Rating: 
Summary: An incredible story
Review: This was one of the best books I have ever read. I read it in under four hours and then I read it again. And again. And again. Each time I read it I noticed something I missed the previous times.It's an incredible story with some of the greatest "interlocking history" elements I have ever seen. What do I mean by that? "Interlocking history" is the term I like to use for one theory of "you can't change history": Whatever you try to do in the past, it results in what actually happened. If you go back in time to save a guy from getting hit by a bus, it turns out you were the one who actually pushed him. You try to shoot Oswald before he shoots Kennedy, and you trip and fall, the gun fires off, and you were the "second gunman in the grassy knoll". "History is never altered, you see. It just fits together like a jigsaw puzzle" -- Ford Prefect. There is one glaring plothole, though. When Chris hears someone sneeze through his earpiece, why didn't he think of the Professor? The Professor had an earpiece as established when he told Oliver about saving Marek's dad's life. Why did Chris assume someone else had an earpiece BEFORE the evidence of the soldiers knowing where they were? Other than that, an excellent novel, deserving of a movie and a sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: A movie in novel form, with little real substance
Review: Reading this book is like watching a blockbuster action movie. The story has holes in it big enough for a knight in full armor to ride his horse through, but the action is practically non-stop, swinging along from beheading to explosion to joust to cliff-hanger. If you go for this kind of thing, you'll find "Timeline" entertaining, but then you will wonder why the heck you didn't wait for the movie, which is sure to come - this novel was very clearly written with an eye on its future marketability as a movie script, and little else. If, however, you expect more of a novel than just that it is a precursor to yet another stale blockbuster, don't bother to read "Timeline". As in others of his recent novels, Crichton makes heavy weather of his supposed familiarity with hip new science concepts. The problem is that he isn't really familiar with the basic science. Lots of obviously only half understood gee-whiz cutting-edge physics terms are mentioned offhandely and are crucial to shore up the totally implausible plot. The less he understands what this is all about, the more nonchalantly he uses them. Obvious truisms from physics 101 are listed in boring detail in the hope that this might impress the science-illiterate reader into believing that he is in fact reading a credible vision of the world to come. Something is very wrong with this novel. It clearly is heavily action-based and in fact rather un-inventively rehashes many sure-fire action scenes used ad nauseam in other films and books. But for an action novel, why all the science, the sociology, and the lengthy discussion of topics such as the paradoxes involved in time travel, why the attempt to debunk commonly held opinions on medieval life? On the other hand, if this is supposed to be a book that uses science fiction as a real glimpse to the various consequences of the technologies involved, why is all the science plain wrong? It never even becomes clear just what the purpose of the whole exercise of time travel is. Concepts of life in the middle ages are refuted with no proof being offered. Crichton should make up his mind about what he wants to write: trash scifi action or serious fictionalized science. Right now he is trying to ride both horses at the same time, and failing.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be suprised when this becomes a movie.
Review: The novel starts out interesting enough. A little background on quantum physics and an archeological dig. Two things that are practically polar opposites. Usually this makes for a compelling read, but it some how falls short. About a third of the way into the novel, Crichton begins thinking summer blockbuster and writes accordingly. You have the good looking and intelligent hero, the professor, the attractive firebrand woman, and the slightly inept but well meaning young man who finds courage and gets the woman at the end. Each character then fits into the Hollywood script template which finishes in an exciting cresendo. I won't lie and say that I did not enjoy it. The hit machine is tried and true. It is a fast summer read that keeps you enthralled. But what really gets me was that he really could have done so much more with the story. I expected more.
Rating:
Summary: Good story, but with some problems
Review: I basically enjoyed this story. Read all the other reviews for the plot. In this review I want to point out what I believe are some irritating things in this book 1. Why is everybody out to kill the time travelers? From the first moment they set foot in the past, it seems like the sole purpose of everyone in that time is to kill them. 2. The CEO was not really a villian, just amoral. Yet at the end he receives an incredibly brutal punishment for his actions by the supposedly good guys. And his actions weren't all that bad. 3. The business plan laid out for the company controlling the quantum time travel is a joke! They could never recover the billions invested and re-construction costs of historical sites from tourism. It's these kinds of things that keep me from giving 5 stars to this book. Still, it is a good story and I am glad I bought this book.
Rating: 
Summary: It's one of countless action movies, not a book
Review: There is no technical or sciece fiction in this book except for the word "quantum" about five times a page, approriate or not. Nothing to learn about medieval France either. What you'll find in this book is what you see in action movies: chases with last second rescues and not much more. If you want to read about time travel, get a copy of The Time Machine by H.G.Wells.
Rating: 
Summary: Brain Candy -- Entertaining
Review: Michael Crichton is excellent at what he does -- entertaining readers. By accepting his illusion of reality through his dramatic style of mixing scientific research with fantasy, he continues to amaze me with his stories. While I tend to prefer earlier Crichton works (The Great Train Robbery is my favorite) I do enjoy the current stuff. Nowadays, he seems to write more as a starting point for the screen play to the next movie. Therefore his books do not seem to spend as much time on doing detailed character development or plot that wouldn't lend itself to an onscreen presence. Don't get me wrong -- the book was entertaining, thought provoking, etc... I highly recommend for the next rainy-day-curled-up-on-the-couch afternoon you have...
Rating:
Summary: Best book ever!
Review: I'm only 13 and I love this stuff! This book is about time travel to medievel ages. I've always wanted to do that. Believe it or not, but this book is even better than any Steven King or Harry Potter book. This is my favorite book as you can see. I'm not quite done with it though. It has a lot of technical stuff to. But what I did is didn't pay a lot of attention to that part to pay attention to the traveling back in time and all the stuff happening to the people.
Rating:
Summary: Timeline not up to snuff
Review: A far, far better book is Connie Willis' "Doomsday Book", from which it seems Mr. Crichton took many of his ideas for "Timeline". "Doomsday Book" was published before "Timeline", and it is very interesting how much of the initial story set-up the two books have in common. Maybe Mr. Crichton isn't so original after all!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!!
Review: Timeline is amazing! It is simply a great book. This is probably my favorite book ever (aside from maybe Harry Potter), it is filled with science fiction and time travel, along with midevil times (which is the best part of the book). An exciting book the entire way through with plot twists through-out and a very suprising ending. This is Crichton's best yet! Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Good Book-if you like Crichton
Review: This is a great book for you if you like Crichton's style of writing. It's another disaster/suspense/drama type story- a combination that is unputdownable. The story is intriguing, and you can tell that Crichton did a LOT of research, as he is historically accurate throughout most of the story. The characters are well developed, and as always, the setting is described in great detail. Michael Crichton chose a great period of time to "travel" to in this book, as the time period provides a lot of action and plot twists. Near the end, I liked how the story switch off between the present, and the past. This kept me reading to find out what was happening in the other world. In closing, this book has a everything of things going for it- great story, characters, setting, etc. I just can't wait for the movie (Due out Spring 2001) and the PC Game (No release date as of now) Buy the book first though, I bet it's better.
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