content: If you are expecting a well-crafted, literary historical novel (regarding the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in ancient Greece), you will be disappointed. this book seems to have been designed for a mass audience. the plot of this book is not very imaginative or interesting and the prose is annoyingly slick. Finally, there is neither much detail regarding the history of ancient greece nor to volcanology, either of which might have provided more redeeming value for this book.