Rating: 
Summary: A good read after all. Looking forward to the movie.
Review: Michael Chrichton certainly has a talent for making the impossible come true. In Jurassic Park he expanded a bit on current gene technology and out came living breathing dinosaurs. In Timeline quantum mechanics is stretched a little bit and out comes timetravel. His opening remarks are especially clever: "..at the dawn of the nineteen century psysicists thought they knew the overall laws of the universe. Only details needed to be filled out". How naive they were,we think. And by thinking that we enter a world were everything is possible in the future. We end up agreeing with Crichton that it will be possible to make a person disapear from our universe and reappear in another part of the multiverse (that looks very much like our own) were the clock says France, 1375. In the book it is stated as: ITC Corp. has invented a way, using Quantum Physics, to journey to 14th century France. It's not really a time machine since instead of going back to our past, the characters are actually going back to a past that exists in a parallel universe. What saves the day for Crichton is his grasp of (selfevident) details (like obvisously: "it is very quiet in 1375 as there are no machines to make noises"). The details surprises you and fills the cracks in the wall for you. Without the details an d Crichtons story telling skills you would otherwise have protested that this was to far fetched. And as usual I am looking forward to the inevitable movie. In the meantime, I enjoyed the book very much. And certainly I agree with the tone of the whole thing - in the future everything is possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't listen to the other low-rate bozos who gave this <5
Review: Michael Crichton truly delivers in Timeline. Meshing past, present, and future perfectly. The storyline and the whole angle at which he approaches the novel is truly unique. Action is spectacular, and above all, it is a amazingly interesting read. Buy it today, especially if you like Physics or history. I started to read this for Physics extra credit. I was truly surprised when I found that it was an extremely good novel, and now The Pelican Brief by Grisham -- which I am reading simultaneously -- is fighting for the top spot.
Rating:
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!
Rating:
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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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