Rating: 
Summary: His best since Jurassic Park!!!
Review: A fabulous ride!!! I read 1 or 2 books a month and this is the best one I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline
Review: The novel Timeline brings out the best of the author Michael Crichton. He uses all of his many tools of writing when he created this piece of work. In this novel, Crichton deals with many things that happen in everyday life such as the moral and often important decisions of everyday life. In this, the talk is of course about the owner of the company ITC. This owner does whatever will help him succeed in business in order to get his way. This novel consists of the above mentioned businessman who has created a special device which allows a person to not travel in time but actually go to a different universe of that time. To understand this, you must have at least some concept of Quantum Physics. In preparing to produce this novel, Michael studies this science in order to give the best information on the subject. Crichton uses his narrative skills to perfection in the way the story is told. The only flaw that I can see in this book is the length Mr. Crichton goes to at the explanation of Quantum Physics. This description could possibly bore or even divert the reader from the book. However, if the novel is read in its entirety it will be well appreciated of Michael's masterpiece. This novel is filled with unexpected twists and suprises that the reader would have never thought of. To experience these you'll just have to read this work of art on your own.
Rating:
Summary: Castles, Knights, and Scientists -- Oh My!
Review: Once I got into the book (about 100 pages), absolutely couldn't put it down!Only Chrichton would write a book where the hero is quantum physics! He offers an intriguing premise for time travel: folks are "faxed," not transported. Most of the story takes place in the Middle Ages, which the author brings to life. It's obvious he's done his history homework. I, too, kept thinking that this would make a great movie (I just learned that it's in production.) A thoroughly enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: What a Ride!!!
Review: From the first page to the last you are in for quite a ride! It is a top notch science fiction/time travel adventure.Michael Crichton has created terrific characters,a wonderful setting and he presents his plot in a most plausible way.It is obvious that he did a lot of research into different time travel theories and into life in 14th century France. This added a richness to the story.The only quarrel I might have is the fading of two chacacters before completing their contribution the storyline. It really is a terrific page turner.Be prepared to read awhile!
Rating:
Summary: It's NOT literature--but it IS GREAT!
Review: After the less-than-stellar 'Airframe' I was more than happy when I got into 'Timeline' and realized that Chrichton had done it again! It's one of those books you can't put down, and even though 'time travel' is far from the most original concept in the Universe, making it original takes some impressive creativity, and in this area Chrichton does a first-rate job. It seems that all (or most) of time travel takes place in the future, but not here, in fact going back just a hundred years isn't far ENOUGH. France...a long time ago in a world far, far away (sorry, I couldn't help myself) and I DO mean far away. Most people have a pre-conceived notion of what life was like from watching movies and TV which came as close to showing what life was really like hundreds of years ago as you can learn brain surgery from a home-corrospondance course: NOTHING. Now I don't for a second believe that all the research Mr. Chrichton did notwithstanding, that this is perfectly accurate either...however I don't read Chrichton's books because he can convince me that what he is writing about CAN actually HAPPEN, I buy them so I can enjoy several hours of entertainment. I am happy to say that 'Timeline' provided me NOTHING but PURE fun. Kudos to Michael Chrichton once again, and for those who unfortunately chose 'Airframe' as their first book to read by Chrichton, I encourage you to give this a shot. Once again I can hardly wait for his next novel, and I would personally be thrilled if another Jurassic book was in the works, however I read an interview with Mr. Chrichton who said 'The Lost World' was his last Dinosaur book (but remember, never say never...). I don't care what his next book is, just get it PUBLISHED SOON!
Rating: 
Summary: *GREAT* script!
Review: This is a great movie script. The characters are shallow, and easily identified by 1 or 2 blatant character traits. The events are over-the-top and dramatic. Each "chapter" (scene?) ends in a cliffhanger. And, of course, there are plenty of special effects shots. Good stuff! No one will have any trouble with the premise, which is so unbelievable and filled with enough pseudo-science that audiences will just shrug, patiently wait for the conflict to be set up, and then eagerly watch the action/adventure extravaganza. (vague spoiler alert) This script gets 3 stars because the action/adventure extravaganza is, well, extravagant. And entertaining. There's love, betrayal, sword fights, gun fights, dastardly villains, a spooky ghost, heartless politics, and of course lots of explosions. All the action is propelled by stock characters that are proven to attract US moviegoing audiences: there's the kindly-yet-misguided old professor (all Crichton scripts have this character), the brash rogue with a heart of gold, the noble hero, the spunky female love interest, the previously mentioned "black bart" character, and the amoral capitalist who gets his comeuppance in the end (all Crichton scripts also have this character). Good pulp fiction. Sure to sell! Three $tar$. Would have gotten 4 stars, but it was released with a hard cover and non-standard formatting, which I'm sure made it difficult for the actors. (I'm not kidding: Timeline the movie has been in production for months. It's due out May 2001. This really is a script. An entertaining script, but a script nonetheless.)
Rating:
Summary: Decent Story - Strange Narrator
Review: Listening to the audio book (unabridged) by John Bedford Lloyd was a bit frustrating. While he is a good narrator, he was incapable of pronouncing the word "room" which he pronounced as "rum." For some reason, this bothered me to the point that every time he said "rum" instead of "room," which happened every few minutes, I was ready to pull out the tape and chuck it! Also, the voice he used for one of the main characters (Merrick) sounded exactly like Arnold Schwarzegger! I'm not kidding about this. Back to the story - it was no "Jurassic Park," but it certainly was head and tails above "Airframe." If you like mysteries set in medieval times, you will enjoy this book. There is just enough computer-geek technology to keep it exciting and enough historical background to make you feel like you've learned something when you finish.
Rating: 
Summary: DEFINITELY NOT !
Review: THis is definitely not the adventure masterpiece wsome people are saying it is ! It's a good Crichton novel, but a little below his own standards of quality. It's not boring at all, but is not so involving and "impossible to stop reading" as some people said. A good book to fulffill his editorial contracts.
Rating:
Summary: A superb piece of work
Review: I could not believe how fast I finished reading this book. It's not short, but once you start you're hooked. The introduction of the novel is a brief explanation of the quantum theory upon which the story is based. In short, the novel is about a low profile technology company which happened to come upon a way to send people through time... though not exactly. A team of archaeologists working for the company in France are sent to 14th century France on a rescue mission. They have a limited time to perform their mission or they're stuck there. Naturally, many complications face them and not everyone makes it back, but the ending is very satisfying. Lots of action, lots of tense moments. The descriptions are so well written, it's as if you're seeing it happen in front of you. Michael Crichton also explains the quantum theory through the story in a simple way for the reader. This is done in a way to add the "wow" effect in the story. I never thought that anything like that was possible. It's amazing what science is coming to. In closing, this is a novel that is well worth your time. It would make a perfect movie as long as they don't change or delete some of the plot...
Rating: 
Summary: A paint-by-the-numbers effort
Review: Crichton is intelligent and well educated, qualities that are manifest in his story lines and in the technical details of his books. But he has a long way to go as a writer, a fact that is painfully evident here. The premise is interesting, but there is not a character real enough to care about and the writing is pedestrian. I simply lost interest half way through the book.
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