Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended for Anyone!
Review: This was my first Michael Crichton book, and the first book about Time Travel I have ever read that sounded like it could work. It was very interesting to read and kept me on the edge of my seat. I would recommend to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton delivers -- again...
Review: Crichton remains at the top of my Favorite Tech-Fiction Writers list with this exciting story of "multiverse" travel to medieval France. As with all of his novels, he maticulously researched all aspects of the novel - from quantum mechanics right down to the food served at a 14th century dinner. I was not bothered by the fact that it read more like a screenplay than a novel. I found myself casting the film as I went along. I even had my book club participate in the casting. If one must be critical, there are holes in the premise of the story. For example, if the travel to the parallel universe was truly like "faxing", why did the original "fax" (i.e. person) have to be destroyed in the current universe? There are several examples like this one that a critic could harp on, but if you don't treat it like a Feynman text book, you'll enjoy it more. It's a great read - highly recommended for any Crichton or techie/sci-fi fan.
Rating:
Summary: Quantum technology, time travel, AMAZING
Review: This book is the first of Crichton's which I've read, and I must say its simply amazing. He makes the possibilities of quantum physics seem so real! Some of the characters are not too developed, but the plot itself and the sci-fi aspects easily overshadow this small imperfection. This novel should definitely be the next movie based on one of Crichton's works. Amazing sci-fi, emotions, this is one to read!
Rating: 
Summary: read Doomsday Book by Connie Willis instead
Review: Standard Crighton fare -- formulaic writing, virtually no emotion (does anyone care what happens to the characters?), and stunningly inconsistent. If the characters are popping off to alternate universes instead of actually traveling in time, how does the note from Professor Johnston end up in this universe? And what's with Doniger's silly explanation about how you can't change the past? Crighton hasn't written an interesting book since Eaters of the Dead (which was the last time he actually took a chance -- I guess that book's lack of commercial success taught him a lesson). Do yourself a BIG favor and read Connie Willis' Doomsday Book instead. It's far superior in every way.
Rating:
Summary: Well, at least he tried.
Review: Perhaps there is a parallel universe in which Mr. Crichton's writing includes things like character development, logic, and sentences with more than half an idea.
Rating: 
Summary: Not great literature, but who cares?
Review: This book was fun. I enjoyed it immensely. That's all there is to it. Light reading - liquid, fast-moving plot, interesting and consistent characters, and what appears to be a bit of well researched fun from the past. Go for it. Think of it like a Hamburger.. it's not Filet Mignon, but it's as enjoyable or more.
Rating:
Summary: Technothriller
Review: I read this book because it was the #1 technothriller listed on the bestseller list. I'd read Clancy's before and earlier Crichton. This was all right. But who the heck is this guy Donegan who has these other books ranked here? Read Atlantis and the next two. Great stuff. Also recommend SEAL books by Marcinko.
Rating:
Summary: Keep razor blade, gun, or large supply of barbituates handy
Review: If you decide to read this book, you will need at least one of the afore mentioned items in your possession. How long you manage to last before needing to end your life depends on how tolerant you are of horrid, insulting storytelling.
Rating:
Summary: Typical Crichton
Review: Where do I begin? Well, how about this: this novel is like all of Mr. Crichton's other novels. The characters are all as flat as glass tabletops (I could hardly distinquish between the two male protagonists). The premise is absurd (like someone has mentioned earlier: if they visit an alternative universe, how did the Professor's glasses show up in OUR reality?). Smart people within the story do implausibly stupid actions strictly to advance Crichton's preconceived storyline (the 2 security guards argue over a trivial matter so as to be able to be easily dispatched by the villains in a cartonish scene so as to leave our 4 heroes without protection for the rest of the story!). The dialogue is laughably cliched (a villain to heroine: "See you in hell"; heroine's reply: "You first."). I could go on, but I'll stop here. This has to be Crichton's worst novel since The Lost World. I read The Lost World in 4 days. I read Timeline in 3 days--WHILE on vacation in Tunisia. I read the novel like a junkie injects heroin. Despite all the above-mentioned problems, the novel is an action-packed tour de force, a prose version of an action-adventure movie full of sword fights, medieval romance, a castle seige AND a castle raid, etc. It takes you out of your tedious life and suffuses it with excitement and romance so very, VERY well--which in my opinion is what novels should do. So buy this book, and approach it like watching Gladiator. You know it's just a stupid adventure story, but so what? Like Ridley Scott's film, Crichton's novel is a very, VERY well-made stupid adventure story!
Rating: 
Summary: Ok reading but nothing special
Review: For a good bit of Timeline, I thought I would end up rating it very highly. However, eventually all the flaws in the book added up to a mediocre novel. Regarding Crighton's explanation for time travel, at times he tries to go into excruciating detail but then glosses over some issues regarding time travel with absurd analogies, particularly about why a person going to the past can't have a strong affect on the course of history. Overall, I found the explanation for time travel inconsistent and unbelievable. I probably would have enjoyed the story more if Crighton had just written that the characters invented a time machine and left it at that. As far the main substance of the story, the adventures of the characters in the past, what I thought would be a story of intrigue with some action scenes thrown in quickly turned into a Schwarzenneger movie filled with one fateful coincidence after another and characters who seemingly can take plenty of damage but still run, jump, and fight with gusto. Falls of ten or more feet are nothing to these characters. Like any good action movie, the characters again and again escape a hail of projectile fire without being killed. Crighton takes pains to explain that fourteenth century people were a hardy, strong, and skilled folk, yet they constantly have trouble in combat with the main characters. This was my first, and last, Crighton novel.
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