a_laschinger's review
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dutchyvo's review against another edition
4.0
I requested this book because I love Kate Quinn books and saw that she was one of the authors featured in this collection. A Day of Fire is a collection of short stories taking place in Pompeii during the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius. There are six stories in this book, each with a different main character, although several characters make an appearance in multiple stories. I really appreciated the variety of characters during the whole book and the way the authors connected the stories. I also appreciated the fact that the authors did not give all the stories a happy ending and stayed true to the fact that the majority of the town was destroyed and citizens died.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book, but I definitely seem to gravitate to the stories that didn’t end well. The authors did a great job making me care about the main character and feel connected to them, although they often did not have much more than 50 pages to do so.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy!
Overall I enjoyed reading the book, but I definitely seem to gravitate to the stories that didn’t end well. The authors did a great job making me care about the main character and feel connected to them, although they often did not have much more than 50 pages to do so.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy!
12grace4's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katevaliant's review
5.0
This book made me tear up more than once. If you want something that is all sunshine and rainbows then this isn't for you. But if you are ready to get hit right in the emotions by the tragedy of Pompeii and the people caught up in it then let me tell you, you are in for a ride. I admit I had my doubts about how well all the short stories would work since I admit short stories tend to not be my thing, but they were fantastic. They all felt the right length and interconnected beautifully. I liked how large of a view the short stories gave us of the tragedy since it explored those who survived, those who didn't, as well as the experiences of people at different levels in society from prostitutes to senators.
sophiewilliams's review
5.0
This anthology has 6 interlinking stories about characters in Pompeii. The tales are about people as diverse as a senator and a prostitute.
I thought this was incredibly well done. It would have been v easy for the stories not to connect into a satisfying whole, but this was avoided. Despite only having read one of the authors before I would quite happily pick up a book by any of them at this point - I don't think there's a weak story in the set.
I thought this was incredibly well done. It would have been v easy for the stories not to connect into a satisfying whole, but this was avoided. Despite only having read one of the authors before I would quite happily pick up a book by any of them at this point - I don't think there's a weak story in the set.
msandaz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
happilyruined's review
4.0
"A Day of Fire" is a unique concept. Six different authors weave intwertwined stories telling the timeline of the Pompeii tragedy. Like most people, I find the story of Pompeii endlessly fascinated. It wasn't a political or military event. There was nothing anyone could have done to prevent what happened. It just... happened. In "A Day of Fire", we see the perspectives of wealthy merchants and heiresses, poor ex-soldiers and prostitutes. We see stories rooted in fact and those crafted entirely of fiction. For the most part, I really liked it.
(I'll review the stories chronologically.)
"The Son" is a good opening number. It's a coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence sort of tale. Admittedly, I wasn't a massive fan of the narrator, what with him being a dumb teenage boy doing dumb teenage boy things I wasn't really apt to excuse... And frankly I empathized more with the "villain" of the short, who shows up later in her own story. But nonetheless, it rang true and was briskly-paced. Plus, our narrator figures rather importantly into the overall story--which I found pretty clever.
"The Heiress" is another coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence tale, but with a more feminine edge. It's arguably a mirror of "The Son". Both characters are young and torn between duty and what they perceive to be love. Nonetheless, I liked "The Heiress" a bit more. It didn't go any unexpected places, but I had fun with it.
"The Soldier" is the tale of a retired soldier, and frankly it was the weakest of the bunch. The stakes didn't feel real enough, and Rufus felt rather separate from the rest of the story. It was well-written, but I just didn't much care.
"The Senator" is by Kate Quinn, author of the "Masters of Rome" series. And yes, she does bring back two popular characters for this book. At first I honestly wasn't sure that it would work. But lo and behold it did, and yo, SHIT GOT REAL. "The Senator" offers a lot of insight into these characters and fit well into the arc of "A Day of Fire". Two thumbs up.
"The Mother" is the best story of the bunch, and I knew it would be. I had a feeling about what would happen from the beginning, but that didn't stop me from hoping otherwise. It's super tragic, and yes, I am a sucker for tragedy. But truth be told, "A Day of Fire" is somewhat light on the body count considering its subject matter. "The Mother" epitomizes the loss of Pompeii.
"The Whore" brings the story full circle. It's a solid story, and necessarily sad. However, I couldn't help but feel the story could have ended with more of a bang. The very end of one perspective--there are two in "The Whore"--fulfilled my expectations. Nonetheless, I think it could have gone out with a bigger bang.
"A Day of Fire" is a really good collection. Could it have gone a little further? Yeah, but I liked what we got and I'll be on the look out for the authors from this collection.
(I'll review the stories chronologically.)
"The Son" is a good opening number. It's a coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence sort of tale. Admittedly, I wasn't a massive fan of the narrator, what with him being a dumb teenage boy doing dumb teenage boy things I wasn't really apt to excuse... And frankly I empathized more with the "villain" of the short, who shows up later in her own story. But nonetheless, it rang true and was briskly-paced. Plus, our narrator figures rather importantly into the overall story--which I found pretty clever.
"The Heiress" is another coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence tale, but with a more feminine edge. It's arguably a mirror of "The Son". Both characters are young and torn between duty and what they perceive to be love. Nonetheless, I liked "The Heiress" a bit more. It didn't go any unexpected places, but I had fun with it.
"The Soldier" is the tale of a retired soldier, and frankly it was the weakest of the bunch. The stakes didn't feel real enough, and Rufus felt rather separate from the rest of the story. It was well-written, but I just didn't much care.
"The Senator" is by Kate Quinn, author of the "Masters of Rome" series. And yes, she does bring back two popular characters for this book. At first I honestly wasn't sure that it would work. But lo and behold it did, and yo, SHIT GOT REAL. "The Senator" offers a lot of insight into these characters and fit well into the arc of "A Day of Fire". Two thumbs up.
"The Mother" is the best story of the bunch, and I knew it would be. I had a feeling about what would happen from the beginning, but that didn't stop me from hoping otherwise. It's super tragic, and yes, I am a sucker for tragedy. But truth be told, "A Day of Fire" is somewhat light on the body count considering its subject matter. "The Mother" epitomizes the loss of Pompeii.
"The Whore" brings the story full circle. It's a solid story, and necessarily sad. However, I couldn't help but feel the story could have ended with more of a bang. The very end of one perspective--there are two in "The Whore"--fulfilled my expectations. Nonetheless, I think it could have gone out with a bigger bang.
"A Day of Fire" is a really good collection. Could it have gone a little further? Yeah, but I liked what we got and I'll be on the look out for the authors from this collection.
santaluna's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5