meganpbennett's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Timeline is an interesting time travel science fiction novel. It starts with several tangentially connected parts - a man found in the desert, rambling about Quantum Foam, and an archeology dig at a Hundred Years War castle in France - that eventually come together to form the basis of time travel. We have an interesting cast of characters, who all have a specific skill set that helps them when the learn the truth. When they learn that time travel is possible.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Blood, War, Xenophobia, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
elise_reads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
- 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
The action was intense! It was neat to learn more about this period of time. However, this kind of story just isn’t my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: War
graceprechtel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and War
Minor: Rape
stefievee's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- 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
The beginning of the book really piqued my interest, but once the characters get into time-travel they start to fall into super cliché, trope-y roles and I was frankly just rolling my eyes by the (very predictable) end
Spoiler
We have the self-sacrificing hero whose convenient lifelong obsession with Medieval fighting makes him a natural at jousting and fighting off all the knights that are after him and his companions. Hero guy ends up with the secondary recurring female character in the past timeline, whose main trait is seducing people into doing her bidding. Then there's the whiny guy who keeps getting the group in trouble but also keeps saving the main female character and finally, said main female character who continuously escapes things by climbing because she's a climber, and of course ends up married to now-mature whiny guy and pregnant with his child at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Vomit
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