Rating: 
Summary: Good plot, cardboard characters
Review: Timeline is well researched and has an exciting plot. However, the character development is almost non-existent. If you like a fun read and don't care about the characters, then this book is for you. If you're looking for something more, you'll be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: SKIP!
Review: God am I glad I'm finally done with this book. It was entirely unbelievable from start to finish. I wholeheartedly agree with the reader below who said there were way too many close calls that could have (and should have) lead to the characters' deaths. We even get the obligatory head-on-the-chopping-block contrivance. By my estimation these people should have been dead within 5 minutes. The ending was completely ludicrous (ask yourself honestly, is that how you would have dealt with Doniger? )I must also say that I disagree with the previous review - there wasn't anywhere near enough discussion of quantum mechanics. The little that was there demonstrated to me that (a) Chrighton knows nothing of the field and (b) it was just a convenient cover to somehow have a story about people going back in time. Although here is where he made a major mistake: the characters didn't go back into OUR time, they went to a parallel universe that differs in time. This is a big difference as it eliminates all the time travel paradox's that Chrighton tries to include. A very weak effort on Chrighton's part.
Rating:
Summary: Must...try...to..finish..reading..
Review: I'd say only the first 20 pages or so of the book was good...after that there are just too many characters that were thrown in and the story becomes too engrossed in the medieval era...not what I was expecting from Crighton. Perhaps it gets better, but I find it hard to get involved.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabutabulous!
Review: I READ JUST 1 PAGE AND PUT THE BOOK DOWN IT WAS SO GREAT. I DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER FINISHING BECAUSE I MIGHT HAVE OVER EXCITED MY SELF
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting mix of history and science
Review: I never really enjoyed Michael Crichton that much until this book. Being a history buff, I enjoyed the parts in Castelgard immensely. New age science with the wormholes also made it interesting. The characters didn't not seem to shallow, although Marek was too foreshadowed to be exciting. Adrenaline pumped action scenes carry the book onward. This is a lighthearted enjoyable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thing he didn't try this the FIRST time
Review: Take the name Michael Crichton off this book and you would find few glowing reviews. This book is a shame. I have never read Michael Crichton before and if he had written drivel like this all along he would be a shoe salesman. Good for him this wasn't his first effort! The characters are simply names, the book is all dialogue and description, people pop up out of nowhere at the most convenient times to save the day, and he even pulls off the Star Trek trick of killing off the peripheral characters who beam down to the planet just to add the element of danger! This book exists only because there is a computer game and movie to be sold, and the movie will need some help if it's based on this. For a good time travel book, read "Time on My Hands".
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant enough, but too much physics for me!
Review: I rather liked the part of this novel that dealt with the historical...someone did a lot of research into French and medieval history. However, the quantum physics were WAY over my grasp....I just scanned those parts...kinda like I did in high school physics class. This was an interesting story with some provocative points to ponder. I agree with other reviewers....it will make a good film! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: incredible detail
Review: Already a fan of Crichton, he impresses me again with his research into the life of the 14th century. His characters, similar to Jurrasic Park, survive several ordeals that may seem improbable - even impossible - but incredibly entertaining. I do not know of another author that can entertain so well and inform so deeply. This man takes emerging technologies to it's furthest limits and lets the reader decide whether the possible benefits or possible consequences out weigh the other. Loved the book. When they make the movie, please don't change ANYthing!
Rating:
Summary: Timeline the Tapes
Review: I thoughly enjoyed this book. He did a good job developing his characters and using them in what I felt were fairly realistic situations. I think all the "nay sayers" should stick to their Text books, because they are obviously not reading books to be entertained. I listened to the unabriged version and I can see where it may be heading toward the big screen, but that "is" an indication of a good book. I want to praise John Bedford Llyod for bringing this story to life. I do a fair amount of driving and to help pass the time I listen to audio tapes of books I do not have time to read. I recommend everybody try one on their next long trip. Give these tapes or the book a try and remember it's a book, be entertained not jaded.
Rating:
Summary: A great ride into the 14th Century
Review: I found this book an excellent source of entertainment. It is at heart ( or so it seemed to me) a rather old fashioned adventure with a breathtaking pace that really comes alive. Mr Crichton is to be commended for bringing the 14th century alive for a modern reader. I understand that people who don't care much about history may not appreciate all the details of medieval life but I found it fascinating. Is it a perfect book? No, there are a couple of details that I would have preferred different, but overall, it is a book very hard to put down once it gets going. The time travel element is definitely different ( a far cry from Jack Finney's great classic " Time and Again") but it is a thought provoking theory. I am sure it would make a great movie, but no movie could possibly match the book for excitement, but then, movies are very rarely as good as the book. Having read 3 previous works by this author I have no problem stating this is the best I have read by him . The book is filled with all sorts of quaint ( to us ) characters, full of surprising situations, ingenious chases and escapes and I found myself caring for the good guys in the book.
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