suvata's review against another edition
3.0
Continuing my TBR project:
This is the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added July 12, 2011.
I love time-travel books as well as historical fiction. Blackout was definitely one of the best of both genres. There is a plethora of London history in these pages but none as beautiful as the description of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
This is the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added July 12, 2011.
I love time-travel books as well as historical fiction. Blackout was definitely one of the best of both genres. There is a plethora of London history in these pages but none as beautiful as the description of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely LOVED “The Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis. I’ve read it – 5 times, 6? Beyond the fact that I am a sucker for “what if?” type plots…the characters in the book caught hold of me and wouldn’t let go.
“Blackout” was a slightly different experience. I did enjoy it…but the experience of listening to an audiobook is wildly different than reading the actual book. The narrator’s voice was wonderful – it was like the aural equivalent of a cozy chintz chair. (I’m sorry – that was an awful simile – but that’s what came to mind.) However – the story was severely lacking in appearances by Mr. Dunworthy, one of my favorite characters, and while the reader learned a great deal about the time travelers in World War II, there was very little about what was going on in the time they came from. The parallel storylines was one of the best parts of “Doomsday”.
And? The end? Did I miss something? Did the story just end? Seriously – if the package didn’t specifically say 16 CDs – I would think the last CD was missing.
Soooo – I want more!
“Blackout” was a slightly different experience. I did enjoy it…but the experience of listening to an audiobook is wildly different than reading the actual book. The narrator’s voice was wonderful – it was like the aural equivalent of a cozy chintz chair. (I’m sorry – that was an awful simile – but that’s what came to mind.) However – the story was severely lacking in appearances by Mr. Dunworthy, one of my favorite characters, and while the reader learned a great deal about the time travelers in World War II, there was very little about what was going on in the time they came from. The parallel storylines was one of the best parts of “Doomsday”.
And? The end? Did I miss something? Did the story just end? Seriously – if the package didn’t specifically say 16 CDs – I would think the last CD was missing.
Soooo – I want more!
brendaclay's review against another edition
4.0
I knew going in that Blackout was only the first half of a two-book story. Three British historians from the year 2060 time travel back to observe various events in and around the London Blitz in WWII. When they discover that the "drops" meant to take them back to their time aren't opening, they must find each other and try to work out a solution - while also surviving the Blitz. Since this really is only a partial story, I'll say (a lot) more in my All Clear review.
interrowhimper's review against another edition
2.0
I guess it being half a book explains the tedium. I'm not sure how a book about both time travel and WWII can feel so very boring.
Finally starts to pick up in last 50 pages. Not sure I want to invest the time and money in the second part though.
Finally starts to pick up in last 50 pages. Not sure I want to invest the time and money in the second part though.
gracewygo's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Egregiously frustrating, but that is Willis’ M.O.
sarahannkateri's review against another edition
I liked the premise and found the information about London during the Blitz interesting, but the writing and characters just didn't suck me in. When I realized - halfway through the book - that it was only the first in a series, I decided there were too many other good stories out there for me to stick with this one for 600 more pages and gave up, which means I'll never know whether I hallucinated a completely random chapter that had nothing to do with any of the characters that had already been introduced or whether it really happened and was later explained. Oh well. I'll live.
ablotial's review against another edition
3.0
Ugh. I really hate books like this, where this book is absolutely NOT a story in and of itself, and there is no ending in this book. I'd really rather that the author just wrote one really long book instead of two regular size books. I guess the only benefit here is that since it is called two books, I'll have two books toward my challenges instead of only one.
To be fair, this book is in the 500-700 page range depending on edition, and the second is in the 600-800 page range... so it'd be one REALLY long book. But still. At least this first book could have been considerably shorter. We could remove all of the times that Theodore says "I don't want to X" or "I want to X" and easily cut out 10 pages, at least. And lots of other prattling on and on that don't actually add to the story, as far as I can tell. And references to the retrieval team every 2 sentences. I get it, the characters are concerned. But the repetition is annoying.
So why three stars then? And why did I purchase the second book? I really like the IDEA of this book. It has a similar premise (and a lot of the same concepts like not being allowed near divergence points and slippage, but with different names) to [b:The Far Time Incident|16163629|The Far Time Incident (The Incident Series, #1)|Neve Maslakovic|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358289636s/16163629.jpg|22006627], which I rather enjoyed. In fact, they were so similar at the beginning I checked to see which was the rip-off (this book was written first, for those who wonder). The concept is fun, I like time travel books in general and the idea of an academic program based around it is intriguing.
And I do want to know what happens to the characters even though I mostly dislike all of them except Colin, and why exactly they are stuck in the situation they are in (although I'm appalled at the lack of planning that apparently goes into these adventures in the future... Smart enough to invent time travel, but not smart enough to have reasonable back-up plans? hmmm).
Questions I have:
- How many of the other people in the novel are actually time travelers? And why don't any of these three time travelers ever wonder that? Is this the only time travel school in the world? And even if it is, they should have no reason to believe that it won't last forever right? So time travelers from 100 years in THEIR future could also be traveling back to WWII. For that matter, some future time travelers could be at Oxford in 2060 also, traveling there from 2095 or even 2148! But no one ever wonders and it's never addressed.
This one leads to more speculation, so I'll hide it behind a spoiler tag.
Guess I'll have to go through the damn second book to find out.
To be fair, this book is in the 500-700 page range depending on edition, and the second is in the 600-800 page range... so it'd be one REALLY long book. But still. At least this first book could have been considerably shorter. We could remove all of the times that Theodore says "I don't want to X" or "I want to X" and easily cut out 10 pages, at least. And lots of other prattling on and on that don't actually add to the story, as far as I can tell. And references to the retrieval team every 2 sentences. I get it, the characters are concerned. But the repetition is annoying.
So why three stars then? And why did I purchase the second book? I really like the IDEA of this book. It has a similar premise (and a lot of the same concepts like not being allowed near divergence points and slippage, but with different names) to [b:The Far Time Incident|16163629|The Far Time Incident (The Incident Series, #1)|Neve Maslakovic|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358289636s/16163629.jpg|22006627], which I rather enjoyed. In fact, they were so similar at the beginning I checked to see which was the rip-off (this book was written first, for those who wonder). The concept is fun, I like time travel books in general and the idea of an academic program based around it is intriguing.
And I do want to know what happens to the characters even though I mostly dislike all of them except Colin, and why exactly they are stuck in the situation they are in (although I'm appalled at the lack of planning that apparently goes into these adventures in the future... Smart enough to invent time travel, but not smart enough to have reasonable back-up plans? hmmm).
Questions I have:
- How many of the other people in the novel are actually time travelers? And why don't any of these three time travelers ever wonder that? Is this the only time travel school in the world? And even if it is, they should have no reason to believe that it won't last forever right? So time travelers from 100 years in THEIR future could also be traveling back to WWII.
Spoiler
I can't be the only person who wonders if Marjorie's reason for being in a random alley in whatever street it was that got bombed was the same reason Polly was in a random alley... looking for her drop. And many other people I wonder about as well... the vicar, sir godfrey, the nurse...This one leads to more speculation, so I'll hide it behind a spoiler tag.
Spoiler
Polly keeps saying that she knows things aren't messed up because she's already been to VE day. I -suspect- (because she kept asking Eileen/Merope if she got permission to go to VE day yet) that it's because she saw a future version of Merope there. But I don't see how this proves anything, whether she saw Merope or not. She was at ONE verson of VE day... but it was the version on the timeline before any changes would have been made. So on this new timeline, it could be a different VE day. After all, if the Oxford they left could possibly not exist, then the future VE day she left may also not as well, fof exactly the same reasons. Right?Guess I'll have to go through the damn second book to find out.
kwbridge's review against another edition
4.0
Mostly enjoyed this. I was almost finished, however, when I found out that it was the first of two books and that it ends with a cliffhanger. I would have waited until the 2nd one was out to read it, if I had know this before I started.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
2.0
I have such mixed feelings about this book upon finishing. On one hand, it has an original concept that utilizes time travel like nothing I've read before. Even though I am starting to experience some fatigue with material centered on World War II, the different perspectives that exist keep me coming back to the time period, and reading about how the Blitz affected the day-to-day lives of the British was very informative. On the other hand, I feel like the volume of this novel could have easily been halved and it still would have accomplished its main purpose; its pace is meandering at best and any semblance of a plot is painfully slow to show up. Despite the fact that I knew going in that this book has a sequel, I was very frustrated with the lack of finality in the conclusion. I expected there to be dangling plot threads, but it ends somewhat nonchalantly with not even a cliffhanger to tantalize my interest. There was not enough information included about the mechanics of time travel to make me comprehend how the process worked or why it was so necessary. The main characters are indistinguishable and I felt like I learned very little about their actual personalities, so it was difficult to become invested in their fates. I also grew incredibly annoyed with how they constantly obsessed over their retrieval; I understand why this was a major concern, but it was a worry that was repeated ad nauseam instead of the characters concentrating on their assignments. Overall, I think this contains a neat idea utilizing excellent research, but its execution leaves much to be desired.
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. The interchangeable and repetitive sequences of confusion and denial were unfortunately tiresome (despite being thematically relevant) but when the novel focused on ethical obligations of humans to each other it became a true delight.
I'll probably have more to say once I get through the second half.
I'll probably have more to say once I get through the second half.