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ninjamuse's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and War
billyjepma's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Does exactly what it says on the cover, which is all I hoped and wanted from it. Crichton is just so good at this stuff—he takes scientific principles and theories, converts them into vehicles for his sandbox-style imagination, and does so while explaining the science in ways that make the reader feel included in the inevitable epiphanies. As a Crichton book, though, it does suffer from some shallow characterizations, especially when it comes to the handful of women in the cast of characters. It's never outright offensive, but the stereotypes are unfortunate.
If you can let the time-travel shenanigans do their thing and go along for the ride, though, there's great fun to be had. Crichton's prose is as solid as ever and strikes an ideal balance between description and momentum. There's rarely a dull moment to speak of. Even though the characters are immensely forgettable, they're just likable enough to get the job done, especially when Crichton leans into the inherent silliness of his "fish out of water" premise. You can see where the story is going from the jump, but the secret to Crichton's success has never been the unpredictability of his plotting. Instead, it's his knack for turning familiar genre trappings into fun "summer blockbusters" that makes him one of those authors I'm always happy to pick up. This was a great start to my summer reading!
If you can let the time-travel shenanigans do their thing and go along for the ride, though, there's great fun to be had. Crichton's prose is as solid as ever and strikes an ideal balance between description and momentum. There's rarely a dull moment to speak of. Even though the characters are immensely forgettable, they're just likable enough to get the job done, especially when Crichton leans into the inherent silliness of his "fish out of water" premise. You can see where the story is going from the jump, but the secret to Crichton's success has never been the unpredictability of his plotting. Instead, it's his knack for turning familiar genre trappings into fun "summer blockbusters" that makes him one of those authors I'm always happy to pick up. This was a great start to my summer reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Rape and Pandemic/Epidemic
omair's review
adventurous
informative
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Timeline reads like exactly what you would expect a Crichton novel to read. If you know what that means then you probably know how you'll feel about it. If that's not your cup of tea, then you're either going to read this for the practical conversation on time travel and the science behind it, or you're reading it because it explores a less glamorous medieval setting, but also one that is less often written about too.
Normally this would all be appealing to me, but this time it misses. Unlike some of his other work, like Jurassic Park, the generic characters that are our protagonists never rise above their predictableness. Timeline ends up being an easy-enough read, but never feels to capture me and rise above. That's not to say it's a bad book, but it is one that won't linger in the mind. A sad sort of irony for a book about time travel to be one I would likely never revisit.
Normally this would all be appealing to me, but this time it misses. Unlike some of his other work, like Jurassic Park, the generic characters that are our protagonists never rise above their predictableness. Timeline ends up being an easy-enough read, but never feels to capture me and rise above. That's not to say it's a bad book, but it is one that won't linger in the mind. A sad sort of irony for a book about time travel to be one I would likely never revisit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Vomit, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Excrement, and Cultural appropriation
shieldbearer's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
There were some things I really liked and some things I really didn't. The premise is excellent. You can tell the book is very well researched. however, the weak point really is the characters, except for Lady Claire and Merrick. Kate.. man I really liked some things about her, but she didn't has a much of a presence as I'd have liked, though I do love the way her skills as a climber were so vital to so many sequences. I felt it dragged some with unecessary complications, and I really wish the character dynamics were better fleshed out between everyone. Fuck Chris though, like his development was rushed and hamfisted just so he could get to fuck Kate in the epilogue. I really don't see the point of making Lady Claire pretend to be a boy, though I do appreciate her relationship with Merrick was NOT the main reason he stayed in the past. I also wished the doctor and the cop from the start had a more significant role and didn't end up scapegoated.
Some of my dissatisfaction is from this not being the book I would have written, but I really, really disliked Chris.
Some of my dissatisfaction is from this not being the book I would have written, but I really, really disliked Chris.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Acephobia/Arophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
jreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexism
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