Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I have read a couple of Crichton's book, A Case of Need, Andromeda Strain, Prey and now Timeline. Timeline is probably the best so far, it is extremely exciting, I couldn't stop reading it, if you have a good imagination this is one hell of a book to miss!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great ideas, plot ect. but poorly executed.
Review: Timeline is over-rated, period. Yes, it has a great plot with the quantum wormhole, which I was very interested in, but overall it was poorly executed.
It starts out with a few archeologists revealing a medival castle and monastery in France. For some unknown reason they were being sponsored by a large technology company called ITC. One day the head archeologist dissapears and there is some rumors going around the excavation site that it had to do with ITC. The company speaks up and brings the other head archeologists over to their headquarters in Black Rock, New Mexico. On the plane they are told that their professor is stuck back in the medival times, and in some sort of trouble, terribly done might I add (the employee of ITC on the airplane talks to them about quantum physics like they are physicians).
Eventually they get stuck back in time with the professor, surviving every single problem Crichton throws at them (knights, seductive women, phsyco warriors, ect., just the usual), and have to get out with the professor alive.After about 30 close encounters with people that should have killed them the first time, they get the professor and get out, leaving one behind because he ALWAYS wanted to be in the middle ages. The same guy that stayed in the medival ages ends up marrying the seductive woman somehow, even though she managed to kill 2 husband princes before she turned 30. Note: the only well done part after page 150 is the very end. So read the first 150 pages and read the last page right? Wrong, drop this book and read The Andromeda Strain, a much better novel by Crichton.
Rating:
Summary: Todd's Review on Timeline
Review: Timeline by Michael Crichton has been one of the best books I have ever read. It is full of action, war and scientific concepts. I love this book and recommend it to any of the people who are looking to buy it and read it. You will enjoy this book so much that you will want to read it over.
Michael Crichton is one of the best authors around. He makes movie scripts, writes books, and writes screenplays. The book Timeline is also a movie rated pg13. I have not yet seen it but it looks good to me. Hopefully it will be as good as the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Much Better than the Movie
Review: I must confess that I have watched the movie before reading the book. The movie is entertaining but fall short of being a believable story. In fact, the author devoted more than one third of the book explaining the background of the technology involved before the first "time travel" took place. The movie is very much Holywood type and the book offers much entertainment to the readers. It is full of suspense and full of actions. You should be forewarned that there are quite a number of discrepancies between the book and the movie. If you do happen to enjoy the movie (like I do), you will certainly enjoy the book for it contains much more actions and background. If you don't enjoy the movie at all, there is a high chance that you will enjoy the book because it delivers what the movie cannot. As compares to the other Michael Crichton books, I still enjoy the Jarasic Park series the best (and "The Prey" the least for it is not at all a believable story). Hence the four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read, Small Book
Review: I loved this book, and highly recommend it, but don't bother to buy the pricy paperback size hard cover edition of this book that Amazon sells!
Rating:
Summary: One of Crichton's worst
Review: I really wanted to like this book. I thought the idea was amazing. Crichton has a way of writing about science fiction and making it seem really believable. He did it with Jurassic Park and did the same with this. But once you get past the concept of the ability to travel in time, the book goes downhill. The characters in the middle ages are contrived and unbelievable, and the characters from the present are predictable (as is the ending). Even the description of the Middle Ages did not seem believable. In the end, I get the feeling that Chrichton took a really good idea, but rushed through the plot to get the book printed.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline
Review: In this action- packed novel, the medieval past is combined with the newest technology of modern day. This fast-paced adventure begins when a man is mysteriously found in the middle of a hot Arizona desert, babbling incessant nonsense. Police authorities and hospital staff are puzzled when the man suddenly dies. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, archaeologists are at a medieval castle site in the beautiful France country-side. All of the workers feel fortunate to have hands-on experience with fascinating history. However, they soon become suspicious of the corporation that funds their research. What exactly are their motives? One of the professors is abruptly taken from France to the headquarters, and then disappears. The archaeologists are all unaware of what is going until they make a shocking find. Soon they too are whisked off to the corporation headquarters in Arizona. The lab there is making amazing discoveries in the world of quantum technology. The corporation, called ITC, found that there are multiple universes and there is a way to travel to those other universes, even those that are in the past. Before they know it, the archaeologists find themselves in medieval France hoping to save the professor, who disappeared into that universe. Before long, they must fight to save their own lives and make it back alive. In order to achieve this, the group of archaeologists goes on a quest to uncover secrets many are vying to learn. Armed only with their expertise and knowledge of the past, they must avoid sharp arrows, trained knights, and ambitious nobility who will stop at nothing to gain power.
Crichton did a wonderful job of combining science with history, and he entertains as he enlightens. However, I found at times quantum technology was not clearly explained, and I was frequently confused. There were a few pieces of Crichton's story that did not fit completely together in my mind. Despite this, the book was a gripping adventure that was hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Timeline
Review: I have to say that Timeline is by far the best science fiction book I have ever read. It ties together history and science in such a fasinatiing way that you stay interested through out the entire book. The first few chapters are hard to grasp because most of the text is setting the scene for later chapters but as the book continues you are gradually pulled into the pages and it is almost imposible to set down. After the "boring part" is over the book moves on the the fasinating parts of the "secret lab", ITC.
Allthough alot of things in the book confused me and at times i found my self pausing to think about everything that had gone on in previouse chapters, it was over all a very well writen book. The twist and turns in the book keep you at the edge of your seat waiting for what will happen next, but the true scientific posibilities keep a great balance and the book stays realistic with an imaginational blend.
The book takes alot of turns but starts out with a very simple but important scene. A couple finds a man in the dessert and there are very strange things about this guy. Well the couple picks him up and learn that he work at this "secret lab". The lab has kept things "under raps" and no one really knew what went on in the lab until just reciently. Things are getting out because things are going wrong.
This novel is full of adventure, history, and science. I think everyone should read this book wether your interested in science or not. It has so much interseting things weaven into the pages that no matter what your interested in, you will enjoy it. I think if you can get past the first few chapters, any one can learn from this book. It is very intersting and fun-filled. Timeline is definitly a great book to read and I recomend it to everyone.
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Summary: Timeline Review
Review: Timeline has got to be one of the best books that I have ever read. I have to admit, at first, I wasn't too interested in ready a science fiction book or a book that was centered around the Middle Ages, but as I started getting into the book...I couldn't put it down. I would find myself reading late into the night, but still not wanting to go to bed because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. This had so many twists and turns that I don't even know how I kept up with it all. But, sometimes I would find myself skimming back through the book to recheck things to make sure I was following right along with what was going on. I love the way the book started off with the mystery of the man in the desert. That whole thing, I think is what kept me reading. I wanted to find out just who the man was, why he was there, why he died, and what he had to do with quantum technology. The one thing that puzzles me about the whole book is quantum technology. I know they explain the way it works throughout the book, but what I really done understand is HOW!!! I mean, it's easy to understand what they are trying to do with the "time machine" (which people have tried explaining to me as not necessarily being a time machine)...but I really don't see how all this technology works. I guess that it's easy for someone who enjoys science and understands it easily, but that's certainly not me. People always say that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. And I'm sure for this book...that will be the same case. I don't think there is any way for the movie to be any better than the way Michael Crichton has portrayed the characters and the plot of timeline. I, for one, can not wait to see the movie. After reading Timeline, I think I'm going to begin reading some other books by Michael Crichton. If he can do this great with writing a book about the Middle Ages and science, then the rest of his books have to be just a good...if not better! Even though that it was complex at times and I wasn't exactly positive as to what was going on, I enjoyed this book far more than any other book that I have read lately. I would definitely have to recommend this book to everyone. You may be like me and not have any interest whatsoever in science fiction, historical fiction, and so on, but this book is worth it. I never thought I'd hear myself saying that I ever enjoyed a book like this...but boy was I wrong. However, I suggest this book for teenagers and adults. There is some language used that some younger people should not be necessarily reading. So after taking the time to read all these reviews and you still don't want to take the time and actually read Timeline...you seriously don't know what you are missing out on.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet
Review: I don't know if it's the Oreos I'm eating, or if it's Michael Crichton's gift for writing, but this book is sweet! From the intriguing beginning to the stirring end, Timeline is a sugary sweet success for literature. Okay, but Oreos aside, this book is a great read. Ye who be lovers of action, come forth! Ye who relish historical fiction, step forward! Those of you who just like reading about knights in full armor swinging broadswords at each other, come on down, too! This book appeals to all of you, and maybe even to those who are forced to read it for class. Yeah, that last one was me, but after I finished complaining about it I found out what a good book it was. It comes as a complete package, with action, suspense, mystery, and a wee bit of romance.
No questions asked, this book has plenty of action. You are made to wait a while for the good stuff, but once you're in the thick of it, you'll feel like the book is going to start bleeding any second. That's right, the squeamish should steer clear of this book. Michael takes the initiative of explaining several gruesome executions in detail, so be warned. It's not too bad, though, and doesn't stop you from enjoying the rest of the book.
Suspense is included, the kind that makes you want to get through all five hundred pages in one stretch (which I do not recommend attempting). He usually has two or three different story lines going on at once, but they are easy to follow. I liked the way he sets up the second half of the book in a counting down layout, because it gives the book its own mojo, and adds to the building suspense.
The mystery is laced into this book, from the whereabouts of the secret passage to the identity of the missing ITC employee. Michael usually lets you make your own predictions way before he reveals the answer and often leaves you with a feeling of "duh!" It allows you to feel involved in the story line, though, and is a complementing aspect of the novel.
No, this isn't a romance novel, and no, it's not filled with intimate love scenes. It does have romance; the writer just doesn't stress it. Seeing as most of the main characters are in their twenties, it would be hard not to include some chemistry between them. I personally think that all good novels (especially those over four hundred pages) need a little romance, because it is a part of life. A good character that readers can relate to has to have feelings towards the opposite sex, or feel some need for companionship. This can be expressed either through a close friendship, or an intimate relationship. This book does it through a little of both.
Well, there you have it. I officially deem this book a good read for those who love to read good reads. What that means is that you should stop reading this review and go buy this book. You're welcome, Michael Crichton.
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