Rating: 
Summary: Typical Crichton, but ok
Review: I enjoyed reading Timeline, although I thought it was typical Crichton. It seemed to fall a little flat after Jurasic Park. However, some of that feeling could be that I read it on audio cassette, and an abridged copy at that. It was exciting enough to keep me to the end, and I do recommend it to Crichton fans and to those who like adventure, fantasy or time-travel novels.
Rating: 
Summary: One for the Road
Review: The CD version of Timeline is a great piece of entertainment to listen to while you are driving somewhere. It has lots of action and an interesting plot. It is full of imagery. It reads almost like a screenplay, and it's hard to imagine that the author didn't expect it to appear as a movie. I give it four stars for entertainment on the road, or entertainment anytime. It almost reminds me of a Tom Swift novel, but I mean that in a good way--old-fashioned mystery, action, and fun. Nothing heavy here. Just fun.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, Not enough tech stuff
Review: The storyline of this book was great- the idea that using quantum physics a person could move through time in ways never imagined is an excited direction to take. The only thing that this book lacked was substance on the technology side of things. At the beginning of the book, I was pleased by the alternating focus from tech to story to tech. But as the book progressed, there was less tech and more story; I felt that the middle of the book, if anywhere, needed more focus on the tech. side of things. But, I still enjoyed the story. There just seemed to be room (although maybe not much) for more extensive use of technology.
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline
Review: Michael Crichton's "Timeline" was an extremely entertaining book. It is a book for anyone, wheter you like historical books, archeology, technology, or just like Crichton's style. This book is for you. TImeline is most definitely his best book since Jurrasic Park.
Rating:
Summary: Well-done sci-fi adventure, perfect for long commutes
Review: I was pretty apprehensive from the blurb on the box cover that this was going to be incoherent in some way. As with many Chrichton novels, there are the occasional too-long lapses into brain-dump of background facts that probably only interest certain readers and, especially on audio where it's harder to skim ahead, tax one's patience. Even so, the main story is engrossing, the chapter breaks are masterful causing one to always want to know what will happen next. The storyline is quite well conceived. I've read nearly all of Chrichton's published novels and this was among his best.The reader (John Bedford Lloyd) did an excellent job, substantially adding to the experience. I'm always uncertain whether to get the abridged or unabridged version of a story; if the story and its reader are strong, there's no substitute for the unabridged, but if not, an abridgement is all I can take. In this case, I'm glad I didn't skimp. One or two overlong explanatory passages or extraneous scenes notwithstanding, there's very little here that I wish had been omitted and it was fun to have the story last awhile.
Rating:
Summary: Timeline-Gets better as time goes on
Review: Timeline is one of the few books I've read that keep getting better until the very end. Everything about this book is great. The action barely ever stops. The only problem I see with this book is that Chricton seemed to give up on some of the charactors from the beggining,but that is just a minor flaw,that doesnt really effect this book in anyway.
Rating:
Summary: fun, A on history, D on sci
Review: fun read, very enjoyable, esp. character development and view of 14th cent. world. Requires a *lot* more suspension of disbelief than most of his others in the modern-day aspects. faxes copy, as would his quantum machine. There is no public notion that we have little left to learn. Patently ridiculous that "one person couldn't change history", esp. if that person was a historian. These detract from his credibility about the 14th cent. But then, this isn't a history or science or even philosophy text. It's good entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Blast From The Past
Review: Yes, I admit, the beginning of this book is kind of slow. Crichton has to explain a few things and set up some odds and ends. It is a bit of a pain to get through that part. On the other hand, if you stick with it, you will shortly find TIMELINE to be an incredibly entertaining and fast moving read. I do not think that Crichton expects us to attend to the concept of "quantum physics" and time travel other than as devices with which to spark off another of his exciting, nearly plausible tales. Just as he did with JURASSIC PARK, he takes a believable scientific possiblity and then weaves in a flagrantly exotic tale, for fun. I think he is a master at doing this, and I loved this book. It is set initially in the present and flashes back and forth classily to the 1300's...with a few double crosses thrown in. You do learn about the earlier time, with Crichton's apparently effortless store of information* bolstering his plot effectively. It's not really about real people, or real feelings, or values...it's just pure entertainment on a more elegant than usual level. I would read this at the beach and hold my head up high. ! best, Jean *it's not really effortless--get a load of the bibliography at the end!
Rating: 
Summary: Timeline
Review: This book reads like a script for a motion picture, with its last minute escape. The look inside 15th Century France was interesting, but the science behind it was difficult to understand and hard to believe. I have enjoyed most of Michael Crichton's books, but this seemed to be written with the big buck payout in mind and not the enjoyment of the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Standard fare for Crichton. Interesting, but predictable.
Review: What Crichton appears to have done with this book is simple. He took JURASSIC PARK, changed the characters, and altered the science discussed from genetic engineering to quantum mechanics. Overall, a predictable book, but interesting nonetheless. The main dissapointment the book presented was that the characters of Chris, Kate, and Andre were hardly given enough time to develop fully. They were immediately thrust into Crichtonian situation after Crichtonian situation, until the end of the book eventually arrived. Overall, an entertaining read, but don't expect a rich, compelling plot. If that's what you want, purchase THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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