Rating: 
Summary: Commercial erosion of good idea
Review: Being a Michael Crichton fan I grab this book first moment it has arrived in the bookshop, went home and at once forget about the world around me. But this lasted only for first hundred or so pages. Most of Crichton books encapsulated me at once, I'm vivdly surrounded by the world ot hi-tech, adventure and suspense. In this manner has started Timeline. A person is found out in the desert in the middle of nowhere without trace of any vehicle around. Soon the investiogation point to a enterprise with more then just a simple rule of establishing it's highest profit. Much more. But as any of those greedy firms this as well has no mercy for sideaffects of time-travel that is producing and people are getting lost in the line of time. After that 100+ pages book becoming really dull, too much of pointless distention of story with way to detailed desciptions of some events. But, as always best part is Crichton insighfull analyzing of the era in the middle of 14th century story is taken and hi-tech equpiment which will in forthcoming future become a usual arsenal in our lives. Good to try, but don't expect that will bring you where his prevoius novels has.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: I really dont know what to say about this book. It took me months to finally buy it when a friend of mine said too. I bought it on a sunday night, and finished it by Tuesday afternoon. I slept for a total of five hours in that span and used the rest of time to read this book. I am speechless still, and I now have a hankering for more. Buy this book, you will not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline raises an ethcial question
Review: Some felt Crichton's takeoff was great but he crashed and burned after a 100 pages. I disagree. His book was not written to be a scientific journal on quantum mechanics/physics nor an anthology on 14th century France. Crichton's goal is to raise the same question he raised in Jurassic Park. It is not a matter of "could" we do this but "should" we attempt this. Some have criticized Crichton's statement that since multiuniverses exist it would be impossible to alter the future. In the book the characters do alter the future but that is precisely his point. It is a critique on such arrogance. If we could travel back in time, who could resist the temptation to stay a neutral observer? The desire to know more and experience more from that time would inevitably lead one to alter events. I learned a lot about that era as well as the science he addresses. In some way Crichton demonstrates that humanity has not really matured through time. We have simply developed better technology to feed and express our arrogant and narcisstic egos. The scientists in the book argue they can "control" the forces they are utilizing but Crichton shows they cannot. His book demonstrates that when given power, regardless if it's in the 14th century or the 20th century, there are very few who will be responsible with it. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, it was not enough just to see the fruit, they had to taste it--thus altering their future as well as ours.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but....
Review: Initially after reading this book, I thought to myself "what a great fun story to read", but now the more I think about it, it disappointed me. I liked the premise of an adventure through time travel. Reading a Crichton novel means you will get some understanding of certain subjects like quantum engineering or paleontology or underwater sea exploration and a great story that uses this knowledge to enhance the adventure. So same thing here, right? Well, after a while, you're reading simply an adventure of a few people in the medieval times. It got tiresome and it was missing some real tension. Another problem is the characters who went back in time - they're like superheroes. Leaping from beam to beam and jousting with knights and fighting in hand to hand combat with knights - come on! There were some cool aspects to the adventure such as the countdown and a twist here and there, but it was too implausible overall. Would not recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Crichton Standards!!!
Review: I am a huge Michael Crichton fan, and this was not up to his standards. This book was written to be a movie, plain and simple. I bought this book at an airport on my way to California. It is good plane reading when you can just throw it out the window and read something else. The people in the book are plastic, and story has far too many twists. The fist 100 pages are great, as are the last 10. It is the middle 350 that I have a problem with.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately Fizzled
Review: Timeline begins with the classic Crichton themes: intriguing scientific theory, likeable protagonists, unexpected plot twists, smart antagonists and realistic settings. But at the end, it fails to deliver the punch of his past books like Disclosure, Jurassic Park and Airframe. One reason for the disappointment may be that the interesting characters at the beginning never evolved. Instead, they leap from one action scene to the next without new discoveries or elaboration. I was extremely disappointed to see the complexity of Chris never played out. The other reason may be that the intricacies of medieval settings, architecture and customs, although interesting, got in the way of telling a compelling story. I can see how that in addition to quantum mechanics and variety of other details left no room for the actual story telling. All in all, I enjoyed while it lasted. After all, you dont expect to find the meaning of life in his books. Maybe Timeline will turn out to be a good TV series. You never know.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts OK, fades fast
Review: The book starts off well and hooks you for awhile. But then Crichton loses control. The story contradicts itself in many places -- its almost as if Crichton took many breaks in writing the book and forgot what he had written in previous chapters. About half way through the book you'll will want to toss this one in the garbage. No doubt, this will be a movie. I'd skip the book and just wait for the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Not one of his better books, by far. Slow paced and a lot of characters who have no real meaning to the plot.
Rating:
Summary: Timeline at a Loss
Review: I have read everything this author has written and this falls way under his normal talent. I guess every author has a book that is not up to his talent this is it for him. The story is a good idea, but it fails without the little touches he has in all his books. The main thing that is different is it doesn't make you think. Where is the real interaction between the characters, They are friends, so what else are they to each other.
Rating:
Summary: Rollicking Adventure of Science Fiction and Days of Knights
Review: This book moves. I was surprised that the characters never paused to catch their breath -- they are on the run for thrity some odd hours and amazingly have enough stamina to make it through a Michael Crichton novel without keeling over from exhaustion. Timeline entertains if not quite enthralls. Although the author's character's are weakly drawn, they are easy to distinguish and are always doing something. The science is interesting -- as it is in all of his efforts. Crichton makes time travel (really travel between parrallel universes) interesting and even believable. The story is the tale of scientists and adventurers who travel back to the 1300's and get stuck in the middle of a battle of the Hundred Year's War. The site happens to be the one the team is excavating at the turn of the 21st century. Needless to say they face the usual perils one would expect of the Middle Ages as they struggle to gather themselves and catch the window back to the present. An evil corporation that controls the technology and wants to make Disneyland look like a broken down church carnival by offering time travel as the "new" entertainment provides the moral delimma one expects in Chrichton's works. This book will entertain you --- the writing is crisp, the science well researched and plausible, the history pretty good. All in all, not a bad adventure.
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