nubia (her slave) is addressed more directly here (as with Lupus also). I give it four stars, The Pirates of Pompeii strength is in details and overall, it is a light and entertaining read.

I found the book The Pirates of Pompeii interesting. In the beginning I found it boring, as I read on it became better and better. It is an excellent mystery that keeps you guessing until the last page.

This book seems to suffer from a mixed identity. Although recommended for grades 4-7, I and my discerning viewer team (15 and 11 yrs old), say it is best for Young Adults, age 14 and up (12 yr minimum). This is due to the adult concepts and descriptions, which are a little harsh, even grim.

One need look no further than P.3 to find "He only knew that the man's bloated corpse had washed up on the shore around noon. One of many in the past two days." and "The heat of the flames seemed to make the blackened corpse shiver, and for a moment, Lupus imagined it was the body of Pliny, the great admiral who had treated him with courtesy and respect, but who had died gasping like a fish.".

Also, apparently there is a bit of a young romance as well, hardly a standard plot fixture in a book for 9-12 year olds. So, although the concepts and descriptions are older, the writing style is typical of a 9-12 yr old book, in that it is direct, straightforward, and very much a narrative. Hardly the deeper, more reflective style more indicative of a Young Adult book.

Simply put, it is as though it is told from an adult perspective, although it lacks the depth and understanding. Normally, a book for this age is told from the general perspective of a 10-12 year old.

All that said, and hopefully understood, the book is an entertaining read for Young Adults, but is certainly not destined for literary greatness. However, that was probably not the author's intent in the first place.

This is an exciting adventure for Flavia, Lupus, Jonathan, and Nubia in the Ancient Roman Empire. There are pirates taking kids all over the area around Mount Vesuvius after it erupts. Flavia and her friends face many dangers while they're trying to figure out who the kidnappers are.

If you like exciting, mysterious, historical fiction you should read this book. It is best if read in order in the Roman Mysteries series. This is book III.

The Pirates of Pompeii is another great book written by the wonderful author Caroline Lawrence. The book comes after the second book The Secrets of Vesuvius and contains loads of new characters. The four main characters (Flavia, Nubia, Johnathen and Lupus) all have more exciting adventures throughout the book so make sure that you read it.

Picking right up from where The Secrets of Vesuvius ended, this story finds Flavia, Nubia, Lupus and Jonathan stationed in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Pompeii. After the eruption of the volcano, our four young protagonists managed to escape the rain of ash and rivers of lava along with the rest of their families, but are still far from safe. Jonathan has slipped into a coma, and whilst the girls scour the coast for herbs that may revive him, Lupus grows conscious of another danger lurking nearby.

Several children are disappearing from the refugee camp, and it's apparent that pirates are making the most of the chaos in order to kidnap freeborn children and sell them into slavery. The amateur sleuths investigate matters, and a variety of clues leads them to suspect the wealthy, charismatic Publus Pollius Felix as the mastermind behind the kidnappings. Using all their cunning, they manage to infiltrate his beautiful villa of Limona on the coast of Surrentum (modern day Sorrento) as his guests.

Each character has their own mini-plot as they explore and investigate the villa. Flavia goes head-to-head with Felix's spoilt daughter Pulchra over the treatment of her slaves, whilst Jonathan teams up with her in order to spy on her father. Lupus overhears some strange conversations held between men in the bay, and Nubia finds runaway slaves and must come to a decision on whether or not to join them. It's only a matter of time before the children come up against the slave-traders - terrifying men who wear grotesque comedy-masks - and from there the investigation turns into a rescue mission as they struggle to free the children, alert the authorities and save themselves from slavery.

"The Roman Mysteries" is one of those rare series when each progressive book is on par - if not superior - to the one before. At turns insightful, suspenseful, exciting, humorous, and tear-jerking, "The Pirates of Pompeii" takes our characters and puts them on another adventure that challenges and changes them, whilst at the same time letting us learn more about them. We get more insight into Nubia and Lupus's pasts (though you can tell that Lawrence is saving more for later), as well as a few tidbits concerning the mystery of Jonathan's mother. Flavia is the most straightforward of all the children, but it's always fun to watch her to form crushes, organise the others, and get outraged whenever she witnesses an injustice.

As always, the research Lawrence puts into the stories is fascinating without being too invasive. Here she delicately examines the reality of slavery in Ancient Rome, without condemning nor praising it. Rather, the values dissonance of the time is presented as matter of fact to the reader: naturally the protagonists find the selling of freeborn children as horrific, as is beating a helpless slave - but slavery itself gets no dismissive commentary. It is simply a way of life for these people, and they're not going to question it. The inequality between high-born Flavia and her slave Nubia is also addressed; resulting in a rather poignant picture of friendship that is treasured by both participants, but clearly not one of equals.

Containing maps, a glossary and an afterword that explains some of the book's content, (Villa Limona was actually based on a real place that is believed to have been owned by a man called Felix Pollius) the story combines world-building, strong characterization, an interesting plot, and lovely clear prose into one excellent whole.

As always, Lawrence manages to pack in a huge amount of story into a comparatively short novel, without anything ever feeling messy or convoluted. Little things like Nubia's flute and Jonathan's sleeping powder are mentioned early on and are returned to the narrative in rewarding ways, and characterization is always spot-on - such as Jonathan's sense of humor being utilized in a very heartrending way in order to calm the enslaved children. All the plot-threads are woven together neatly, with the most important ones tied up at the end, and several always left dangling in order to take us into the next book: The Assassins of Rome.