Rating: 
Summary: Bestselling disappointment
Review: Wow, what a huge disappointment. I generally realy like Crichton's work, and when I read that he had written about this subject, I was quite eager to read the book. Aside from the unbelievable and unintelligble scientific mumbo-jumbo at the beginning, the rest of the book suffered from severe story and character problems. The characters were not believable and for the most part, very unsympathetic. I never really got the feeleing that anyone was connected, and there was little dynamic character evolution. The plot device inherent in De Kerr's character seemed like an afterthought,you never really understand just what the bad guys are trying to do, or will gain if they prevail and the artificial urgency was a sham. Overall the story was held together by chewing gum and bailing wire, with lot's of weird transitions and oh-too-convenient last minute solutions from the heroes.The overall feeleing I got was that we have a bestselling author who has lost the plot and stopped trying. His editors should be ashamed.
Rating: 
Summary: It's sure to make an awesome movie, anyway.
Review: Let's see here. It took Michael Crichton almost three years to get this book out, and what do we get? A movie. During the time I was reading Timeline, it felt almost as if I were reading a screenplay rather than a novel. While the plot is interesting, certain events that happen are way too predictable and have that certain "flair" that would make a good movie. Plus, it also seems like MC's writing style has changed a bit since Airframe. For some reason he now uses short, precise sentences and characters we don't really give a rip about. Overall, not a bad book, but for the amount of time it took him to write Timeline, I expected better.
Rating: 
Summary: "Timeline" Rules!
Review: This is the type of book that will keep you up late in the night reading because you have to know what happens next. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy adventure and fantasy novels as well as people who don't take things too seriously.
Rating: 
Summary: A story unworthy of it's beginning
Review: The first 100 pages of Timeline raised my expectations, but the rest of the book fails to live up to them. Crichton sets up an intriguing premise (parallel universe time travel), some interesting characters, and a well described setting (the archeological site). Right after they go back in time, he switches into a "Lost World" writing mode more appropriate for a screenplay than a book. Any prospect of ongoing character development goes out the window, the most interesting implications of multiple universe time travel are ignored and feudal France is never given the rich description it deserves (those little castle drawings are nice, but they don't make up for a lack of descriptive prose). Characterization, which seemed so promising in the opening chapters, goes downhill with amazing abruptness. The denizens of medieval France are scarcely more than cardboard cutouts. What little character they have seems to be inconsistent from scene to scene. The team of historians, so interesting in the 20th century, seems to become two-dimensional themselves after arriving in the past (a side affect of time travel perhaps? :-) It's easy to see how the movie adaptation (surely in the works) will play out. The first 100 pages will be dealt with in about 10 minutes and the rest will be standard Hollywood action fare (one hope for the movie is that it really will provide us with a more vivid look at 14th century France, which is lacking in the book). I wonder if Crichton checked to see if Steven Spielberg, would be available to direct before he even started writing the book? As a science fiction fan (as opposed to a Crichton fan) I was rather disappointed that many of the more interesting aspects of parallel universe time travel were glossed over or ignored. Why is ITC mucking about in feudal France when they could be travelling to more advanced societies and bringing back new technologies (cold fusion anyone?). For a more in depth look at the particular problems of parallel universe time travel, I would recommend the short story "All the Myrid Ways" by Larry Niven. It's available in the anthology by the same name along with Niven's essay "The Theory and Practice of Time Travel."
Rating:
Summary: Don't spend time on this book
Review: It seems to be an often fulfilled rule that the more popular the author, the sloppier a writer he becomes. 'Timeline' proves the rule. Although Mr. Critchon obviously loves the time period, the book does not live up to its potential..or hype. The writing structure is choppy and resembles story board notes for a. Although Mr Critchon does a fairly decent job of explaining the implications of recent work in quantum theory, he contradicts himself with a story line that does not fit his discussion of quantum physics. Amoung the many errors of scientific fact that is disgarded for the sake of plot convenience is the glaring error of having majot characters leave 'time clues' in the past which makes no sense with the author's 'multiverse' quantum theory. If you are interested in good time travel stories, check out the better SF writers. 'Timeline' is a big disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Timeline is a misnomer
Review: One might think a novel with a time travel premise called "Timeline" would be about time travel and its far reaching effects on the world and its timeline(s); it is not. Instead it is basicly a story about a few archaeologists who end up caught between feuding warlords in the middle ages. The storyline could have been transplanted to archaelogists stranded on a present day island and caught between feuding tribes, clans, etc. It isn't really about time travel or about people from the future who use their modern knowledge or machines to overwhelm their primitive foes(Eric Flint's "1632" is a good example of that kind of story); it's just a story about un-armed civilians trying to survive in a warzone. The time travel stuff, though beautifully designed and set up, is largely a gimmick in this story. I might have given "Timeline" 4 stars for its great time-travel psuedo-science backdrop, but its semi-generic midieval adventure story, unrealised conspiracy story and surprisely weak ending only deserved 2 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline is a rip-roaring good time
Review: Being read to hasn't been this much fun since The Princess Bride. John Bedford Lloyd's narration is so convincing that each character's lines seem to be read by a different person. Timeline is thought-provoking without being pretentious, and above all fun! I can hardly wait for the movie. Hopefully Ahhhnold can play the part of Mereck.
Rating:
Summary: Sliders? Indiana Jones? Crichton? Count me in!
Review: Wow, I haven't had a chance to read this book yet as my father is engrossed with it at the moment, but from all these reviews I can't wait! As a fan of the tv show Sliders(similar in plot to Timeline from what I've read so far), I won't be disappointed. Indiana Jones-like adventures? All the better! And best off, it is a Crichton book! The creator of Jurassic Park! I don't buy many books for leisure as a college student, but this one caught my eye! I'm almost certain this will be an enjoyable book just by the fact my "I don't find science fiction is a good use of time" father is reading and hogging the book. This is the third time I bought an item based on reviews, and the first two times the concensus has not been wrong. Go buy it. Now. P.S. if you must wrestle the Mailman for the first-grabs, go ahead and do so to avoid the wait!
Rating:
Summary: Poor, hack writing
Review: The technology Crighton describes is far more interesting than the drivel he put forth in this obviously 'for money' work. The storyline leaves no surprises, with the author often leaving this reader more bored than interested in the storyline. He obviously researched some of what he wrote into the book and gives a basic understanding of some of the concepts such as Quantum Mechanics and the history of twentieth century physics. However the characters are all very pale, and he follows a similar plot line to Sphere where #1. something happens #2 assemble a team of experts to fix the problem. BORRRRING! I really fell ripped off at this hack work and will not purchase another of Crightons future works.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton Does Not Disappoint!
Review: Crichton's newest title has been a long time coming. I have been looking forward to this title ever since I heard it was going to be released. I just finished it and WOW! It does not disappoint! Crichton's heros are sent from the present to the past thru a "quantum foam wormhole," and step out in feudal France circa 1357. The historians have been sent back to rescue one of their collegues who has become trapped in the past. And they need to rescue him in precisely 37 hours, or miss the trip back to 1999. This novel starts out very technical, but quickly switches to a "swashbuckling tale" with knights, damsels in distress, and much, much more! This was a quick read for me; I finished it in about a day and 1/2. The ending was predictable, but all in all, a good time!
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