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Summary: Crichton & Medieval Times...You Can't Go Wrong
Review: I picked up this book for two reasons: one, it's a Michael Crichton novel, and two, it deals with the medieval period...my favorite. The book takes a bit (about 100 pages to get going), but after that it is a renaissance roller coaster full of twists and turns! The characters are likeable, the history plausible, and the ending poetic. This book is highly recommended to Crichton and medieval period fans alike...just try and put it down!
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Summary: Timeline is a must to read
Review: From the time i heard a book report done on this book i wanted to read it. The plot was that catchy. When i read it, i was shocked. It was everything i had heard and more. The scenes were all great, deep thought went into each and every one. The research evident is encredible, i only wish in my life time, i could write such an extensive documentary, and have it so interesting to read. The book is truely incredible, even more so if you read Jim al-kali's Black holes, Wormholes, and time machines. This book is a non-fiction book that explains all about time travel, and the facts to do with it. reading this after reading crichton's timeline, i found a lot of what Crichton wrote was true, and that the only fiction to it was the parts reality lacked.
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Summary: Waste of time
Review: I feel cheated. The first part of the book (till the time voyage) is somewhat interesting. After that, it is a boring and predictable adventure plot.
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Summary: One of the best from Crichton
Review: If you like Crichton books (and from the looks of other reviews here, some don't) you'll love this one. This was an action packed thriller as exciting as Jurrasic Park. Sure, the science is fantasy but time machines are fantasy. It starts off a little slow but once it gets going, the action doesn't stop until the very end.
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Summary: Good....but implausible
Review: I am usually enthralled and consequently educated by Michael Crichton's work but this was not his best. Too much research? That may have been his downfall because it felt as if he was constantly trying to implement all the facts and theories concerning time travel. Unless you are educated in the field, it is nearly impossible to follow the scientific rhetoric throughout the novel. I may understand the concept but I was often times lost in the "simplifying" of the ideas. All in all, I would say that this book was entertaining but it was definitely tainted by inconsistencies in the plot.
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Summary: Disappointed
Review: The concept is great, but I found this book to be pretty boring. The situations seemed contrived and the book reads like it was intended for an adolescent audience. Not up to the standards that Chrichton set with Andromeda Strain and others.
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Summary: An interesting timeline?
Review: A spectacular book. Filled with suspense and intrigue, it will leave you with a sense of awe and well being. This is a must for any Michael Crichton fan. If you liked Jurassic Park or the Lost World then you will love this book. When you start this book you won't want to stop. You can't stop. It will trap you and then fill you with enchantment. The characters are characters you can relate to. If you have ever been interested in the medieval era you will love this book. My advice is to read this book as soon as possible.
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Summary: Skip It unless you are a Middle Ages buff . . .
Review: The two best things about this book are the historical detail come to life, and the realistic technobabble about quantum mechanics. In a thriller I expect tight plot construction, but this book is as sloppy as hell which spoils a lot of the enjoyment. Examples: a time travel message is sent back as a warning and never mentioned again by any character. A refutation of time anomalies (i.e., killing your grandfather so you were never born) is poorly explained. A cop and doctor in the beginning are dropped without any tie in. The death of the chief exec of the hi tech firm is inconsistently cruel at the end. Overall, a long sloppy and disatisfying read. Historians could learn however from the way Crichton paints a real life portrait of the middle ages. Skip It.
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Summary: A truly average book.
Review: No doubt, the author thoroughly researched the 1300's and quantum physics. He does a fine job of displaying his knowledge. However, the book lacks any real depth. We never really get to know the characters. The action scenes lack any umph! The book reads like a movie. For once, I think the movie will be better than the book. And you know there's movie around the corner.
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Summary: Crichton should go back in time and rewrite this stinker
Review: Historically, Crichton has been one of those authors to whom I'll give the benefit of the doubt, and buy his books without too much premeditation. Never again.In TIMELINE, International Technology Corporation, headed by a brilliant jerk, Robert Doniger, is doing research in advanced applications of Quantum Theory. Among other things, ITC has succeeded in creating the world's first quantum computer. In southwest France, ITC is sponsoring the archeological excavation of a site that encompasses the ruins of two castles on opposite banks of the Dordogne River, plus those of an adjacent monastery and river mill. The excavation team leader, Professor Edward Johnston, begins to suspect that ITC knows more about the site than it's sharing, so he flies back to company headquarters near Santa Fe, NM, to demand answers. Within a couple days, the rest of the team loses phone contact with the professor, and (conveniently) discovers objects belonging to or originating with Johnston amidst the ruins, including a note that says, "Help me!" Trouble is, the objects can be dated as contemporary with the rubble in which they were found, i.e. mid 14th century. Upon reporting this to ITC, several members of the team are flown back to company HQ ASAP. There, they learn that ITC has achieved the capability of sending people between the parallel universes postulated by quantum mechanics, and that Johnston was transmitted to the Dordogne parallel, or "back in time". Unfortunately, ITC has since lost track of the professor, and a search team must be dispatched. (Up to this point, TIMELINE is marginally interesting. From here on, it degenerates.) The search team includes several members of Johnston's archeological crew: Professor André Marek, Chris Hughes, and Kate Erickson. André is the professor's second-in-command, a man obsessed with the Middle Ages, even to the point of being trained in the use of period weaponry. Chris and Kate are graduate students, i.e. upscale gofers. There's so much wrong with this book, it's hard to know where to begin criticizing. First of all, André, Chris and Kate remain unsympathetic characters. As crafted by Crichton, they're nothing more than functional warm bodies with names used as vehicles to advance the action. Within the storyline, they could be interchangeable, especially Kate and Chris. Second of all, the action itself seems so purposeless. All three, plus Johnston, have been dropped into the year 1357, during which time the castles, monastery and mill are the focus of a local war between two knights, neither of which are very nice men. The professor plays a hazy role as the ally or prisoner - it's not always clear which - of one of the two. (Indeed, Johnston remains an enigma from beginning to end.) To rescue their mentor, our three heroes spend their time confusedly scrambling over, under, and through the various buildings that they'd previously been excavating in the 21st century, all the while fending off assaults by assorted armored and chain-mailed thugs, or escaping imprisonment. Finally, there's the hint early on that ITC has a secret, menacing agenda. (After all, what red-blooded American corporation doesn't?) However, once revealed, this reader yawned and thought, "OK. So?" Bill Gates and Microsoft have been painted as more sinister. Not to put too fine a point on it, by the end of this novel I just didn't care if Johnston and his rescuers made it back or not. As a matter of fact, I say toss 'em in a dungeon and swallow the key. Even the comeuppance visited upon Doniger is anticlimactic and hardly worth the page space it occupies. Hindsight tells me that I wasted my money.
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