Rating: 
Summary: S'ok.
Review: There's a lot to like about this book, but I have to admit that it left me a bit cold. OK, the details are meticulous and the much-vaunted realism is in full force, but frankly I didn't care so much about that...if I want a history lesson on medieval England I'll read a history book, not a SF novel. Mainly what I care about are compelling characters and a gripping plot. Willis delivers -- up to a point. Kivrin and the medieval characters I liked, but the characters in future England are so obtuse and thinly drawn that I wish Willis had jettisoned the whole "time travel" conceit and just written a novel about the Plague. The "idiot" plot (meaning that there would be no story if the characters didn't behave like idiots) drags the novel down. I wanted so badly to love this book, but I couldn't connect to it on an emotional level. I admired the historical detail and the vividly realized vision of the past -- it's too bad Willis' vision of the *future* is so unconvincing. I have to admit that I don't quite understand all the hoopla. Maybe the fact that the vast majority of SF books that are released each year are utter crap makes the occasional non-lousy book like this seem all the more masterful. And it's NOT a bad book. But for me, a "10" book has to change my life, and this book didn't do that. It's better than most SF books I've read lately, but it's not up there with the classics. This is coming from someone who can't stand 99% of the books currently on bookstore shelves, however, so take my words accordingly.
Rating: 
Summary: To be read again and again
Review: I read the book. Then I read the parts from 1348 only. Three times. Then I read the book again. Now I'm going to read it again! The details of the Midevial Times are wonderful and make you want more and more. The truths of daily life there are hard to us, but the author brings us to understand that what we percieve as "hard" was normal for the 1300's. The characters are like people of any century, some good, some bad, some boring, some fanitical, some out of control, having us realize that people are people in any time. I have shelves and shelves of SF books and this one is right up there in my top 5. I'll keep reading and rereading this one until one of us wears out!
Rating:
Summary: Astonishing Story; Amazing Author
Review: I picked up this book not expecting much, (I"m hard to please) but I found Miss Willis' novel to be amongst the most stirring I'd read in years. This book will appeal to people for whom the characters are what makes for a good read. The concepts are strong, but unless you're moved by character development you might find that the pay-off takes too long.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who thinks that SF is a "fluffy" genre. What an education!
I'd recommend this book to anyone who was in the mood for a deeply stirring, even melancholy read. Finally a book where reality doesn't take a back seat to the predictable "happy ending" .
Rating:
Summary: A fine book. Enjoyed it immensely
Review: Nothing fancy to say, just wanted to get my vote in. A friend recommended it to me ( I don't read a lot of science ficton) and I gave it a try. It's the best book I've read in a couple of years. No, there's not a lot of science fiction in it and it takes a while to build up, it seems to me. But the feeling I took away from the book was that this ( the Bubonic plague ) really did happen, that it is truly amazing how much better life is today. We look back at those times as if they didn't really occur, part of the reason being that we can't actually imagine how bad they were. I helps give one an appreciation of the time in which we live.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Concept, Uninteresting Book
Review: I probably would not have finished this book if it did not win the Hugo and Nebula award. I kept on saying to myself that there must have been a reason this book won. Must have been a weak field that year. The beginning is slow, the middle is slightly interesting, the end comes abruptly. The time travel concept was unremarkable except for the fact that if I had invented time travel, I would have required much smarter people to run the system. Most of the characters are 1 dimensional. A lot of what happens does not have the ring of plausibility. Suspense is made by having one character blatantly withholding information from the reader not once, but several times. He has very important information, but somehow he just never gets around to telling everyone about it. Normally, I don't care if characters are 1 dimensional , just as long as it is a good read and characters behave somewhat plausibly. However, the plot moves too slow and you just don't care about the characters towards the end.
Rating: 
Summary: dooms day really is doom
Review: sorry to say ,i cant see why half people rate this a ten and others rate this low , the story as i see had potentail and some interesting aspects ,like the relationship between kirvin and agnes ,but in the end the two story lines never crossed in time ,or should i say the people in the 20th century never made it time to help kirvin , perhaps if connie really merged the two storylines sooner --more story could have come about .kirvin should have interacted more with colin -more to save something in this novel , who wants to read a book with rich charecters only to find in the end they all die helplessly ,if this is anyones cup of tea drink it Well my friend :-(
Rating:
Summary: A woderful, visual, emotional book.
Review: It has been quite a few years (probably three) since a good friend handed me his copy of "Doomsday Book" and said, "I think you'll probably like this." I devoured every word of this book, and can still remember it clearly. It was lush in imagery and flowing with deep emotion. I could see every action happening in my head, and even though I'm a film student and often visualise the things I read, I thought this was a movie I'd like to see, and a story well worth sharing. Truly fantastic. My friend let me keep the book because I enjoyed it so much; he'd bought two copies.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, necessity for most SF/medieval bookshelves
Review: Excellent book, I would recommend for anyone into soft SF, and does not mind a sad book and a book which requires one to think and feel... Connie has many ideas going and pulls them all together into interesting endings. The parts concerning the medieval times was great: you get drawn into the plot and you are there, feeling with the characters. For that I would have given a "10". However the story line during the "present" time was much weaker and a bit stretched at times, which is why I give this book a "9".
Rating:
Summary: Connie Willis does it again!
Review: Doomsday book is a fine example of Connie Willis' skill as an author. She successfully tells the story of two epidemics in two very different centuries. She tells her stories using very believable characters who each have their own foibles and fears. She also peoples her novels with a great supporting cast of eccentrics, Doomsday being no exception. I truly enjoyed this book, it was well researched with believable characters and story. Father Roche is a character that will live in my memory as long as I live. I would recommend this book as well as Firewatch and Bellwether by Willis
Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: I read this book just after it won all the awards. I couldn't put it down. That's not entirely a good thing, considering the fact that it was such an incredible downer. Do we really need another piece of entertainment that chronicles the deaths of so many people? Unlike many who have read this work, I didn't find much within its covers that could be considered humorous. I just remember feeling depressed, covered with mud and exploded bubonic plague bubules when it was finished. It's compellingly written, but, when all's said and done, I didn't feel that there was much to be gained by experiencing this work. The characters were not very memorable, either. I must admit, though, that I've never forgotten the author's descriptions of plague victims' symptoms. Yech
|
