A.D. 62: Pompeii

Novels set in the ancient world are almost always bound to the time and place of the setting, be it Egypt, Greece, China, or in this case the Roman Empire. The really good books shine with the gloss and glow of thousands of hours of research by their authors. Just look at the roman series by Colleen McCullough. Others don't fare so well. In this book we get a different and uniquely original ride. In the very entertaining "A.D. 62 Pompeii" we are shown a world long gone but one that to this day fascinates the modern world. The author Rebecca East did her homework and the city comes to vibrant pulsing life. What really makes this book unique is that we are presented this world through the eyes of a modern woman who is thrust into the Roman world thinking she is prepared by way of her education and fluidity in Latin for what she will encounter. But of course there are curve balls in store for her. To begin with, landing in the ancient world can be rather rough. Everything goes awry in the most interesting ways. What happens when a liberated woman runs headlong into the world of ancient Roman mores, other women from the rich to the slave, and up against a Roman man? This is an intriguing premise and so much fun to explore and ponder. And of course as in any good time travel story from "The Wizard of Oz" to "The Time Machine", the big question is will our heroine get home? You will have to read the book to find out. Loads of fun, and as Messalina Terentius would say, let the games begin!

Rebecca East has managed to pull off the near impossible. She has written a rather good piece of historical literature!It takes a brave soul to write an historical novel, as rarely can an author get the right mix of fiction and history. More often than not they will become engrossed on superfluous historical detail and the story becomes rather heavy going and little more than an afterthought with characters becoming very one dimensional. On the other side of the coin, although the story is fine, the history is exceptionally inaccurate and heavily distorted to fit around the tale. Here is a rare example of a book that has managed to overcome this obstacle.Ms East has written an enchanting story that manages to harmoniously combine fact and fiction. The adventures of the stranded time traveller Miranda are simply wonderful and this book helped persuade me a trip to Pompeii is in order to walk down the streets so beautifully described in the book. The story also revolves around ordinary people, in this case the slaves of a household, rather than a significant historical figure and as such stays well clear of trudging down the well-trod path of retelling the life of a well-documented figure. Although Ms West sprinkles a few historical figures of note into her book, they are minor players in the story, a momentary diversion from the narrative, thus leaving the story free of the restraints a known timeline would bring.AD 62: Pompeii is an enjoyable read, with some strong likeable characters and wonderful plot line, indeed my one and only criticism is that it isn't long enough! Not wanting to get weighed down in the science fiction aspect of how Miranda ended up back in first century Pompeii is fully understandable, as this is not the focus of the book, but all the same, I would have loved to have had a few more pages devoted to the journey back through history. Ms East has written a wonderful novel I would recommend to all. The story fuels the imagination from start to finish. Fingers crossed a second book will soon follow!

Miranda takes part in a time travel experiment because she is the logical choice, an academic who knows Latin, Greek, and ancient history. Her objective is to go back to Pompeii, observe, and bring back information.The first part of the experiment works: she goes back in time. However, after her escape mechanism fails to return her to the 21st century, she needs to adapt to life in ancient Pompeii, where she has been sold as a slave to a man with whom she finds herself falling in love.The story is compelling and engrossing - a very fun read! I highly recommend it!

The researchers have learned a lot about time travel including weight being a key factor. They decide to send someone two millennium into the past, but besides the smallness requirement, the person must have knowledge of the era. That is why Miranda is chosen to go back in time.Miranda makes it to A.D. 62: POMPEII, but something went wrong and retrieval is not an option as the homing device fails. Thus she is stranded in the first century net of a fishermen who sell her as a house slave. Performing menial tasks bores Miranda so she begins telling tales and making predictions. Soon she comes to the attention of family member Marcus, who is fascinated with her. As they fall in love, she worries that she might return to her biological present at any time while he wonders if a strange slave can be the loving wife of a freeman?A.D. 62: Pompeii is a delightful historical novel with a touch of romance used more to highlight the classes and a bit of science thrown in to propel a modern woman into an ancient society. The story line is loaded with a picturesque look at Pompeii about a decade and a half before the devastating volcanic eruption buried the city. So filled with the ambiance of the times, the plot moves at a deliberate moderate pace. Fans who seek action need to go elsewhere, but those readers interested at a vivid insightful gaze at the past will believe Rebecca East is Miranda having finally found her way back to the future.Harriet Klausner

When I saw this book, I had just finished reading two works by men on Roman Britain where they used the contemporary names for the towns, and I swore never to read another fiction book on the Romans again. Then, I decided to give Ms. East's work a chance and I was more than pleasantly surprised. She not only has done her research exceptionally well, she also writes with a clarity and precision that is hard to match. She describes the scenes so accurately and completely in her time travel venture that I actually could visualize myself as part of the story. The main character, Miranda, is transported back in time as part of an experiment and winds up as a household slave for a wealthy Roman family. However, unlike the character in the Tarr-Turtledove effort, "Family Gods," the young lady does not try to impose her 21st century values on the Romans. Instead, she learns to adjust and fit into their lifestyle. I recommend this book for anyone interested in ancient Rome and Pompeii. The research is so well done that one could use it as a teaching tool. Mary Plus 2 Cats