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Summary: Paradise Lost
Review: This book is not just a fantasy for a historian, archaeologist, or science prodigies. We have a modern account in a paradigm of technology that is present in our culture. National physicists actually hold Crichton's quantum theories valid that lends wonderful believeability in this story. We live this adventure as history is eloquently depicted as something we should learn as we become aware of modern society's legacies. If you read one page of this book, do yourself a favor and read p.73 (in the hardbound text) to decipher what is a "temporal provincialist". It is nice to see a fresh perspective that is visionary in science and yet warns some of the adverse affects when one tries to conform the world unto their his/her theories. If you want to be more grateful about Amercian society and laws despite our widespread negativity, then you should read this account. I have even dreamed about the "next step" of time travel in full detail of this vivid book.
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Summary: Totally Engaging
Review: This book is one of the best I have read in a long time. Once I started I couldn't put it down, two days and it was done. Thought provoking and well written, as well as very easy to read.
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Summary: An unforgettable Tale
Review: This is the best book I have ever read.It is extremely well written and it kept me glued until the very last page.You really get to actually care for the characters as you follow their adventure.I couldn't believe some of the reviews saying it was boring! A great book for the mature croud.It will always stay in my heart!
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Summary: An Instant Classic-A Pure Epic
Review: Michael Crichton's book Timeline is equivelent to Jurassic Park. It is a masterpiece. Timeline is brilliant. It actually explains how "time travel" could be possible. It is an epic in my eyes; an epic for the new millenium. This book will keep you reading past midnight. It will scare you, excite you, and amaze you with its infinite possibilities. Like most of Crichton's work, it is filled with great suspense. This book has forever changed the way I look at the world around me. I am much more open-minded now that I have read this momentous novel. This book is filled with believable theories. It is easy to understand because it doesn't escape into mathematics to explain the theories and facts behind "time travel". This book will open your eyes to the possibilities of the physics we unwittingly deal with every day. I was awestruck by the technologies which were explained thorougly until I began to pay attention to the deep plot which peacefully coexisted with these theories and remained constant through-out the entire book. Michael Crichton is a genius.
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Summary: A Book for all times
Review: This book is able to plunge you in the nearby future so as in the last past. Is difficult nowadays to think as a Middle Ages man, Micheal Crichton is able to do that. I am waiting for the movie version. Thanks Micheal.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Excellent reading. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Micheal Crichton and can't wait for his next work !
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute junk.
Review: This ill-conceived and badly written trash doesn't deserve comment. I'm using this space to alert discriminating readers to one of the best, and long-neglected writers in the English language. Patrick O'Brian. If your tastes run to history/adventure, wedded to literature, read his seafaring tales in the Aubrey/Maturin series. You'll not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline - Slow Start, Great Finish
Review: I was over 50 pages into Timeline, complaining that if something didn't change soon I was going to drop the book on the shelf and forget about it. It had been uninventive, predictable and -- in my opinion -- poorly written. On page 91, the book reached that pinnacle event when I said "Wow!" and knew I wouldn't be able to put it down. It never became great, but for a lover of science fiction and history Timeline was worth reading despite the slow start. Timeline begins with a company in the New Mexico desert called ITC. This company seems to be connected to the a mentally disturbed old man found wandering in the desert. The man speaks in cryptic rhymes, something about "quantum foam," before he suddenly dies from cardiac arrest. In the old man's affects is an architectural drawing of a monastery that hasn't existed since the fourteenth century. The old man, the monastery Sainte-Mere, and ITC would seem unconnected at first, but it just so happens that ITC is sponsoring an archeological dig in France where this monastery once stood. Led by Dr. Edward Johnson, a group of young graduate students are trying to uncover the town of Castlegard, Sainte-Mere, and the castle La Roque. Crichton draws some very two-dimensional characters at first, but through the course of the book he continues to flush them out, making some of them quite interesting. Chris is a young man, always falling in love, whose specialty is mills of the 14th century. Andre is a tough, rugged sort whose love of the era has led him to live his life learning everything about the time period (including the languages). Kate, a tough architectural history student with a penchant for mountain climbing. Her ability to hang from heights comes in handy when studying the tops of crumbling chapels. Everything is going well for the archeological team until representatives from ITC show up and demand that the project be accelerated. Things have been moving too slowly for the company, and their stockholders demand results for their continued support. Dr. Johnson returns to the States to argue his position and soon disappears. The students don't know what to do in his absence. Then they uncover a startling discover beneath the ruins of the old monastery: a plea for help in the good doctor's handwriting. As always with Crichton, the science in the science fiction is very important. While some people may be put off by his tangential discussions regarding quantum mechanics, he is acutely aware that many of his readers are not science fiction fans, so he tones down the "geek factor" as much as possible. He does his best to avoid the technical jargon and uses simple metaphors to explain some very difficult concepts, including why time paradoxes cannot occur. Unlike Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs were the most important characters, science is merely a vehicle to this story. It is evident that Crichton is either genuinely interested in 14th century France, or he loves doing research. His eye for detail is fascinating, ranging from hygiene and customs to architecture and industry. I found myself wondering if Crichton had written Timeline merely to utilize this wealth of information. In truth, Michael Crichton made several writing mistakes that a beginning author could never make and still hope to get published. His story opens on characters who bear no relevance on the rest of the novel. The first 50 odd pages do little to advance the real story. In hindsight, I think Crichton would benefit from a good editor. Nevertheless, Crichton manages to take science (and science fiction) and blend it into a mainstream story that will appeal to fans of history and time travel.
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Summary: Michael Crichton's best novel yet!
Review: Michael Crichton's most recent masterpiece, Timeline, is one of Michael Crichton's best novels yet. Timeline goes into the past, into the dark and gloomy middle ages about twenty years into the Hundred Years War. Timeline is extremely exciting and adventurous and will definitely be made into a movie like the rest of Crichton's novels. This novel is a little slow at the beginning, but when a team goes back in time to the 1300s to rescue a man, action comes instantly. This is the turning point to when you realize this novel is extremely well written. At this point action starts pouring on especially when two of the group members get bumped off right at the beginning when the group goes back in time. I would recommend this book to people who are science fiction fanatics. If you liked Jurassic Park, The Lost World or in fact any of Michael Crichton's books, I guarantee you will enjoy this masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best but still worth buying
Review: This novel is an enjoyable romp for people who love historical fiction. "Timeline" is rich in vivid recreactions of medieval life, it's the best book I've read since the "The Triumph & the Glory" last Christmas, and that was way back in the 1900's. Crichton has always been one of my favorite writers and didn;t let me down with his latest.
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