Rating: 
Summary: If one wants immense adventure, look no further!
Review: This is swashbuckling material. Very much in a catagory where Crichton exells, the pace and momentum of this book simply do not allow the reader time to pause for breath. Once again, we are bombarded by technical detail, once more we are taken on a stupendous ride through previously uncharted territory. This is exactly the kind of reason why Michael Crichton is such a phenomenal writer.The one thing that did strike me perhaps, is the fact that just like many movies or books of a similar adventurous nature, life and death are only guarenteed at the very last second (in this book, literally). Although I had a sense that this was perhaps going to be a liitle tired and used idea, this did not happen. Quite the opposite in fact. I read with intense anticipation, never totally sure whether it would be happness at the end. And why? Because the book practically wrapped its huge talons around my neck and refused to relent until I had finished. So taken with the twisting plot was I, that finishing the book was the most disappointing aspect of reading it. ENOUGH SAID.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book to pass the time.
Review: I bought this book on a whim and took it on a long vacation with me. The subject of the book intrigued me and I was hooked into the story quickly. I was a little put off by some of the scientific mumbo-jumbo, but I know it was necessary in order to explain the whole point of the book. Some obvious and predictable twists and turns in the story were let downs. For example, of course the team gets stranded in the medieval time period and of course they get separated, otherwise there wouldn't be a story. The characters were easy to like or hate, depending on their good or bad behavior and the descriptions were well written. I am always amazed at the amount of research and time that goes into writing a historical or scientific novel and the list of references at the end of this one are proof of the hard work it took to write "Timeline." I would half-heartedly recommend this book to a fan of Michael Crichton or science-fiction/fantasy readers, if that's not you, then try something else!!
Rating: 
Summary: a guilty pleasure
Review: Every now and then you come across a book where upon completion you comment to yourself that was fun to read but when you attempt to analyze why, you realize there is little critical justification. Such was the case for me regarding TIMELINE. Crichton did what I found to be a credible job of outlining quantum theory to a novice like me, at least to the point I could except the premise. His vivid descriptions of 14th century medieval France were interesting although at times the characters seemed to be lost in the background, which was just as well since little effort was spent in development. Overall, this book tended to drift from a somewhat cliched, time-travel sci-fi work to revisionist history of the Dark Ages. But, I liked it. I just cannot explain why.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time...
Review: Yet again, Crichton lets the science overshadow little things like plot, character development, and so forth. Mike, a word to the wise. If I wanted to read a book on theoretical quantum physics, I would buy a book on theoretical quantum physics. If I wanted to read a book on medieval history, I would buy a book on medieval history. When I read a fiction piece, I want to read about well-developed characters in a well-paced plot delivering believable dialogue. Three things this "novel" was completely lacking in.
Rating:
Summary: Hold on to your seats.........
Review: This book is tiring. I mean that in a good way. The characters (graduate students) have 37 hours to spend in medieval France trying to retreive their professor from being caught in the past forever. The amount of action crammed into this 37 hours is unbelievable. Just when you think that the students won't make it out of their current situation, they are thrust into another scrape more harrowing than the previous one. The students are slashed by swords, pierced by arrows, knocked unconscious, almost drown in a river, and get caught in explosions (just to name a few episodes), but like the Energizer Bunny, they keep on ticking. Following the action was hard at times. Some of the suspense inherent in the action scenes was lost because it took too much effort to visualize exactly what was taking place. The diagrams helped somewhat. I enjoyed the time travel theory, but the book was heavy on technical explanations. Learning more about the medieval time period was a bonus. All in all, a quick, fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Strongly Recommend it!
Review: The whole book is like a journey, that you follow. Each chapter sweeps you into another world. The way that the time traveling is explained, I don't see why it's impossible! I mean it's very scientific and totally interesting. Maybe a little too much blood, but most of Crichton's books are that way. It's a good choice to make, read it, and you will like it.
Rating:
Summary: You've got a time machine and a movie camera....
Review: ...and the first place you send it is to record the Gettysburg Address? Wouldn't the first place you'd send it be to watch the Red Sea part (or not)? Or to watch Jesus walk on water (or not)? Or to see who killed JFK? The whole book is filled with stuff like this that just doesn't make any sense. You will be infuriated by it.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best but still a very good story
Review: The best things Crichton wrote, in my opinion, are the jurassic books (Jurrasic Park & The Lost World). The other books weren't that good but they were interesting enough, some of them better (Congo, Andromeda strain) and some worse (Disclosure, Airframe, Terminal Man). Timeline falls in the category of Congo andAndromeda Strain. It's not great, but good. I love history, so this was a bonus for me while reading it. One of the things I love the most about Crichton is his imagination. He allways thinks and writes about technologies that aren't exist. But the beauty in it is that it's not impossible, and maybe someday it will be common. That makes him something like a modern Julles Verne, predicting the future. Crichton makes it sound very realistic as in this book, when he describes time travel as a possible technology. The suspence in the book and the graet characters ad a lot of good qualities to the book. The only problem is that there are not enough surprises in the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Chricton
Review: A rather dull ramble through the usual Chricton style. The 'action' was slow, the characters flawed and the plot a litle underdeveloped. The only interesting part was the theory behind time travel. Here, Chricton shows his ability to perform detailed research and to put it accross in his clear and precise manner. Not a great read, but fairly interesting nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: I can see the movie script now
Review: Crichton, author of such blockbuster book-turned-movies as Jurassic Park and Andromeda Strain has cooked up another scientifically interesting but rather vapid action book. I bought this book for my airplane/vacation read as I went down south this spring break and it kept me reading. The thought of time travel never ceases to be a hot topic in the sci-fi world. Authors are famous for cooking up new ways that this can be achieved and as a fan, I like that. Chrichton has done a good job of doing this; the concepts he brought up on quantum science and the possibility of other worlds were convincing and actually made me do some research about it on the Internet. With that said, Crichton still made one of those kind of action-packed books where the action implausibly continues non-stop. People are experiencing such cliches as hanging by their hands from water wheels, finding near death from waterfalls, and having to get back to the "present" just in time or they will be stuck in the past. The action scenes would probably make for an entertaining but not so original movie. I am hoping that they won't try to do it. After all, it was done already when it was called "Back to the Future". This book served its purpose in keeping me reading something light as I sat in the sun. But I don't think it was nearly as deep as Chrichton intended.
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