Rating: 
Summary: A Great Concept
Review: The story line had a lot of potential, however, I think Crichton had other ideas in mind when he wrote this book. Possibly a movie. Toward the end, some of the battle scenes were a little too descriptive, and very, very long. It seemed like the last part of the book was a never ending battle and the characters being hero's time and time again. It's as intriguing as his other books, however, it lacks that "Classic Crichton" ending.I enjoyed the book immensely despite the critiques of the ending above. It has a great story line and a huge potential to be a great book. The characters have the "Classic Crichton" way about them and that mysterious nature. Puzzles from the beginning keep you reading.
Rating: 
Summary: I would pass on this one.
Review: I bought this book with high expectations. I typically like this type of story (time travel, sci fi, etc) but in the end I was pretty disappointed with the book. The plot once they head back in time goes on this tear of running from one escapade to another, except the flow doesn't make sense. They just seem to bounce from one thing to another, the character development doesn't make much sense, people do these bizarre things for no apparent reason. I did finish the book, but I wouldn't bother to read it again or reccommend it to others. This book could have been so much more, which is perhaps why I found it so disappointing. Sorry, liked his other books, but not this one.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent Reading
Review: I found this book a delight to read. Once again, Crichton has wrote a thrilling adventure. After the initial development, this story realy got going and I had a hard time putting it down. I was a bit dissapointed with the premiss and the science was a bit speculative and outragous. But, his characters were well developed and interesting. I wish that he had explored the science a bit more rather than it developing into a historical novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Not typical Crichton
Review: Although an enjoyable read, this is not Crichton's best by far. Usually when one reads a Crichton book, you expect a compelling mystery laden with technology. You do not get that in this book. This book feels more like it was made to be a movie. The techonolgy of time travel never really enters the story. Yes it is there, but he never gets into the nitty-gritty as he does in Andromeda Strain, Jurrasic Park, AirFrame, and Congo. That was missed by me. The other issue that I had with the book is that a lot of the characters seem to be ripped right out of Jurrasic Park. Overall, this book did not feel wholly original, as do most of Crichton's book. If you want to read a book about time travel to the 14th century, read Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: This is the best sci-fi that I have ever read! If you like medieval history, you will love this book. The story moves a little slowly at first, but engages the reader's curiosity enough to keep him or her reading. When Mr. Crichton leads the reader to an archeological site, and gets into the detail of the students working there and the history of the region, the book becomes totally captivating. Again the story drags for a chapter or two when the students go to the ITC lab in New Mexico, but when they finally travel back in time, it is nearly impossible to put the book down. Each chapter ends with the reader wanting to find out what happens next. Crichton description of the settings makes the reader feel as if he/she were there. The only thing I didn't like about the story was that all the main characters barely escaped death about five times. I agree that this book would make a great movie, but it also makes a heck of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: This book is worth your time and $$
Review: This is Chrichton's most exciting novel since Jurassic Park; No doubt he will turn this into a blockbuster movie too. The reasons this book is hard to put down are: 1) Time travel and medieval France are both realistically and convincingly portrayed 2) The plot is a never-ending, heart-pounding race that won't let you leave it I have long thought that Chrichton's main characters are really the ideas onto which the story is thrust. In this book, it is time travel and history of medieval France. After finishing this book, my interest in history and the Middle Ages was rekindled, and it can't but do the same for you. Buy it; read it; love it.
Rating:
Summary: An average script for an average movie
Review: After a big excitement at the beginning of the book (time traveling idea always does this to me), I finished this book rather disappointed. This book has one of better ideas that Mr. Crichton has come up to, with the one of the sloppiest realizations. I had that feeling that he had a movie, (and probably big bucks) on his mind, writing this book. As I approached the end of the book I got sick of many forced turns, naive descriptions of knight's battles, the way Mr. Crichton turned his students-archeologists into the brave superheroes, the shallow way he has resolved the speaking archaic English problem, and so many unforgivable clumsiness's for a serious SF book. He did not explain why they were so rushing to get the time machines ready (couldn't they go back in time wherever and whenever they want, after the got them working?). This is going to be a great script for a movie that will take away breath of its 15 year old audience. We got used to better Michael Chricton.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty lame
Review: I picked this book up expecting to spend a pleasant weekend at the beach sipping cocoa and being engrossed in a gripping, pulse-pounding adventure. Instead, I endured a tedious, obvious and predictable waste of time. Mr. Crichton spends the first half of the book on Quantum Theory for Dummies, then spends the second half fleshing out the screenplay for the film for which this book was apparently written. The characters are flat, uninteresting and trite; the pacing is one speed - full throttle; and the plot is basically the same as Jurassic Park, minus the kids (thank God). Oh sure, there were some interesting descriptions of the middle ages and a (very) few surprises, but over all I would advise you invest your time elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Crichton's worst!
Review: The only star left is for the idea! The novel is so unlike Chrichton that, in the process of reading it, I have often asked myself if he actually wrote it himself. Yes, I also had the impression that this is not a novel, but a script for a bad movie. The characters are completely unrealistic, they are supermen and -women, their actions are totally incredible. Imagine a 20th century scientist jousting against a medieval knight - and winning! And he is better with the sword than all his medieval adversaries that know how to fight with this weapon. Which brings us to the next flaw: violence. I have nothing against it. It is - unfortunately - part of our lives. But here it is often used to attract certain readers that otherwise would not read books. It is true, the Middle Ages were violent times. But can we be sure that people then just rode through the forest and beheaded people just for the fun of it? And is it conceivable that all knights of that time were paranoid, inhuman and stupid sadists? All of them psychopaths? This is the impression you get when you read this book. Maybe Crichton should have read those books mentioned in the bibliography more closely. I have enjoyed most of Crichton's books. But this one is bad!
Rating:
Summary: H. G. Wells or Samuel Clemens He's Not!
Review: One thing that can be said for Michael Crichton is that he's prolific. For reasons that are not entirely clear even to me, I've read most of his numerous books. Perhaps its the shear volume and diversity of his work that makes me continue to hope that one--at least--will turn out to be more than just a script waiting to be converted into yet another technothriller movie. After all, he does usually have an interesting concept at the heart of each of his science fiction novels. In this one it's time travel, and he mobilizes a considerable amount of selective science interpretation to give it at least some sense of technical plausibility. Subtlety, plot development, characterization, challenging literary structure, allegory, nuance, or even humour are not his strong suites, however. Neither is originality, since the likes of H.G. Wells ("The Time Machine") and Mark Twain ("A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court") have passed this way before, usually with greater literary (if not financial) success. Nonetheless you have to grudgingly admire the guy, if only for his advocacy in this book of historical study as an important (and even potentially remunerative) pursuit. If your looking for even a poor facsimile of literature, "Timeline" won't be for you. If you want to preview in written form what inevitably will be his next Hollywood megaproject, then this one may be worth a passing glance!
|
