Michael Crichton's new novel opens on the threshold of the twenty-first century. It is a world of exploding advances on the frontiers of technology...
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Feb 06, 2012
Rad Ryan
rated it: 
A novel for all-time. The one who made me to love books.
At my age when I read it, I was like WHAT THE HELL, WHAT's THE MEANING OF THAT WORD . I was 13 at that time, I always make a fool out of myself. My classmates were asking me how can I understand it or do I understand it, all kinds of questions who irritates me.
3 months=1 book!
I mean how hurtful and so hateful with it! There are more books than to read! And my goal for my life is to read more than 100 books or ev More...
At my age when I read it, I was like WHAT THE HELL, WHAT's THE MEANING OF THAT WORD . I was 13 at that time, I always make a fool out of myself. My classmates were asking me how can I understand it or do I understand it, all kinds of questions who irritates me.
3 months=1 book!
I mean how hurtful and so hateful with it! There are more books than to read! And my goal for my life is to read more than 100 books or ev More...
16 comments
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(4 people liked it)
May 18, 2008
Stacey
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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11 comments
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(8 people liked it)
May 28, 2008
Eric
rated it: 
I’ve never been terribly impressed with Michael Crichton. He writes excellent action and adventure scenes, but his characters always seem flat and one-dimensional, never doing much more than dodging dinosaurs or white gorillas. Not surprisingly, what I feel is his best novel to date, Disclosure, lacks the heart-pounding action and delves more into conflicts between characters, which I found much more compelling.
I had high hopes for Timeline, a weighty book that had drawn good review More...
I had high hopes for Timeline, a weighty book that had drawn good review More...
Dec 17, 2009
misha
rated it:
Total piece of crap book that I got from a book swap.
That said, while I did a lot of skimming, this was a perfectly fine book to read while on mass transit... as long as I kept the cover down so that no one would know that I was reading crap.
And now you know that I sometimes read crap.
That said, while I did a lot of skimming, this was a perfectly fine book to read while on mass transit... as long as I kept the cover down so that no one would know that I was reading crap.
And now you know that I sometimes read crap.
3 comments
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Apr 15, 2008
John
rated it: 
I loved this book... and then some arse made a really crap film and the book lost some of its shine... I couldn't rid my mind of the film set and actors.
I still quite like the book.
I still quite like the book.
4 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Nov 01, 2011
Space
rated it:
This was the first Crichton novel I read, which is probably to his advantage. I knew it was fiction, so I was able to pick it up and cruise right through it. Had I started on The Andromeda Strain, or Airframe, I might have thought he was a non-fiction writer and not given him a proper chance. As it turns out, I was instantly hooked, and began to furiously and ferociously collect everything I could get my hands on by Michael Crichton. Now I've read most of his novels, and have met him in pers
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 23, 2008
Lisa
rated it:
This book was my introduction to Crichton and I fell in love!
I fell in love because this is an author who does extensive research on the subjects he writes about. So he not only entertains, he teaches you something in the process.
In Timeline, Crichton combines science(quantum technology) and history(medieval) in a heart-stopping adventure. A group of historians are given the opportunity to literally enter life in fourteenth-century feudal France. But this is not your typical More...
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(9 people liked it)
Oct 19, 2008
Elyse
rated it:
Professor Johnston is leading an excavation trip in France with several of his students, but he leaves to speak with the founder of the company that's sponsoring the dig. There he finds out that the company has built a time machine that can transport you to 14th century France. He decides to see for himself what life was really like back there. But he is trapped and leaves clues for his students to find in the future, informing them that he is lost in the past. From there, they must travel back
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(1 person liked it)
May 08, 2008
Jim
rated it:
This was a good one.
When you step into a time machine, fax yourself through a "quantum foam wormhole," and step out in feudal France circa 1357, be very, very afraid. If you aren't strapped back in precisely 37 hours after your visit begins, you'll miss the quantum bus back to 1999 and be stranded in a civil war, caught between crafty abbots, mad lords, and peasant bandits all eager to cut your throat. You'll also have to dodge catapults that hurl sizzling pitch over castle More...
When you step into a time machine, fax yourself through a "quantum foam wormhole," and step out in feudal France circa 1357, be very, very afraid. If you aren't strapped back in precisely 37 hours after your visit begins, you'll miss the quantum bus back to 1999 and be stranded in a civil war, caught between crafty abbots, mad lords, and peasant bandits all eager to cut your throat. You'll also have to dodge catapults that hurl sizzling pitch over castle More...
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Jun 17, 2009
Werner
rated it:
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,
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(6 people liked it)
Jul 25, 2007
Jared
rated it:
When an author can't create anything new you end up with this. This is a Michael Crichton novel so you know you going to get a team of top-notch scientists, some wealthy, eccentric entrepreneur, and a big scientific/horrific dilemma. The only problem is the entire plot. Here we have time travel. A wealthy, eccentric entrepreneur with some scientists figure out how to go back in time. They go to the middle ages. People get lost in time. Now, they need a new team of scientists to get them b
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 21, 2008
Anastasia
rated it:
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Aug 02, 2011
2. When a man appears out of nowhere in New Mexico, and mysteriously dies, questions start to arise as to where he came from, how he got there, and eventually the people he worked for. The corporation, for which he works, ICT, seems legitimate enough. They provide funding for excavations, research, and restorations of long ago villages and castles. Little do the researchers and archeologists and historians of these various projects understand how complex and underhanded the corporation has becom
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Mar 25, 2009
Bill
rated it: 
I really enjoyed this story. Timeline was a book that mixed sci-fi with fantasy in a pretty interesting and believable way. The book was a very easy and quick read and provided a nice diversion. One of my coworkers, Ed, also read the book and enjoyed it. However, he also saw Timeline the Movie and had nothing but bad things to say about it. As it so happens, he isn't the only one who had nothing good to say about the movie.
The funny thing is the book reads like it should be a movi More...
The funny thing is the book reads like it should be a movi More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 31, 2009
Eric_W
rated it:
A man is found wandering in the desert southwest near Black Rock New Mexico. He is taken to a local hospital where he dies. An autopsy, required by law, reveals some strange anomalies. His fingers, which had appeared gangrenous, had veins that did not match up, and his heart had similar conditions on the walls. The man should not have been able to live more than a few hours, let alone the seventy plus years he turned out to be. His fingerprints revealed his identity to be that of a physicist w
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Dec 30, 2008
Sue
rated it:
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Nov 07, 2008
Jackie
rated it:
Time travel gets me almost everytime!
This novel was exciting and unique, I could hardly put it down. Cool quantum technology that I barely understood aside, I felt like I was transported to the 100 Years War along with the team that sets out to find the Professor. And that's what makes a good novel into a great novel for me, and Timeline delivered.
One of Crichton's best.
And I got a crush on Marek so that helps in keeping it on my favorite book list. I think I'll read in agai
This novel was exciting and unique, I could hardly put it down. Cool quantum technology that I barely understood aside, I felt like I was transported to the 100 Years War along with the team that sets out to find the Professor. And that's what makes a good novel into a great novel for me, and Timeline delivered.
One of Crichton's best.
And I got a crush on Marek so that helps in keeping it on my favorite book list. I think I'll read in agai
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(4 people liked it)
Feb 08, 2012
Donovan
rated it:
One thing I enjoy about Crichton's work is his use of hard science. There is always the 'plausible' use of technology and this book delivers. I did find it a little dry at times when the action slowed down, almost like it was forced or that Crichton was trying to work out what to write next but failed to stop writing at the time he was thinking.
Not his best but still OK
Plot ***Spoilers***
In the middle of the New Mexico desert, a vacationing couple comes across an ill man More...
Not his best but still OK
Plot ***Spoilers***
In the middle of the New Mexico desert, a vacationing couple comes across an ill man More...
Feb 01, 2012
Stefan
rated it:
Entertaining novel with a good sounding scientific premise (whether it could actually be done or not is definitely up for debate.) Like most Crichton books, his material is extremely well research and presented in a manner that you don't question where he got his facts from and if you did, he provides a lengthy bibliography.
This is not one of his better novels, but is still a good read. The basic gist of the story is that some scientists create a sort of time travel but one o More...
This is not one of his better novels, but is still a good read. The basic gist of the story is that some scientists create a sort of time travel but one o More...
Jan 12, 2012
David
rated it:
A group of historians and archeologists are uncovering a medieval castle in France. They find a room that they believe to be untouched since the castle fell in the 14th century. As they dig they discover the glasses of the lead professor of the camp and a note from him asking for help. Was this some joke or was the professor in danger? Soon they realize that their rescue would be in their past rather than the future. Will they save the professor or by trapped in past doomed to 14th century Franc
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Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
rated it:
I read this in Japan.This is a sort of science fiction / time travel book.A mean global corporation (ITC) has invented a secret technology to facilitate time travel, it has to do with quantum physics in some way or other. Anyway, they are sponsoring a group of modern day historians to dig in a medieval village in southern France. The professor heading the dig is called to the ITC headquarters and then disappears. It turns out that ITC has sent him back to medieval days (I'm not quite sure why) a
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Nov 15, 2011
Austin
rated it:
Michael Crichton’s Timeline is an exciting novel in its own right, but is also a work that can lend a lot of insight to any aspiring writer. The story revolves around new technology that makes time travel a possibility, and the corporation responsible for this breakthrough. A team of historians is sent back to 14th century France, with its feudal system fully in place, to rescue the project’s leader after a mishap leaves him stranded in time.
This book is exhilarating, and the action surr More...
This book is exhilarating, and the action surr More...
Aug 18, 2011
Pam
rated it:
It's Michael Crichton, need I say more. Okay, okay I will say more. Mr. Crichton takes the time travel idea and gives it his own spin.
A group of graduate students are working on the runes of an old English castle, when they discover a new room they are astounded to find modern eye glasses in a room no one has seen for Hundreds of years. They also find an old manuscript that dates back centuries, but with one major flaw. It contains a handwritten plea for help from their Professor, wh More...
A group of graduate students are working on the runes of an old English castle, when they discover a new room they are astounded to find modern eye glasses in a room no one has seen for Hundreds of years. They also find an old manuscript that dates back centuries, but with one major flaw. It contains a handwritten plea for help from their Professor, wh More...
Aug 06, 2011
Scott
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book. Like many other Crichton books that have been turned into movies, the book is wonderful and the movie a dismal failure. I knew it would be, but had to see it anyway... without having read the book, I don't see how the storyline was intelligible to anyone. Of course, I'm a nerdy academic working in the medieval period, so I'm biased, but I thought that the idea of grad students working on an archeological/historical dig from the 14th century who end up actually going
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Jul 05, 2011
Kenny
rated it:
I am a huge fan of Michael Crichton, but not because he's a great writer. I think his books are adequately written, often with painful dialogue, implausible situations, and unrealistic characters.
That being said, he is an IDEA guy and comes up with some of the very best ideas for books: Recreating dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), debunking global warming (State of Fear), human hybrids (Next), virtual reality (Westworld -- remember this was the 1970s), business-killing political bureaucraci More...
That being said, he is an IDEA guy and comes up with some of the very best ideas for books: Recreating dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), debunking global warming (State of Fear), human hybrids (Next), virtual reality (Westworld -- remember this was the 1970s), business-killing political bureaucraci More...
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May 31, 2011
Jason
rated it:
Ever since I realized that I like Michael Crichton, I have asked Amanda to keep an eye out for his books. Timeline was one of the several books she found at Helping Hands.
We watched the movie a few years ago, after she had read the book. Fortunately, I didn’t remember much about it as I started reading.
Summary
Historians are sent back in time by a powerful corporation to rescue a friend who is “lost” in A.D. 1357. Despite their vast knowledge of the period and locale, they fin More...
We watched the movie a few years ago, after she had read the book. Fortunately, I didn’t remember much about it as I started reading.
Summary
Historians are sent back in time by a powerful corporation to rescue a friend who is “lost” in A.D. 1357. Despite their vast knowledge of the period and locale, they fin More...
May 09, 2011
Chris
rated it:
This was my first taste of Michael Crichton's writing. The story was interesting, with new twists on time travel through quantum wormholes. Crichton really brings the middle ages to life; if only history were always this interesting.
The plot seemed a little contrived, some of the character development was a little jarring (Chris becomes a rugged hero, Gordon becomes caring, Marek is inhumanly focussed on the past, etc.) but the book is enjoyable.
The explanation of how no on More...
The plot seemed a little contrived, some of the character development was a little jarring (Chris becomes a rugged hero, Gordon becomes caring, Marek is inhumanly focussed on the past, etc.) but the book is enjoyable.
The explanation of how no on More...
Apr 04, 2011
Angela
rated it:
"And the Oscar for Best Special Effects goes to: Timeline!" Figure maybe three years before those words are spoken, for Crichton's new novel--despite media reports about trouble in selling film rights, which finally went to Paramount--is as cinematic as they come, a shiny science-fantasy adventure powered by a superior high concept: a group of young scientists travel back from our time to medieval southern France to rescue their mentor, who's trapped there. The novel, in fact, may impr
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Mar 31, 2011
Nick Ovington
Timeline by Michael Crishton.
In this book Timeline by Michael Crichton new technology is being used at an archeology sight, the ITC. Five People, Andre, Chris, Professor Johnson, Kati and David are the people at the archeology site who are in charge. The boss, Doniger invented a new technology that can take you to a different universe back in the 1350s. You can go there, but not more then 37 hours. One day the professor enters in the universe transmitter and machine and More...
Timeline by Michael Crishton.
In this book Timeline by Michael Crichton new technology is being used at an archeology sight, the ITC. Five People, Andre, Chris, Professor Johnson, Kati and David are the people at the archeology site who are in charge. The boss, Doniger invented a new technology that can take you to a different universe back in the 1350s. You can go there, but not more then 37 hours. One day the professor enters in the universe transmitter and machine and More...
Aug 21, 2010
Tamra
rated it:
Crichton was my first reading love. In fact, I'd estimate that, not including scripture, 75% of the books I've re-read were written by Crichton.
This one didn't disappoint. Crichton is a master storyteller.
However, he tells the same story in the same way. Every time. There's always the draw-you-in opening scene, which has little to do with the rest of the book (in fact, several of the elements from the opening pages were not tied in well to the rest of the book (this is on More...
This one didn't disappoint. Crichton is a master storyteller.
However, he tells the same story in the same way. Every time. There's always the draw-you-in opening scene, which has little to do with the rest of the book (in fact, several of the elements from the opening pages were not tied in well to the rest of the book (this is on More...
