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Doomsday Book

Doomsday Book

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Interesting with a realistic ending.
Review: I enjoy books like this that deal with people out of their time element. I also recommend THE ROCK by Robert Doherty-- a more modern tale but also intriguing with a twist at the end.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite book, in 28 years of reading.
Review: I loved this book, and read its 500+ pages in 3 days (very unusual for me). Not your average science fiction. The future part of the book is entertaining even in the midst of pandemic and tragedy. The past part of the book is a delightful (not to be confused with "happy") mixture of history, substance, and cold, hard reality. I found myself in tears at the loss of characters I'd grown very attached to or at turns of events that led the story off the beaten path of happy-endingness or anticipated problem resolution; in chuckles and grins over some of the basics of human nature which exist no matter what the century; and in laughter over the sometimes-absurd antics of people who could easily pass for my next-door neighbors, college dorm buddies, family members, supervisors, best friends, or church members. The story's believable, the characters very "real" and well-developed, the situations realistic... these combined with the science fiction elements, made for an extraordinary piece of reading. I will no doubt own several well-worn copies of this book before I turn 30.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This is a book to talk about! Get a friend to read it, too.
Review: This wasn't a perfect book but a very good one. Although there were a few nagging mistakes, the story telling was so good I willingly suspended disbelief and went along for the ride. There were a few times I thought I knew what was happening or was certain the direction the plot would take and I was, happily, wrong every time. This is the type I story you just love to talk over with other people...and there is no way to tell you why without giving some of it away, so get reading! And especially read and enjoy this book before Hollywood gets hold of it and appends a love story, a happy ending, and/or Julia Roberts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Affecting Book
Review: My Confession: I am not a science fiction person. My father is. He's a nut. Being the only other bibliophile in my family, he's always giving me new sci fi books to read. Sometimes, I'll get through the first three chapters. Sometimes.

When he handed me Doomsday Book three years ago, for the first time I was glad for his relentless reading assignments. This is truly one of the most affecting books I've ever read. It's not happy, so don't read this if you're already depressed, or if you just want a light read. It took me about three days to get over this book once I finished.

Right now I'm in school to be an epidemiologist, a scientist who studies epidemics. At least once a year I try to re-read Connie Willis's book to remind myself that all the statistics I look at are real people, and scared. I would recommend this book to anyone, but espeically to someone who normally doesn't like Science Fiction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best book i've ever read
Review: Its been 5 years since i read this book and it still stands as the most interesting read i've come across. It's a story anyone can relate to, one of tragedy, hope and myriad emotion. it is elegant yet accessible, one of the qualities i find lacking in so much of the science fiction that is available. The amazing thing about this book is that the story and the feelings it elicits stay with you long after you're through reading. It balances hope and technology with raw ignorance and suffering and an uncompromising ending that doesn't pander to the reader. Truly a tour de force.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very, very, VERY good.
Review: I honestly couldn't put this book down, and finished it in a week despite it's 578-page length. Sure, it was really drawn-out long and the ending sequence was way too abrupt, but Dunworthy and Kivrin both lead two very, very compelling plotlines. I love the way that Connie Willis wrote the epidemic parts in the future half of the book -- it starts out slowly and really small, and eventually explodes into a full-out epidemic. If you don't like Middle Ages, the Black Plague, or depressing stories, don't read this. If you do, read it! NOW!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well-written; worthy of all the praise it received.
Review: I loved "Doomsday Book"; however, if you're expecting plain science-fiction, you might be better off looking for something else. "Doomsday Book" is more historical fiction than science fiction, but well worth a look in any case.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Grey...
Review: ALthough there are quite a number of people considered this book a miserable SF, but I have enjoyed it. I guess part of it reflects the loneliness inside me, so I was able to relate it a little. Like "The Snow Queen", reading this book has built up some "alienness" landscape inside my head as I read about the future and the dark ages. (And I guess I could recommand reading this book during your winter holiday. It should add some mood to it as you read through it. After all, it does for me.) :)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Big disappointment
Review: I read this book on the strength of the other reviews, and of the favorable mention that it got in the reviews of The Plague Tales. The whole first half of the book should have been condensed down to one chapter. It's so full of stalling, filler, and just plain stupidity, especially in the future section, that it hardly bears skimming. I was so exhausted by the time I got to the meat of the story that I almost resented spending the time to finish the book. Keep away from this one unless you have a very high tolerance for pointless prose.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best stories
Review: A story so wonderful I've seldom read before. It made me feel like I was there in this VERY bad time of human history. Is it SF or fantasy? No, it's better. A woman from the future in a medieval time, with no superpowers, that's how more stories should be written. It has times of happiness, hope and when I came to one part of the story tears were running down my face. At that moment I couldn't read it any further for a couple of days. When I finally closed the book, I wished there would be a sequel to it.


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