Rating: 
Summary: Awful, awful, awful
Review: Save your money. This book has obviously been written as a prequel to a future movie. No doubt both book and movie will make Mr. Crichton tons of money. But the book is still awful. It's the 21st century's version of "The Perils of Pauline", with every chapter (and sometimes page) leaving one or more of the protagonists in a cliff-hanger situation. If your IQ is no higher than the price of this book, go ahead -- you might enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Save Your Money
Review: After reading "Red Sun Rising" I had high expectations. This book was a big disappointment. It appears his many facts and details were presented only as a poor attempt to impress the reader with his research.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Crichton's most entertaining
Review: I consider this to be among the best of Crichton's works, and I have read them all, even the John Lange/Michael Douglas pseudonym books.I have seen this book criticized for it's lack of "depth," which I assume means that he didn't do enough with the idea. Specifically, the novel is about a computer tycoon who invents a technology that allows people to travel in time - well, not actually in "time" but close enough. His intention is to create a "theme park" whereby customers can travel to their favorite spots in time. Now, here comes the most widespread criticism. Couldn't you think of anything better than a theme park, Michael? Wouldn't this technology be worth more than that? Well of course it would. But if you have read Crichton's other works, you know that he has what I would call a fairly cynical view of contemporary American culture. His point in this novel is that *despite* such an important technology, it's likely that the inventor of this gadget *would* use it for something as asinine as a theme park. That is basically the state of contemporary science - important discoveries are immediately being translated into big-money schemes. At any rate, Crichton leads us through a well-crafted and exciting thriller involving that cutting-edge-impossible-science-made-plausible writing he's so well known for. He has also done his homework on medieval France, where the bulk of the story takes place. This is by far one of my most entertaining reads in some time. Lastly, I'd like to mention a supposed "hole" in the plot that many critics have pointed out. This book deals with a "multi-verse" theory, whereby there is no actual travel in time, but that the characters travel to one of an infinite number of parallel universes, specifically one that exists in the exact time period that the character wants to visit. So they don't travel back in time within our own universe, but travel laterally in time to a *different* universe, one that happens to be identical to our own, but still only in the14th century. To the point. There is a scene where a note left by someone in the parallel multi-verse (14th century France) shows up in our own universe, present-day. The criticism? That a note written in a 14th century parallel universe wouldn't show up in our own present-day universe. However, those critics fail to grasp the concept Crichton is working with. Given an infinite number of parallel universes, it is completely plausible that the exact same scenario (of traveling to a parallel universe) would play out countless times in countless universes. The idea is that a traveler from a parallel universe (i.e., other than ours) would have traveled to our *own* 14th century France and left the note which we would find in the present day. If you haven't read the book yet I'm sure this makes no sense. But it will come together after you have read it. And I highly, highly recommend picking it up and reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Another (Yawn) Chichton Thriller
Review: You have to admire how the author rides the crest of pop fiction. You have to laud his research, scholarship, and the imagination that keeps coming up with something new and timely. Having said all that, this book takes much too long to get started. Also, unless you are interested in ancient history and/or physics you really have to slog through a lot of tedious expository material that the author force-feeds you in order to understand his plot. The characters are not memorable in my opinion. This is a time-travel story. After the main characters go back to the past, they muck about in uninteresting situations until you are almost begging the author to make an end to it. By the time the surviving good guys win, you feel as if you have been buffeted about the head with a pig bladder. Don't buy this book; wait for the movie. Films have a way of cutting out all the junk and this book needs that.
Rating:
Summary: Another Crichton Classic
Review: This book enters into the same category of The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic park, as far as originality and a perfect balance of real life facts and imagination. It introduces many interesting ideas, having to do with what is known about midaeval times, and possible assumptions that could be made. It also includes thought-provoking ideas about the future of technology, and what could be possible. A very entertaining read from beginning to end, i recomend this book to any fans of the aforementioned books, as well as anyone who enjoys books about midaeval times.
Rating:
Summary: Action over Intelligence
Review: This is obviously a book for anyone interested in popculture and not interested in intuitive literature. A typical effort with good possibilities, but so simplistic that it can be easily seen that it was written to be made into a movie where it will make the big bucks. If you still want to check for yourself, put he book down after the charachters have made their journey into history.
Rating:
Summary: Nice film script, shame about the novel!
Review: I have to say, having just finished this book, that I was a little disappointed. Although the story was good I always had the notion that I was reading a future Steven Spielberg film script! Following on from this thought, the characters became predictable and this had a further effect on my enjoyment of the read as I became aware of the outcome someway before the finish. Shame, the title of the book and the opening paragraph promised more than it delivered!
Rating:
Summary: Crichton continues
Review: Anyone who adores Crichton as I do (having read all of his novels) will enjoy this novel as well. He continues his ability to apply an incredibly detailed knowledge of his subject matter, to a plot line quick enough to keep even the most impatient reader turning pages. Try not to read the reviews or think too hard about the story line ahead of time, and allow Crichton to expertly guide you through one of his best novels to date.
Rating:
Summary: Tick-Tock
Review: Indeed! Take a bit of science conjecture (guess at best) and throw a little middle-age barbarism into the mix, then strand a bunch of contemporary grad students into a situation where they have absolutely NO business...; its a Michael Crichton novel! I did like this book based on my old "suspension of disbelief" credo, and I liked the technical front to the story of "quantum foam" ( a scientific hypothesis ). There is a lot of action and suspense in this work , worthy of Michael Crichton, and his view of the deadly up-front day to day struggles for survival of the peasants stand as testament to the progress we as a race have made in these hundreds of years - despite what we may be fed daily in the media. A good read. Take some time with it and absorb the sub-plots. I like a good ending, and this has a goodly fair to fairly good one.
Rating:
Summary: Writing A Screenplay
Review: While the concept is interesting at the beginning of the book, and offers potential, the book unfortunately degenerates into a bad movie screenplay. Michael, if you want to write a screenplay do so, but don't try to publish it as an interesting read. The stuntmen are already warming up for the first take.
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