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Summary: FIRST AMONG EQUALS
Review: For anyone wanting a rattling time travel yarn this is a satisfying read. And if you LOVE a great time travel story then check out the master, Jack Finney and his collection THE THIRD LEVEL. Another recent time travel novel that will have you turning the pages late into the night has to be THE FALL by Brit writer Simon Clark. As well as being a thumping good read he's also incorporated a unique time travel experiment in the book which will leave you trying to figure out what really was the result of the experiment. And don't forget to check out Baxter's THE TIME SHIPS that sequels Wells' classic THE TIME MACHINE.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: Great Book was up all night reading it. I strongly reccomend this book.
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Summary: The violent fourteenth century...
Review: To start, this is my first Crichton book. I have seen a number of his films: Sphere, The Lost World and Sphere. Of those three, I found Sphere the most interesting. My thoughts about the book are mixed. There were some parts that I found fascinating and some parts that I found tiresome. Positive Aspects I confess that I am a history buff, so I liked the archeological dig in France and I liked some of the ideas there. I wonder whether the field of "experimental history," actually exists; I know there are historical recreations (e.g. US Civil War in USA or Roman Empire in Europe) but the idea of it as a University discipline is original, as far as I know. The character of Doniger (more specifically, his speech near the end of the book and elsewhere) is notable for his ideas. I wished that Crichton had furthered explored the corporate side of the story. The quantum technology was interesting (Crichton's introduction helped in giving some background on this) and right now, it is so new that nobody knows what it can and cannot do. The descriptions of the 14th century were very good and it was obvious that Crichton had done some research here. I was impressed to see a 4-page bibliography; this is the first novel that I have read that contains a bibliography. Crichton notes some of the books that he found particularly useful; I may look up some of them for further reading in the future. Negative aspects All of the main characters are late 20th century historians (albeit one of them trains with swords, jousts and other mediaeval practices)... They all survive numerous fights with fourteenth century soldiers, knights who are not only much more experienced than they are but also more well armed and physically stronger. I think it is implausible that these characters would survive so many times in battle. If the characters had been in the royal court and had to survive to their wits, I think it would have made better sense. The company that provides the time travel company could have been more complex; some internal scheming or perhaps balance the absolute power of Doniger against another character. I quite liked the book; the constant warfare and bloodletting battles was quite a change from my usual reading and a little variety is good.
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Summary: Timeline is a waste of Time
Review: First a disclaimer: Before I read Timeline, I just finished The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy so anything I read after such a masterpiece would probably have been a disappointment. In this case, Timeline was a big disappointment. What made it worse was that the characters of Timeline were so shallow that I did not care for them thus I never got involved in the plot. To me, Timeline was just random ramblings of sword fighting, running from the bad guy, falling from cliffs, fixing the time machine, more sword fighting, more running, more falling, more fixing, etc. There were no underlying motives, conspiracies or deeper symbolism/metaphors. The action was non-stop but gratuitous and unrealistic. His description of the scenery and action was so poorly written that there are pictures in the book. The multi-universe concept was interesting and the only redeeming quality. Unfortunately, that was not even consistent since they found an ancient note from the professor, but he transported to another parallel universe that should not have been related to their universe. The medievel setting was overly romantic and unbelievable. The castles had scented potpurri. People of that time had better hygiene than today. NOT! And what about bugs, rats and other pests? I could go on and on. I also found it absurd that Andre Marek from the present could hold his own in sword fights and jousting with no formal training against locals that Crichton described as skillful, tireless swordsman. Through all the absurdities and inconsistencies, the book was amusing and again, I have to put a disclaimer on this review because I read Timeline right after Lords of Discipline (a great book) on my long airplane flight. It's akin to watching Schindler's List and then the Lost World, back to back. A mediocre movie made worse by comparing it to a great movie. In this case, a mediocre movie rated as poor because Conroy's writing puts to shame most fiction writers.
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Summary: A guilty pleasure novel
Review: I enjoyed this book, I found it to be fun. It was entertaining and at times lively. Not a novel to take seriously, just a fun read. A group of twentysomething historians are in France, excavating the "forgotten" medieval castle (ruins) of one of the minor lords. They are funded by a young, brash, Bill Gates type of billionaire entrepreneur. The entrepreneur, Doniger, calls a meeting with one of the academics, and soon this academic is missing. Before his companions get too worried, though, they find something very odd in a stack of old parchment: a plea for help from their missing professor. Dating back to the 1350s. It turns out that Doniger's current company has worked out a form of time travel. The missing professor is indeed lost somewhere in the 1350s. Doniger enlists the help of four of the historians to find the lost professor and if he is still alive, to bring him back to 1999. The companions, along with escorts from Doniger's company, after some preparations, go back in time to 1357 to look for their friend. And the adventure begins! They do all sorts of medieval things: they joust in a tournament, get into swordfights, get tossed in the dungeon, get chased by knights, help a damsel in distress. They eat, drink, and get merry. While they do get injured, no one gets sick, which seems odd and yet is never explained. Perhaps we weren't supposed to notice. Finding the missing professor is one thing, rescuing him and getting everyone together by the appointed time is another. They have assorted, colorful adventures with outlandish characters: a vixenish scheming widowed noblewoman, a brutish and twisted warlord, insane knights, studious monks. A strange and alien world, yet still closer to our hearts because this is not another planet, this is OUR planet, just in the past. Quite a rollicking enterprise. The 1350s are vividly described, and there is a helpful bibliography included. Although the characterization is rather weak, and some of the actions of the characters are questionable, the story held together. This is pure entertainment, and in my opinion, not the kind of book that gets discussed in depth, since there isn't anything to debate. It's just fun. Three-and-a-half stars, rounded down
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Summary: Jurassic Park, circa 1357
Review: This is the story of several archeologists who get the chance to "go back in time" (what that means exactly is a matter for debate) and basically become the fish out of water as a battle is about to take place around a disputed castle in France during the 100 Years War. Essentially, it's an adventure story, and as such, it works very well indeed. It's difficult to put this book down, and I read it very quickly and was sorry it was over. In hindsight, however, there are a few things that don't stand up to scrutiny very well. The most problematic is the fact that the idea of time paradoxes (i.e. killing your own grandfather so you couldn't have been born) is neatly dismissed early in the book by using the multi-universe theory. However, multiple times after that, time paradoxes are used and argued over. ARGH! Pick one and stick with it. Less irritating, but still problematic, is the stuff these people go through in the scant 36-odd hours they have in the past (before their machines run out of power). It's inhuman the amount of energy they exert! Finally, there's the fact that this book has the same plot as Jurassic Park: archeologists = paleontologists, knights = dinosaurs, time machine = cloning, catastrophic event trapping in past = catastrophic event allowing dinosaurs to escape pens, etc. But, like any action movie, if you don't think too much about it, it's a great book. I'm sure it'll make a great movie as well. So, get this book, enjoy the ride, and don't let trivial things like time paradoxes upset you any more than they would during a Star Trek episode or Terminator 2.
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Summary: historical yet fun!
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect from a sci-fi looking novel, yet by the second chapter, I knew it wasn't just about high tech innovations but a medieval setting. I would have never picked up a book about knights and horses, yet Crichton opened my eyes to a whole new interest. Definitely a page turner!
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Summary: Absolutely positively one of the best books EVER
Review: Having never read anything by Michal Crichton before, when i first picked up this book, i had no idea of what to expect. The beginning was, by degrees, fairly boring. it had a very slow pick-up, and until about chapter five or six, the book was extremly slow-reading. There was one event, and for those out there who have read the book, you will know what i mean, the one event that got the entire ball rolling. From that point on, the book went up and down hills and through loops and everywhere, never loosing any bit of excitement. It was tension down to the last page, but the ending and epilouge were a little on the odd side. I can't say much more here, except BUY THIS BOOK! PUT EVERYTHING ELSE ON HOLD UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED READING IT! you will not be dissapointed.
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Summary: Paper Thin Plot, Characters, But a Lot of Fun!
Review: The premise of Crichton's novel 'Timeline' is pretty out there: Twentieth century historians working on the excavation of a medeival castle in France are invited to go back in time to search for their friend by a powerful corporation. I've always been weary of time-travel stories as they can be so easy to screw up. Even one of the best time travel novels ever written, Harry Turteldove's 'Guns of the South,' handles the time travel aspects in a less than stellar way. Nevertheless, Crichton's believability factor soars as he explains in exhaustive detail the method by which quantom mechanics is applied to time travel. Aside from that, the basic story is a little weak. While Crichton's research of fourteenth century France is austounding, it often feels as though he's writing the story to fit his research instead of using the research to support the story. The characters are two-dimensional and not very interesting, with the exception of the company CEO, whose cold blooded attitude makes for great conflict. If you're a fan of Crichton you should enjoy 'Timeline.' Fans of the techno thriller may also enjoy Leonard Crane's 'Ninth Day of Creation,' which is written in a similar style but gives the reader better developed characters and a more interesting plot.
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Summary: Crichton has done better(TimB3)_
Review: I was really excited to read this book, because I've never yet read a time travel science fiction book that made me believe it or feel any respect for the science behind it. I thought that if anyone could do it, Crichton could. Not only does Crichton not, it seems like he doesn't even try. There are plot holes you could drive a truck through. This was not my favorite Crichton Book He could have done better like in Jurrasic Park. He had my fists gripped and at the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn't put it down. Timeline was the hardest book to get into. I felt I was bored with the life history of each Character, some details were so boring that I about fell asleep. The setting was superbly put together in my head with words. This is an average example of Michael's writing talent
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