Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, but.....
Review: I enjoyed this book, up to the Epilogue. I liked most of the characters, but would have liked to have known more history of the contemporary characters. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story more than the near future - which didn't seem terribly futuristic to me. There just was not enough explanation as to how the Epilogue came to be. It seemed like an afterthought and not a well thought out one at that. I felt a little cheated and it took away a lot of the enjoyment from the rest of the book for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story falls apart in the last quarter
Review: Science fiction in general requires the reader to suspend belief in order to enjoy the story. This novel is no exception. I was enjoying this book until about the last quarter of the book. Then the characters began acting in such an unbelievable way that I found my self actually angry with the author! I am not a critical reader. However, I can not remember when I was more disappointed with a story's ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Just barely enough plot to hold interest.
Review: Not a terrible book but somewhat disappointing. Much more could have been done in terms of storyline and character development. The ending was a letdown.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, some interesting history, but wooden people
Review: Benson did the 14th century better than the 21st which says something about this book _ She's good at historical research but not polished enough to give us more than wooden contemporary characters. Overall, it's an interesting read if you don't take the characters too seriously. One example: a Jewish doctor in 14th century Spain suffers all sorts of indignities for his faith, yet gives it up with little remorse for the love of a fair English maid. At least give him a little Jewish guilt ...If you want to read about a plague, try Stephen King's "The Stand.'' King's 1,300 pages are effortless; Benson's 650 are tortured and should be no more than 400.
Rating:
Summary: A good distraction
Review: Overall, this was a good book. I especially liked how Benson alternated chapters in telling the two stories. I expected to get confused trying to switch back and forth between two stories but Benson kept both plots simple enough to follow. I was, however, disappointed with the ending. I thought it would come to a more stupendous conclusion, tying up all the loose ends and tying together the two plot lines better. Instead, the ending seemed anticlimatic, much like Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain. All in all, The Plague Tales is a good distraction from the monotonies of daily life.
Rating:
Summary: VERY UNORIGINAL
Review: I've read something too similar before: The Doomsday Book (1964). If you want more sci-fi and more in-depth history, I recommend you try the original story. But not a bad effort in any case...
Rating:
Summary: Overall a fun, interesting read.
Review: Although I enjoyed this book there were several shortcomings. First I would have preferred Ann Benson staying with the sci-fi theme instead of the sci-fantasy. Secondly, referred to often, "The Outbreaks" could have been described in better detail. And my final complaint were the characters from the "Future" seemed much less interesting and developed compared to their Medieval counterparts. I really enjoyed Alejandro and the King's Court. In spite of those disappointments it was a fast and exciting journey. I look forward to the sequel!!
Rating:
Summary: Bloated Multi-Genre "Adventure"
Review: "Plague Tales" is a novel that starts out with a good premise, is reasonably well researched, and fails through an inept execution. The cover blurb says "historical novel and futuristic adventure". The novel is two love stories, mild Sword n' Sorcery fantasy, and (again) mild Science Fiction. I'm not certain what genre that places it. I suspect the author wanted to write three novels and decided to write them all at once. "Plague Tales" has several good points, but in general it is just so "bloated". It runs for almost 700 pages. This could easily have been cropped to 500, if the author had used less then three adjectives per sentence. The technology and background history are uneven. The epidemiology is better than the history or "far view" technology. I personally wondered how the Eucalyptus tea sipped in the first chapter reached Mediaeval Span from undiscovered Australia or how one "wiped out the memories completely" of a PC. In addition, the use of magic undermines the tech and a technological future the use of magic. Finally, the novel lacked "hard edges". Even grim situations are "nice". In the middle ages, life was cruel, brutish and short. The author's middle ages read like a costume ball. In a future ravaged by antibiotic resistant pandemics life was also cruel and short. Yet, the Soccer Moms keep a stiff-upper lip. A good editor might have saved this novel. "Plague Tales" has just too many words to read to reach the few good parts. There ought to be a law that first novels be 350 pages or less. In addition, the author spread herself too widely over too much history, characters, and technology. There are better books to read at the beach.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Although I'm not finished reading it yet, I considered staying home from work to do so! I was wary when I first started as I'm not particularly fond of jumping back and forth between centuries/characters, but Ann Benson managed to mesh the 2 plots seamlessly: At the end of each chapter I'm always sorry to leave that story behind, so of course I excitedly plunge into the other plot to get back to the previous one, and the cycle continues... I'm a real fan of historical fiction with a medical background, and this book reminds me of the Noah Gordon series that begins with The Physician. If you liked this book, I'd highly recommend jumping into Gordon's works. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: This is one fun fast story combining mystery and SF
Review: If you are hooked on medieval mysteries and time travel, then Benson's book is one of the best. Altho, I don't consider her as good a writer (yet) as Michael Critchton, she is certainly his equal in story telling talent. I wouldn't be surprised if she could ultimately equal Michael's social commentary and humor, which was at its peak in "Sphere". I am eager to see what Benson produces next!
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