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billyjepma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
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!
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Rape and Pandemic/Epidemic
omair's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
timlucier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
As an audiobook reader, John Bedford Lloyd was fantastic and I would listen to him again in a heartbeat.
Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Violence, and War
Minor: Torture
ulespiegel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual violence
cj13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
meganpbennett's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Michael Crichton write a remarkably plausible story about time travel, where people have to travel back to the high middle ages to rescue someone who got accidentally stuck, and survive all of the issues of a castle in the middle of the Hundred Years War. Hey, at least there's no Plague, right?
I remember reading this book when I was in high school and ended reading all of the hard science sci-fi books by Crichton, and haven't read it since. I vaugely remembered a few sections, but not much of the bulk of the plot. It's still quite interesting, and the depictions of the high middle ages is one that take into account a more modern historical opinion of the time period, making allowances for the propaganda of the Renaissance.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
elise_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: War
graceprechtel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore and War
Minor: Rape
stefievee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal death and Vomit