cover image Pompeii: City on Fire

Pompeii: City on Fire

T.L. Higley. B&H, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-1-4336-6857-9

In the shadows of Vesuvius, God works in mysterious ways to bring together Ariella, a young Jewish woman fleeing Jerusalem, and Cato, a Roman merchant famous for his wines. During the fall of Jerusalem, the Roman emperor forces Ariella into slavery; she sneaks away one night, disguises herself as a young man, and joins a gladiator troupe. The gladiators soon journey to Pompeii, where her secret is almost exposed. In Pompeii, she meets Cato, who discovers right away that she's a woman and seeks to watch over her. Through a series of adventures, the two begin secretly to attend meetings led by a Jewish slave named Jeremiah, who expounds the Jewish scriptures and talks about the newly emerging Christian sect. As Vesuvius begins to erupt, escape is a perilous challenge. Higley's novel has plenty of action and plot elements to drive it along without dragging Vesuvius into the story as volcano ex machina, forcing an artificial ending to the story. (June)