DNF @25%

At first, it seemed I would really like this interesting take on time-travel. But then it started to move slowly and include a lot of passages like:

"We make wormhole connections in quantum foam."
"You mean Wheeler foam? Subatomic fluctuations of space-time?"
"Yes."
"But that's impossible."

After that, I kept misplacing the book and last night, after I rediscovered it on the porch, I accidentally dropped it into the kitchen sink which was full of water and bleach at the time.

Since they say there ARE no accidents, I think we can safely conclude that my subconscious doesn't want to finish this book. Or else a different version of me is reaching out from another dimension of the space-time-wormhole-quantum-foam continuum and warning me against it.

What. A . Ride.
It was a definite 4.5 star read for me, but I'm dropping 0.5 of a star for the incredibly complicated "scientific" theory behind the time travel mechanics. To be fair, I skipped a good portion of the explanation. If I'm going to read a time travel novel, you don't have to make be believe that it can happen through quantum physics, I've already suspended by belief!
Having said all that, I loved the trip back in time to the 1400s. The chivalry, or the lack of, the knights, the smells (which are described so perfectly), the engineering. The best part was the friendship/relationships between the main characters.
Ticking off another time travel novel.
I can 100% recommend this one, especially if you love the intricacies of science!!!

3.75 stars.

Another entertaining one by Crichton. The plot pleasantly surprised me. It was engaging and fun throughout but didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor for me to rate it higher.

The world building was excellent as is always expected from his books. The characters were pretty one dimensional as expected from the multiple pov narration and the genre.

All in all, a pleasurable one time read.

My reaction to this book was a lot more favorable than Stacey's --but I do have to agree with some of her criticisms. Because of his "hard" sci-fi orientation, Crichton insisted on trying to extrapolate an explanation for time-travel from existing science, his vehicle being quantum theory. Since this is too complex and counter-intuitive for most people to understand (and some of us suspect it of being a bunch of hooey anyway!), the "explanation" doesn't serve much purpose, and does wind up being a "jumble." Time-travel is inherently the stuff of soft science fiction; the father of the subgenre, H. G. Wells, demonstrated that you don't need to "explain" it to get readers to accept it. Crichton should have taken a leaf out of his book. And the characters here are not the most sharply drawn in the genre (though some are more so than others, and there are a couple of conversations which are really excellent revelations of character, by the "show, don't tell" method). The ending does have a cinematic quality, though whether this is a flaw or not depends on your tastes. (Ironically, the last part of the movie version leaves out several of the best parts.)

In the main, though, I personally thought the book succeeds well as an adventure story, where a group of friends have to find resources of loyalty, courage and ingenuity in themselves to survive, and to help each other survive. Like Jurassic Park, this novel also sounds a well-warranted cautionary note about the potential of self-serving Big Business to debase science as an instrument of profit for the few at the expense of others. The violence is not gratuitous (although there's a lot of it), the time travelers don't engage in illicit sex, and the language isn't noticeably bad. (Crichton's villains use the f-word a few times; but rather than encouraging it, this comes across as a reflection of the kinds of bad qualities the readers don't want to emulate!)

This was a good scifi with the history of medieval France. With advanced quantum technology, ITC Research (HQ- Blackrock, NM) is able to teleport people to another place in the multiverse.

Present-day, Southwest France, an archeological dig near Castlegard at what used to be Monastery of Sainte-Mère, near the Dordogne River reveals a single bifocal lens that looks to be of Yale's Professor Johnston and hand written note "HELP ME 4/7/1357". Scientists did carbon dating and other testings of the ink and parchment and confirmed it to be over 600 years old. ITC protocol prohibits anyone from stepping into the past, but the Professor apparently did.

A small group of archeologists (Johnston's students) and former Marines are sent through the "wormhole" to locate and bring back the Professor. The problem? 1357 France is during the Hundred Years War.

I really enjoyed the novel, unfortunately for me, I saw the movie (Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, and Gerard Butler) a long time ago and it was...spoilerish. It would've been fantastic not knowing the ending!

Zu viel öder Männer-Frauen-Quark (Männer müssen reiten und mit dem Schwert umgehen können & die Frau retten, die Frau sagt dann "my hero!" und lässt sich willig schwängern), aber immerhin: Die erste Actionszene auf Basis einer Mehlstaubexplosion, die mir in Buch oder Film begegnet ist.

In the world of pseudoscience, the subject of time travel is always entertaining , fascinating and downright shall we say, fun...Imagine going back to any year, in the distant, obscure past, (reachable now )...taking a peek, looking around the corner , at the mysteries, seeing actual situations and judging for yourself . What was real, not myths, legends or fabrications ( a polite word for lies), meeting important, famous people in history books, places that are long gone or in ruins now, yet still captures our interest. Michael Crichton has written one of the best in this genre ...The characters journey is continuously moving forward, from one danger to another, Professor Johnston's little band of rather frightened but intrepid archaeologists, won't surrender without a fight, their quest for knowledge, (in fact a rescue mission) inevitably turns into a sick nightmare. This is not a dull dig , they're used to, trying to discover an ancient artifact or an old stone wall, but a new experience which may kill you...It's quite different seeing old bones walking now, and breathing ... Maybe some they originally found, themselves... the corporation ITC, that funded this and the mad billionaire genius that controls it , Robert Doniger, wants to make a good profit, (business is business) naturally, the rebuilt medieval sites will make nice tourist attractions , as the money pours in. The dreams of a rich young, very ambitious man getting richer...paradise... for the fortunate few.
The expenses have been tremendous, still after all , they, the "volunteers" are a fish out of water nevertheless, no matter how clever these modern travelers appear. The camouflages and technologies enable them to blend in, these aliens try to survive the strange land, of the medieval era.. The cruel customs, bloodthirsty knights, their swords hacking to pieces anyone they like... and enjoying it, peasants oppressed , sieges, secret passages in castles, endless conflicts, cut- throat bandits hiding in the deep forest ready to slaughter, any who foolishly go there, the superstitious people fight back when possible... The time is 1357, the One Hundred Years War is devastating France , the English invaders will not leave and the Black Death has felled a third of the population in Europe...20 million that in a few hours stumbled into the emptiness . ..A trip that the adventurous will appreciate, even love, the closest anyone will get to the Dark Ages which scientists today have refuted. There was a lot more intellectual stirrings then, and the brilliance though a small minority , showed through, for the brighter future ...whenever that will occur....

Rating: 3/5

Summary: A mysterious company has been developing new quantum technologies... A mysterious archeological site in France founded by the mysterious company leads a professor to seek answers from those who provide his research funding... The professor's grad students find modern objects at the site dating back to the 14th century... The professor is trapped in time and they must attempt a rescue...

Review:

Here is what I loved about it:
1. The research into theoretical physics and perfectly blurring the line between fact and fantasy.
2. The research into the history and time period. It was in depth, came with sketches that helped to illustrate how it looked, and the descriptions were amazing; made me feel like I was right there in 1357!
3. The heart-pounding, action-filled storyline and plot. Not the most complex, but engrossing and exciting.

I didn't even mind the mediocre character development in our protagonists. The "bad guys" were cliché and stereotypical though.

What I hated about this book was the ending. I would have given it a solid 4 stars if it wasn't for the laughable, cliché, predictable, standard Hollywood-like ending to any action flick. I predicted it all, every single moment (cringing at the "muahaha I am evil" obviousness of the "bad guys"). The ending had some of the worst written "bad guys" vs. "good guys" scenes, dialogue, and the "bad guys" had the awful-death-coming-to-them clichés galore. This book that had so much possibility for the modern characters to struggle with the different culture and morality of the 14th century and during most of it is actually did a decent job, until that awful ending where the most morally questionable decisions were made (be just as bad as the "bad guys" because they had it coming). It was such a frustrating ending to an otherwise enjoyable, well-researched, and exciting ride.

Another enjoyable Crichton adventure combining science, history, and fiction.

I read this ages ago and couldn’t remember any of it. Now that I read it again, I have to deduct a star. The plot is about as substantial as a bag of peanut puffs and, alas, also as addictive. Once you started you can’t stop gobbling it up.

4.5 Stars for Timeline (audiobook) by Michael Crichton read by John Bedford Lloyd. This was a wonderful story. Lots of action, science and time travel. Crichton got to explore all kinds of fun ideas. I like to think he is still writing in an alternate universe. Maybe one where they brought dinosaurs back to life for real.

Learned a lot about the contrast between medieval times and modern times from this novel.

Maybe.

But here's the thing though;

On a side note, aside from side by side or astride, with gnarled tree roots straying on the side, long rough highways unwinding, fields wide open, dirt road ahead, boughs and copses drunk on rye, boles of trees still laughing in the summer rain, wayward I still am, maybe I am a little lost, on the wayside but not left behind, not this time around.

However, of a certain date, in a certain way, in a certain slant of light

Of Monsters and Men, of 22 August, Of Beren and Lúthien.

Of these? Off. What of it? What's it about?

Well, warrior nuns from a nearby Galilean town couldn't come for a visit like last time, like they did the last time that wasn't for the last time. But that's okay. There is still time for the next one. There will be a next time. There is always next time and always will be.

In the going of this Summer, I lost what wasn't mine to lose, I lost something that was never there, I lost something else too.

Stars are winking, winking at us, still fading. That's what the additional star is for.

But we shall always have the road ahead of us, in front of us.

On the Road, on the road, On the Road.

And we will meet in the alleyways painted by Jack Kerouac again. We will meet again at the Jack Kerouac Alleyway

Sans a mermaid,
stranded and starveling
dying, with an immigrant song still on her lips
still
still dying

no one is left holding an empty cup of coffee
no one is left behind
in an alleyway

Then the origin of my source
and the originator of my solace was whispering
saying to me

Máthair spoke, she spoke to me. "Don't fret. Don't be afraid. It's only a little bit of time-travel."