Diary of Dorkius Maximus in Pompeii

Dorkius Maximus #3

by Tim Collins

Dorkius is annoyed when he has to move with his family to Pompeii for the summer in his third adventure

Dorkius has to leave behind all the joys of Rome for a boring small town. He finds the people of Pompeii to be even more superstitious than his mom, and watches in disbelief as they base all their decisions around animal innards readings. Things brighten up when he meets Decima, a local girl who's convinced a demon is haunting nearby Mount Vesuvius. They go off to investigate and Dorkius finds that the demonic rumbles are coming from inside the volcano itself. Convinced that Vesuvius is about to erupt, Dorkius rushes down to the town to warn everyone, but will they listen? 

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[ritamarlies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kann mich nur noch an diese komische Fischsoße aus dem Roman erinnern

[Mehsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw lots of people rave about these book/this series. I can honestly say that I am really really disappointed with what I read in this one.

I was interested in this one because of the Pompeii setting. Pompeii and what happened there is an event that I have always been interested in, so I thought we would get a bit of that in this one. Sadly, not. Most of the book Dorkius (who the hell names their kid this) is running around, acting like some elite kid (which I don't think he is), and being a complete idiot.

And sure, maybe I should have read the first book, but I wasn't sure which one was first when I was at the library, and this one looked the most interesting. But I will say that you don't really need to read the other books to know about stuff in this book. At least that is how I feel, I wasn't confused once. Or wondering what the hell happened.

There are various strange and weird characters which made me dislike the book even more. Dorkius's mom is a complete idiot, his dad focussed only on his job, then we have the town's idio, um I mean ruling people, or whatever they were. And the list can go on. I wish we would have met that Numericus guy, that would have made it all so awesome.

Then near the end I was actually hoping for some kind of action.... but of course not. :| I won't spoil anything, but let me just tell you I was hoping for things to go with a big boom.

The illustrations in this book were fun and gave the book a bit of life (which it could use).

Would I recommend this book? No. Unless you don't mind a horrendous main character and an uninspiring story.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si os gustan las aventuras y el mundo de lo absurdo, este libro es para vosotros. Aquí vais a encontraros con adultos que toman decisiones preguntándoles a unas gallinas y solucionan problemas con sacrificios sin ningún tipo de resultado y niños que resuelven enigmas mediante el ingenio y un poco de “ensayo-error”. ¿Creéis que los mayores también se equivocan? Lerdus Maximus os lo confirma. Tendrá que salvar a toda Pompeya de un grave peligro y lo peor… ¡nadie le cree! Parece ser que para los altos cargos de esta gran ciudad, este niño solo es “un chico raro” que hace y dice demasiadas tonterías, el problema es que…algo de razón llevan. ¿A que os resulta familiar? Seguro que más de una vez, habéis ido donde un mayor a contarle algo y no os han hecho caso y luego cuando ha pasado lo que tenía que pasar, le habéis mirado con esa cara de “te lo dije”. Vais a comprender a Lerdus mejor que nadie.

Además, os mostrará trucos increíbles como por ejemplo, escribiros en clave con vuestros amigos sin que nadie sepa de qué habláis. ¡Y hay más! Con este futuro héroe romano aprenderéis muchísimo sobre cómo funcionaban antiguamente las ciudades y cómo han cambiado cosas tan cotidianas como los baños públicos y los colegios. ¿Cómo que “¡vaya rollo!”? Para rollos, los de Lerdus, donde deja constancia de sus vivencias a diario. Puede que al principio os cueste habituaros a ciertas palabrejas pero, ¡todo está pensado! En las últimas páginas hay un pequeño glosario para que no os quede ningún tipo de dudas y, para lo demás, quedan las ilustraciones que adornan el libro, muy sencillas pero a la vez, de lo más útiles pues nos muestran de manera gráfica lo que el protagonista con sus palabras expresa cada día. Si creéis que los veranos son aburridos, Lerdus Maximus os demostrará que os equivocáis. Hay miles de aventuras que vivir esos meses de calor y una de ellas se encuentra en las páginas de este libro.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this right after Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian and although you can hardly imagine a more different book, I thought this was brilliant too.
It is clever, very funny, has superb drawings. And a lot of poo jokes, so must appeal greatly to twelve year olds. Along the way, you get quite a good picture of daily life in Ancient Rome. And some pretty serious subjects - religion, fears, family - are tackled with a light touch.
Progress does exist, there were no books of this quality when I was young.

[Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I choose this book for 2 reasons .
The author and the historyc events that happened on pompey .
If you are gonna make a book about it make it around the vulcano .
This was hard to read as i wanted to quit in the midle but i only read it to give it a proper review .
Doesnt deliver what it looks like.

[Katja Smit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Om historische feiten aan een jonge doelgroep op een aansprekende manier aan te bieden is een uitdaging. Dit boek slaagt daar goed in. Ik denk zeker dat de humor door kinderen gewaardeerd zal worden, maar zelf heb ik het niet zo op bladzijdes lang poep- en scheetgrappen.

[Leander · Rating 2 out of 5]

One and a half stars.
An okay-ish read. Wouldn't necessarily recommend.

[Adrian Sommers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book it was about how he livied in rome and they moved to pompie but then the island blew up and then they movved back

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had boring parts

[Agnik · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I went to my local library for a browse I found this. I picked it up as I was always interested in the story of Pompeii (and I wish to visit it some day) and I always try to read from as many sources as possible.

I started reading it but it seemed boring so I turned to the back and PLEASE READ!!!!
It is not about the famous eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 but about one in the fourth decade BC!!!

So that is the first thing that is disappointing also the whole story line is nothing special.

I would not recommended as historical source and to tell the truth I wouldn't recommend it at all, and most definitely do not buy it.

This is my opinion.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, this was funny and good and I wish I'd written it. Life is hard when you're a dorky teenage Roman, especially when your family has been sent to the backwater of Pompeii and can't leave until the town's elders agree to pay more taxes. A boring summer that reeks of fish sauce is enlivened by a series of cryptic messages and the threat of a fire demon in nearby Mount Vesuvius.

[Matilda Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorkius and his family have travelled to Pompeii, where Dorkius hates it. He tries do all he can to escape from their fish sauce and active volcano! But however much the volcano explodes, it's him and his new found friend Decima that are in trouble...

This witty book is full of excitement and adventure, so don't hesitate to read! ;)

[Dieuwke · Rating 3 out of 5]

a far more entertaining read than many of the graphic novels, as it has a matter of factlyish way of describing life as was.
I do hope though, readers will understand that back in the days emotions might have been the same, communication wasn't, i.e the voice of Dorkius Maximus is very 2014

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klaar met het inlezen van dit boek, binnenkort beschikbaar in de Luisterpuntbibliotheek !

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tradução top🔝😉