Doomsday Book

Rating:
Summary: Well, maybe 2.5 stars
Review: I'm a sucker for books that say 'Hugo' and 'Nebula' on the cover. This one had both as well as "A Tour de Force" written by some reviewer. So when I saw it for a dollar on the clearance rack at my university book store I thought, "How can I go wrong?"
I did go wrong. I can see why this book would appeal to some folks, but it wasn't my kind of story. I'll start with the pros:

-A good premise. I liked the idea of someone going back in time and struggling to survive in plague-ridden medieval Britain.

-Intelligent, well written diaglogue and narrative. Willis creates believeable conversations between reasonably well fleshed out characters.

-Believable settings. Again, Willis does a good job of convincing us that what we're reading is real. I'm no historian but her 14th century Britain seemed real enough to me. 22nd century Britain also seemed furturistic without loosing it's connection to the present or seeming cheesy.

-Free of action/adventure-type violence. There are no sword fights, gun fights, explosions, death-defying escapes... etc.

But here's why I didn't like it:

-Free of action/adventure-type violence. There are no sword fights, gun fights, explosions, death-defying escapes... etc. Now, I don't expect a novel to read like a comic book- I would avoid any novel that did. But every time I thought this story was going to have some swashbuckling excitement, it proved otherwise.

-Mostly, it's boring. Willis spends over 200 pages- nearly half the book- getting the situation set up. We're forced to wade through chapter after chapter of characters in the modern world wondering wether or not the trip back in time was successful and not being able to find out due to one reason or another while Kivrin (the protagonist sent back in time) spends chapter after chapter trying to figure out where she is and what year it is. Even when we find out the severity of Kivrin's situation we're still never treated to very much tension or conflict- Kivrin can't get the plague because she's been innoculated. So where's the drama? With the contemporary villagers. Granted, there's a bit of conflict as Kivrin tries to befriend them and help them avoid being killed off, but nothing that amounts to "A Tour de Force." I won't give away the ending, but it ends up being rather anti-climactic.

I admit that I enjoy a little good old fashioned L'Amour-esque action now and again to liven up a story. Maybe that's why I enjoyed Hugo and Nebula award winning titles like Ender's Game, Forever Peace and Dune more than I liked this book.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe I missed something.
Review: I don't normally read sci-fi novels. This book was recommended to me, although I can't imagine why. As far as novels go, it is okay - not all that exciting, but well written in its way. I think it would have been better if there had been more detail into how they invented time travel rather than endless pages of characters rushing from one place to another and then have them do nothing when they get there.

The parts that take place in the Middle Ages were better than those taking place in "present time," if only because there was some activity. After Kivrin regains her health, her interactions with the inhabitants of 14th century england were far more entertaining than the stymied medical personnel back in her home time.

I assume the book was labeled as sci-fi because of the time travel element. It didn't seem too sci-fi beyond that. Overall, I thought it was mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: No plot for the Bloody Boring British
Review: I read up to page 206 and then gave up because there is no plot and little description of surroundings. The main character travels in time only to lie in a bed, sick. Why bother to have a character traveling in time if she doesn't do anything once she gets there? Furthermore, both the main character and a secondary character are prevented from talking to other characters about important plot points because of their illnesses. The can't do anything and can't even talk because they are sick.

What are we left with? Shallow discussion of shallow worries by secondary characters about what might be happening--never any description of what actually is happening unless the character is lying sick in bed. Description of movement by the characters--but they go places without any reason for it--remember, there is no plot! Much discussion over how to get the National Health Service number for a patient who can't talk when people controlling the files are away on vacation. General discussion that most people don't bother to remember, let alone write about: Yes, let's have some tea. Oh, are you tired, too bad! I see that you have arrived, where were you just before? What did the sick person who can't talk do before he got sick? I don't know, what do you think he did?

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, engaging, imaginative and haunting
Review: Doomsday Book is a chillingly beautiful, well-written and well-researched story combining the best elements of historical fiction with absurdist science fiction. The characters, like real people, seem archetypal and easily categorized when you meet them but show more and more texture as you get to know them. Both the future-day academians and the medieval villagers seem real and present and very much alive, and so do the other main characters: merciless contagious disease and insistent time. The story starts slow, like all Connie Willis books, where seemingly anecdotal story lines and conversations come and go and you're not quite sure what is going on and how it will all tie together. Slowly, you become more and more involved in the rising tension, and you look up and realize time slipped away from you and you really should go cook dinner or check your work e-mail, but all you want to do is get back into the book. I highly suggest reading Doomsday Book in as few sittings as possible because the pace of the story and the intensity of your relationship with the characters is best experienced this way, like listening to an entire album rather than song by song to get the full impact. Connie Willis has a strong historical foundation and she thinks of brilliant ways to link various time periods and story lines. She clearly researched the 1300s and medieval daily life very carefully; she focuses on the details that really make you feel as though you're in the 1300 with the characters. She manages to point out differences you might not think of between our daily life and culture and theirs, while still highlighting the universality of human emotions and desires. In sum, it's a brilliant, thoughtful book with an intense conclusion, carefully defined characters and an unusual, illuminating dual story line. You'll think about Doomsday Book long after reading it.

Rating:
Summary: A Dutch point of view
Review: I read this book for the first time on November 28 2000, the night my father died. I made my bed in his study, could not sleep, picked up Doomsday Book and kept on reading. Since then I read it once a year. It is one of the most beautiful and fulfilling books I know. From time to time I buy it as a present because I want to share this story with people I love.

Rating:
Summary: A vivid depiction of plague ridden English Village in 1348
Review: The development of character and place in this story of time travel to plague ridden England in 1348 overcame a plot that sometimes plodded along toward the inevitable conclusion. Willis made the historical characters come alive, so this reader grieved when they black plague killed them so awfully.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful story that stays with you after you read it.
Review: I first read Coonie Willis' novel "The Doomsday Book" when it first came out in 1992. It is a true classic, one of those rare books that stays with you long after you read it. A powerful tale, extremely well written. Highly deserving of the Hugo and Nebula awards, both of which it won. It is very rare for a novel to win both of these coveted awards, and that alone indicates this is truly a great novel. If you enjoy high quality historical fiction, science fiction or deep fantasy tales, read this book. Not recommended for those who must have a Hollywood perfectly happy ending.

Rating:
Summary: Pestilence and Time Travel.
Review: Ms. Willis has done a wonderful job with this book. Hugo and Nebula prizes were deservedly bestowed to this work.
Time travel is a classic sci-fi subject and there are different possible approaches. The author chooses to research in depth the time period involved and that is a big plus. The medieval environment is presented to the reader with accurate strokes.
Even if the story is a little slow to fully develop, after you pass the first hundred pages you are hooked and incapable to put this book down.

Ms. Willis draw a parallel between past and present (future actually as present is year 2050), confronting a deadly epidemic situation in two different time periods.
Characters are fully developed and show human depth. The reader is introduced to the intimate perceptions of many of them. Self sacrifice vs. selfishness; true deep religious belief vs. superficial self serving religious attitudes; human foolishness vs. humanitarian procedures are described in a gripping way.

The dark background is mitigated by an underlying sense of humor that softens most dreadful scenes.
Time travel is presented in a very coherent way, avoiding paradoxes and silly conflicts that spoil other novels.
A book that may be enjoyed by sci-fi and fantasy adepts as well as people interested in historical novels.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.


Rating:
Summary: a wonderful book!
Review: Fascinating, gripping, heart rending and satisfying. Her take on the middle ages is most authentic. The characters sieze your soul. I read it two years ago and it's still vivid in my mind.