Rating: 
Summary: Slow Start, Fine Details
Review: Attention to detail makes this a good read. Crichton's research into the Medieval period is extremely impressive, and his imagery is vivid. The only trouble is, the book takes forever to get started. If you can make it through the wordy beginning, you'll have a rollicking good time. I wonder why Crichton and Robin Cook both take forever to set you up for the story. We don't need all that information!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent mind candy!
Review: Crichton's science fiction generally has the plot: (1.)Somebody does something daring with dangerous high tech. (2.)Something goes terribly wrong. (3.) Protagonists, who are usually not responsible for the mess, find themselves running like hell. This pattern holds here. I thought it dragged a bit in the middle, but reved up again by the end. Overall, well worth the price in paperback. Crichton did good research on the historical period and it shows. One feature that was interesting was his attention to the practical problems his female characters faced in an era where, if you were a woman and very, very lucky, you were a well-treated item of personal property. But this book is really about the remarkable people who labor to reclaim the human past. I once considered becoming an archaeologist and was appalled to learn that I might spend years on a graduate degree, master several languages (most of them dead), do dirty, disgusting, student slave labor on various digs, and then find myself perpetually unemployed. I chickened out. I admire greatly the people with enough passion to know the odds and push ahead anyway. Such people would have the courage to cope with the situations Crichton throws at his characters.
Rating:
Summary: Cannot put this one down!
Review: Crichton has done it again with this suspensful book about a group of historians who get more than they bargained for when they actually travel back to the 1300's to rescue their lost professor. The writing is fast paced and on the edge of your seat. If you buy this book (which you should)be sure you have a good amount of time to read because once you start you won't want to put it down. I eagerly await his next work.
Rating:
Summary: Not Wholly Plausible
Review: As someone with essentially no academic knowledge about quantum physics or themedieval era, I was still struck by several glaring logical inconsistencies in the plot. For example, the book's "time travel" is supposedly based on the idea of multiple universes, with numerous parellel universes (some *very* similar to or own, differing in only miniscule ways) existing and newly emerging; the characters supposedly aren't really going back in time in our universe, but are traveling through a wormhole to a parellel universe which is the same as ours in the 14th century. However, if I'm really visiting a parellel universe, how do I know that I'm seeing the 14th century as it "really was" (or very close to this) in "my universe"?; I could be visiting a parellel universe which presents the past in a waay which diverges more markedly from "how it really was" in my universe. The chief scientists liken he process of transferring a person to "the past" to "making a facsimile"; the computer gathers up lots of information, then recreates the person at the other end. However, if I send a fax or make a photocopy, the *original* doesn't go anywhere; it stays here, while the fax arrives at the other end. So, if this analogy is truly explanatory, why do the actual people have to be sent through the wormhole? One could instead create a copy of the person at the other end (the 1st fax), then have a 2nd copy (complete woth knowledge of all the experiences) come back. And, if there's a translating device "here" which translates medieval languages into modern English for the people who are visiting the past, why can't the lab guys "here" give advice to, or exchange information about what's happening with, the people visiting the past? Also, some of the medieval scenes seemed a bit overdone.
Rating: 
Summary: Met my very high expectations! (Audio book)
Review: Crichton is, without question, my favorite author. And I was definitely NOT disappointed in the latest addition. My wife and I bought TimeLine on CD, just before a long, 10 hour car ride, and Timeline kept us entertained for the majority of the ride. The story line was exciting, and Crichton once again was able to paint a very vivid picture of the environment which is totally foreign to the world we all live in. I know of no other author who can combine both past and future (or futuristic technology) so superbly. A great job by the reader also. Bottom line, if you like Crichton, you will love Timeline.
Rating:
Summary: sir victor
Review: I'm not a huge Crichton fan, but that said I really enjoyed this book. I was really taken by the time period and found myself transported along with the rest of the characters into the middle of knights and damsels in distress. I enjoyed the movie-like descriptions of the places.I appreciated the historical details. They were accuratly and artistically described. I'm sure the movie, when it's finally made will be a disappointment. The version in my head would cost way too much to produce.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, but not outstanding
Review: I really give it 2 and a half stars, but there is no option for that. After the first 100 pages, I was very excited about this novel, but it simply did not live up to the promise. All of the classic Crichton elements are there - including the amazing research and the moral questions about developing technology for entertainment and profit. But somehow, the book fails to deliver in the end. One big problem is that some of the major developments are just too predictable. Another is that Crichton sluffs off a bit in describing places and situations. This is usually a place where he is master; setting a scene and describing the situation during action sequences while the tension builds. The descriptions are too brief, and he often simply gives up and just draws a picture. This is unaccpetable in my opinion. He also abandons character development (which I guess has never been his strength). I found myself at the end of the book wondering about some of the characters that I was introduced to, but never were fleshed out. I also thought that resolutions with respect to several of the main characters -- most of all the arch-villian -- were not really warranted given the development. (All that said, the richest character in the novel, Marek, is very well developed.) In short, this is a great airplane book. If you enjoy this book, I recommend another book that you probably will enjoy: The Flanders Panel. It is a bit more cerebral and a little less action driven, but there are some similarities.
Rating:
Summary: Up to Crichton's standards, but not an outstanding book.
Review: This book is good - Crichton is a good author, and this book stands up to his standards. with that in mind, I think this is not one of Crichton's best books, and for several reasons : 1. The plot looks like it was made for film - a large part of it is about the main characters escaping death, repeated seperations and reunions, etc. I'm sure it would be impressive on the silver screen, but it makes for a long reading. 2. The characters have little depth, and develope little with the plot. This is typical of Crichton's books (at least those I've read), but it's especially strong in this book. 3. Though Crichton has done research for the book (e.g. the time at which the plot occurs, the physics behind, etc), there are little surprises in it - the plot is made from the standard materials in today's books and movies. -- This includes the greedy genius capitalists with his evil plan, the professor that gets to use his arcane knowledge, the vengeful vilain, the hero and heroine, the clock running down with the characters saved at the last minute, etc. So though the book shows Crichton's work and talent, and doesnt rise beyond the average level, hence the three star rating.
Rating:
Summary: TIMELINE flies like a bird
Review: Is Crichton running out of ideas to have to write on time-travel? That 800 number has been disconnected? (old joke, he once replied that "he called a 800 number" to "how he got his ideas"). Not really. Rather, he disappointingly sidesteps the "what if I killed my grandfather?" paradox the Austin Powers way, don't worry about, relax and have fun. However, with an entertaining attempt to completely revamp our common idea of the dark ages, he makes "history of science" look fun. Also, with extensive pop quantum physics included, it's quite entertaining science fiction when probabilistic events and causes occur in the story. The story-line is Robin Hood-ish, with castles and knights and the lot. But, when you put history graduate students in there, the story-line is more than your average run-of-the-mill. I know this is just whining, but why would you market time teleportation and history entertainment when you've invented quantum-computers and space teleportation along the way?
Rating: 
Summary: This isn't a novel. It's a thinly disguised screenplay.
Review: I enjoyed the first part of "Timeline" quite a bit. I love the "What in the world is going on here? This is a fascinating mystery." feeling that some books inspire. Unfortunately, after everything is explained, the book takes a turn for the worse and reads more like an action movie screenplay than a novel. This wouldn't have been a problem except that the action scenes and near brushes with death are so cliched and familiar. For instance, one of the characters is locked in a cage and slowly lowered into a pit of oily black water. A fight ensues as his friends battle for their lives and for control of the winch that is lowering him to his death. This whole scene was so reminiscent of the second "Indiana Jones" movie (but without the humor or the charming rogue of a hero) that it actually left me feeling disgusted over the lack of originality. A further problem was that the characters simply weren't interesting enough for me to care what happened to them. We're only given a very sketchy description of each one before they are sent into danger, and once they begin their journey, they don't do much except run, hide, and fight for their lives. There is very little meaningful dialogue or emotion. Two of the characters are killed almost immediately, but the others never mention it or show any concern. One of the protagonists, Andre Marek, has an ultimate fate that is so glaringly obvious that the ending is no surprise. We know what will happen to him from the moment he is introduced. The plot involves a rescue attempt by a group of history students who must find their professor, who is trapped in the past and unable to return to the present. They are sent back in time, to a date when they know the professor is in trouble. According to the book, there can be no paradoxes in time travel, so I didn't understand why the students entered the past on that particular date. Logically, they should have gone back to the point at which the professor first entered the past, before he got into trouble. Furthermore, since there can be no paradoxes, why weren't the two characters who were killed rescued as well? It would have been simple enough to, again, send someone back to a point in time a minute before they arrived and warn them. There was, however, one paragraph in the book that I found to be profound. From chapter 01:13:52: "In other centuries, human beings wanted to be saved, or improved, or freed, or educated. But in our century, they want to be entertained. The great fear is not of disease or death, but of boredom. A sense of time on our hands, a sense of nothing to do. A sense that we are not amused." -page 443 Very true, Mr. Crichton, and I thank you for the insight.
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