Rating: 
Summary: Phenomenally Provocative
Review: The old adage "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" has never been more present than in Connie Willis's offering "Doomsday Book." Laborously researched and brilliantly plotted, the novel's main character Kirvin travels back into the Middle Ages from her existence in the not-to-distance future to study the effects of the Black Plague and Western Europe's medieval people.What's truly exceptional about this is not only the effort Willis devoted to researching the past, but the thought she put into her futuristic setting. Set in London, not too much has changed socially, but as technology advances, history repeats. As Kirvin is exploring the past, the future is threatened by a newly-discovered plague that's - surprise! - rooted in the past. Time-travel is not treated lightly. Willis goes into detail about the problems it presents -- from minute calculations to effects that could result from any accidental alterations. This thoughtful presentation allows the reader to suspend disbelief more easily and ride along Kirvin's journey. Admittedly, the book is hard to get into. Lovers of history and medicine will have an easier time, but those who like novels staunchly set in reality may have a more difficult time. The result, however, is worth it. This is a complex, impressive, emotional, and heartening novel. Highly recommended to those who want to get lost in a good book.
Rating:
Summary: In a word, phenomenal
Review: Doomsday Book is one of the best novels, Sci Fi or not, that I have read in years. This is not only a book that you can't put down, but one that will keep you thinking about it for days and weeks after you finish. Excellent, stimulating writing, fabulous characters, an interesting parallel "universe" plot (14th vs 21st century); this is clearly a work culminating an enormous effort from Ms. Willis, whose awards alone identify her as a must read author. I highly recommend this book and have purchased copies to give to a number of people. Five stars is not enough.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bit Too Long and Drawn Out
Review: Once again, Connie Willis shows how well she researches a book before she writes it. Unfortunately, in this book, it appears she wanted to put too much of her research into it. For the most part, the book is gripping. But, as you get near the end, you start to notice that although your eyes are seeing a lot of words, nothing's really happening. First, in the book's "present," there's really no emotional satisfaction with how things get resolved. Essentially, something happens that allows one of the protagonists to do what he's been trying to do for the last 400 pages or so. Secondly, in the book's "past," you're pretty darn sure what's going to happen, but it takes forever to get there. Also, once it happens, Willis spends far too much time getting to the point where everything comes together. But, I think the biggest disappointment was that she ends the book too early (yes, I know that seems to contradict my "long and drawn out" comment). I can't say too much here, but just a few more footsteps and a couple of conversations to bring everyone up-to-date would have given the ending a better feel. For the most part, I enjoyed the book. But, it's nowhere near as good as "To Say Nothing of the Dog."
Rating:
Summary: Where is the theme?
Review: Although the writer's style is good and words seem to flow, I can't really say what this story is about. The whole plot revolves around the symptoms and the progress of an epidemic, which is hardly a deep conflict felt by the main character , but a mere accident she is the victim of--in fact, the only decision she has to make is to wait. Too much of the suspense relies on the fact that, due to the quarantine and the pace of this epidemic, characters fail to communicate with one another. When at LONG last communication is reestablished, the story ends. Without a theme that bounds the elements of the story , this turns out to be a bunch of anecdotes, medical data, and descriptions of several attempts and failures at communication, thrown together.It doesn't convey anything else.
Rating: 
Summary: exceedingly tedious
Review: I listened to the book on unabridged audio. I usually love long books, but 1/3 of the way through I had to stop. Ms. Willis uses language beautifully, but many of the sections are tedious and repetitive. She may have researched the Middle Ages, but she didn't do much research on medicine--in particular the medications she mentions are rediculous. It would be have been better to make up some drug than to have the physicians of 2054 using antibiotics we gave up on 30 years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Sadly....disappointed
Review: I can't blieve this - it's the first time i was led astray by Amazon reviews - usually well rated books are great. Let me state beforehand that I have not yet finished the book, but I will try (only because I hate to stop in the middle). The premise is great - time travel to the 1300's. And Willis' writing is very good - she's talented and has a good ear for speech. That's where the good things end. The girl travels all that way back and so far nothing interesting has happened, and I'm sure nothing will, since she's just sitting in a house with a bunch of girls and women waiting for time to pass. Oh yeah, some other people come to visit. But here is the worst part. Every other chapter is set in "present" time. Basically, absolutely nothing happens in those chapters other than people talking about things you wouldn't even bother paying attention to in real life. The only way it's even bearable to skim through those chapters is that Willis is a good writer. In the end you skim through boring "present" day chapters, waiting for something interesting to happen in the 1300's chapter...but, alas, in vain.
Rating: 
Summary: The more serious side of Connie Willis
Review: I still haven't read Greeley's SF claim to fame's first solo novel, Lincoln's Dreams, but based on the quality of her short stories, and this, her second novel, I'm not upset at all that I sprung for a hardback copy of it. Which is a funny way to start a review, but sort of expresses the inexpressable delight that I enjoyed whilst reading Doomsday Book. Frankly, Willis is one of the finest writers I've ever read, in or out of the SF genre. However, I feel that her short work stands up better than her novels, and the novels ain't shabby. What's Doomsday Book about? Kivrin, an eager young historian from 2045 gets the chance of a lifetime to "visit" (that is, time travel) to the Middle-Ages and make first-hand observations. However, the transition doesn't go quite as planned because as soon as Kivrin is sent, the technician in 2045 falls down with a mysterious influenza like disease. Kivrin's mentor in 2045 is suddenly caught in a Seriocomedy of Errors as he tries to have her recalled, while also dealing with a quarantine in his own age. Kivrin, meanwhile, is finding out the hard way that everything her mentor said about the Middle-Ages is true. And she's also finding out that she may not be in exactly the time frame that she originally thought she was. And that's the basic plot without spoilers. The story is told through two protagonists, Kivrin's story in the middle-ages, and her mentor's story in 2045. The point of view is also a very tight third-person subjunctive, which at times can seem repetitive, but is extremely well done. Worth it? Definately.
Rating:
Summary: Why Did It Win the Hugo and the Nebula? Here's Why:
Review: Anyone who picks up 'Doomsday Book' expecting to find aliens from another galaxy, spaceships, intergalactic conflict, hard science, or Jack the Ripper is going to be severely disappointed. Maybe that's why I'm reading so many negative reviews here. I think a lot of reviewers have both missed the boat and a great read. As 'Doomsday Book' opens, a young university history student named Kivrin is preparing to travel back in time to the year 1320 for an on-site study of English people and their customs before the Black Plague hit. Mr. Dunworthy, Kivrin's professor, fears she is not prepared, even though Kivrin has spent months learning about the era, its customs, its language, and its dangers. He feels that something is wrong, dangerously wrong. He's right. Something has gone wrong. Kivrin lands in the Fourteenth Century, but not in 1320. She finds out (in more ways than one) that the time she is in can be very, very dangerous. In the meantime, an epidemic has broken out in Dunworthy's time (the year is 2054), taking the professor's energy away from trying to rescue Kivrin. I think the mistake some readers make when reading 'Doomsday Book' is in expecting a thrill-a-minute ride that never stops until the last page. If that was what she wanted, it wouldn't have taken Connie Willis five years to research and write the book. I think people are not judging the book she has written. That's too bad because the book Willis has given us is a jewel. Why? First, its expertly written. Yes, the research is evident and impressive, but Willis makes you feel that everything you are reading about is absolutely authentic, all the way down to the fabric of the clothes people wore in Fourteenth Century England. Second, the characters are not stereo-typed. It would have been soooooo easy to have Kivrin stumble into the Fourteenth Century and instantly be considered a witch or a demon. It also would have been easy to portray the "contemps" as backwards, ignorant people clinging to superstition as their religion. Willis is much too smart for that. Instead, she gives us a very believable heroine in Kivrin, a young woman who is as prepared as one could be for such a journey until she arrives and discovers that no amount of preparation would have been enough. The people she meets are not one-dimensional cardboard characters who are incapable of thinking. They are richly drawn complex people who I will remember for a long time. Finally, the parallels between the two time periods provides an interesting study. Have things really changed in seven hundred years? Are people really so much different now than they were then? The answers might surprise you. Only one part of the book began to grow tedious for me: The constant presence of Dunworthy's assistant Finch, a yes-man if I ever saw one. Other than this, 'Doomsday Book' is a book to enjoy and treasure. 578 pages
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I have been inspired to pen my first book review; pity my inspiration is so negative. I have had a long time interest both in time travel as well as medieval history. That combined with many glowing reviews here made me look forward to buying and reading this work. It is easy to dispose of the time travel aspect of this book. To me, the interesting part of time travel speculation are the various problems that an interesting time travel story can produce. Does the traveler create non-historical change? Can he/she meet early relatives? In this book, the author disposes of all of that by insisting that a time travel trip cannot happen or occur if the traveler can thereby produce change in the history stream. That is just not very interesting. Much is made by some reviewers of the amount of "research" done by the author. I just don't see much of that. After all, the time traveler in this book is still in her sick bed by page 200! If a reader wants "research" on medieval history, I would refer him to a good non-fiction work by Tuchman entitled A Distant Mirror. THAT book demonstrates research! I do have to say, though, that the portion of the book dealing with events in the early 21st century does set a record for detailing the most number of phone calls completed, not completed, missed, dropped,or talked about of any book I have ever read. I cared about precious few of the characters--perhaps Agnes comes closest. By the end of the book, the major interest I had was whether or not that darned cow would be milked. From checking some of the many reviews of this book presented, I see that almost everyone either loved or hated this book. I was prepared to love it but ended up glad that I could get through it.
Rating:
Summary: not that good
Review: A great deal of the book was annoying and felt contrived. After reading other, good works, by Stephenson, Gibson, Simmons, Gene Wolfe, &c, I was quite let down with this one. I can't imagine how it won a Hugo award.
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