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All Clear (All Clear #2)

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 5,400 ratings · 1,100 reviews

In Blackout, award-winning author Connie Willis returned to the time-traveling future of 2060 ? the setting for several of her most celebrated works ? and sent three Oxford historians to World War II England: Michael Davies, intent on observing heroism during the Miracle of Dunkirk; Merope Ward, studying children evacuated from London; and Polly Churchill, posing as a shop...more

Audio CD, 23 pages

Published November 16th 2010 by Brilliance Corporation (first published 2010)

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Nov 04, 2010 Amy Sturgis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-contemporary, 21st-century, historical-fiction

Let me begin by saying that The Doomsday Book is one of my all-time favorite novels (definitely "top ten," quite possibly "top five"), and I'm also tremendously fond of Connie Willis's Lincoln's Dreams, as well. When I knew she had a new book - well, duology, though the two books are really one chopped in half - set in the same time-travel universe as The Doomsday Book, I was beside myself with anticipation. (I blame her publishers for the decision to splice the book and then wait months between...more Let me begin by saying that The Doomsday Book is one of my all-time favorite novels (definitely "top ten," quite possibly "top five"), and I'm also tremendously fond of Connie Willis's Lincoln's Dreams, as well. When I knew she had a new book - well, duology, though the two books are really one chopped in half - set in the same time-travel universe as The Doomsday Book, I was beside myself with anticipation. (I blame her publishers for the decision to splice the book and then wait months between the first and second volume.)

Now I'm simply incredibly frustrated. I think there was a good novel somewhere in there, but it was lost beneath everything else. First and foremost, Willis needed a better editor; the sheer amount of constant repetition, useless detail, and point-of-view hopping between one line and the next is inexcusable. I got the feeling Willis had invested so much effort researching every angle of the period (the Blitz in World War II England) that she became determined to fit it all in, whether the story needed it or not.

Second, the way she handled the issue of time travel was troubling. Anyone trained to be a historian goes through multiple courses on the theory of history, philosophy of history, etc. (I'm a historian, and I'm speaking from personal experience.) For those in the future training to be time-traveling historians, I can only imagine how thoroughly they would study the theories behind time travel, as well. Yet several of these students seem utterly clueless about the very premises of what they're doing. (Allow me to paraphrase. "Historian X went to the Blitz Z years ago when he was in our department. So that was in the past, even though we're in the Blitz now. No, wait? He'd be here now, too, even though we left at different times? Golly gee, I never thought of that! Time travel's funny!" Or, for another example: "Maybe the retrieval team hasn't found out yet where we went. As soon as they do, they'll come and get us. Wait, you mean that, if they'd found our location, they would already have gone back before Q happened to get us? Time travel's so crazy! Who'd've thought it?") Augh!

Also, for a two-volume book, I would have expected more character development. The two female protagonists were so flat they were easy to confuse until the very last section. The best characters - Mr. Dunworthy, Sir Godfrey - begged for more attention. The fascinating ideas the story raised about the net, the drops, and the meaning (failure?) of time travel only received a random few infodumps, and I would've loved to know more, especially since this was the supposed crux of the two volumes.

I realize that I came into this with very high expectations, but I think Willis could have delivered a very good novel if she hadn't been impatient with the science fiction and self-indulgent with all of her research. The World War II material was fascinating, but less in service to an overall story than by itself, in isolated chunks. If you're looking for an excellent work that blends science fiction and historical fiction, read The Doomsday Book. Then, when you're done, bypass this and read The Doomsday Book again.
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Dec 13, 2010 Lori (Hellian) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's here It's here!

The only reason why this is not a 5 is because the middle section of Blackout and All Clear (and I count them as one book, because really they are) annoyed me a bit with the obsession over whether they changed the outcome of the war and where the retrieval team, over and over. I understand why Willis did this (complete anxiety!) but it was too much. Probably because I have gone through times in my life when I too get completely stuck in the broken record of a mind loop, and t...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. All Clear (and Blackout) are an excellent way to learn more about World War II/The Blitz in England. It is, however, an extremely frustrating book on many other levels.

Of particular concern to me was the tendency for the historians to explain details that the other historians should hand in their degrees for not knowing. It was one thing in Book 1 to have to explain that Agatha Christie was a novelist. It's another thing altogether to revolve a major plot point on the fact that one of the histor...more

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May 04, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-series, locus-sci-fi, hugo, science-fiction, reviewed, read-in-2012

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.

On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.

While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 04, 2011 Lisa Vegan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all readers who enjoy historical fiction &/or time travel books &/or any speculative fiction

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, novel, speculative-fiction, time-travel, reviewed, orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids, altta

This is a wonderful and amazing book. It really is the second half of a book. On the same day, I went from finishing Blackout and started reading this book, and it was like going from one chapter to another, not like going from one book to another.

Thank you to Goodreads friend and fellow group member Sarah Pi who didn’t let me see answers to my questions and therefore helped me avoid unwanted spoilers.

I am very proud that less than 1/3 the way through this book, I figured something out, probably...more This is a wonderful and amazing book. It really is the second half of a book. On the same day, I went from finishing Blackout and started reading this book, and it was like going from one chapter to another, not like going from one book to another.

Thank you to Goodreads friend and fellow group member Sarah Pi who didn’t let me see answers to my questions and therefore helped me avoid unwanted spoilers.

I am very proud that less than 1/3 the way through this book, I figured something out, probably because of all of the mysteries I’ve read, and I’m often able to prematurely guess their outcomes too. Even though I figured out that important plot point, the book managed to stay suspenseful for me all the way until the last page. The farther I got into the book, the harder it became to take any breaks from reading it; I was enthralled.

I love Blackout and this book so much didn’t even mind that they’re books 4 and 5 in the Oxford time travel series; normally, I’d want to read the books in exact order, but once I started these books I couldn’t put them aside to read the earlier books first.

This is a brilliant historical fiction and time travel/speculative fiction book, with a very complex time travel story. It’s ingenious and a great deal of fun. It’s funny, tragic, romantic, heartwarming, and completely engrossing. I cared a great deal about many characters. I got in lots of chuckles and smiles, and tears also.

I adored how Agatha Christie makes appearances. (I’ve loved her mystery books for decades.) Very cool! Also appropriate were all the mentions of Ernest Shackleton and his expedition to the South Pole.

This is a beautifully crafted book. I enjoyed how the dialogue between characters was in quotes and characters’ internal dialogue/thoughts were in italics. The quotes that are at the beginning of each chapter are fabulous; both their literary and historical origins and how they relate to what is going on in the book’s story are perfect.

I knew a fair amount about the Blitz, have read about it and listened to people who were there talk about it, I think that I learned more from this book/books than any other source to date. I think I fully appreciated for the first time what people in that time and place experienced.

I can recommend this book to any reader who likes reading historical fiction and/or time travel books and/or any type of speculative fiction. It’s imperative to read Blackout and then this book, preferably one right after the other as I was fortunate to do.

The very best thing about this book, and why I think it has appeal for all readers whatever their favorite genres are, is how it shows the importance in life of loving and caring about and caring for others. I was practically bawling by the end, but this theme runs throughout the entire story.(less)

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Jun 10, 2012 DMS rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

I put this down in the middle of a sentence. Someone interrupted me to ask why I was still reading it when I was obviously not enjoying it and he was right. The place where I stopped is for sure a spoiler. It was (view spoiler), where I am probably a couple of pages away from (view spoiler) even though that has been obvious for what feels like a million page...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

Time-traveling historians fight their way home. This book was ridiculous. I feel bad writing that, because 1. so many people liked it so much, and I'm sad to think I didn't understand how to appreciate it, and 2. it's a celebrated author's book about a WAR. But the only way I remotely got through it was by treating it as a comic novel and mentally tallying up all the ridiculousness, including but not limited to: 1. every time a character's mission was completely stymied by one single, non-malici...more

20 likes · like · see review

Nov 28, 2010 Ed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

I found this book to be both amazing and frustrating. I don't recall ever having such mixed feelings about a book. When it's rolling it's a rare and rewarding page turner and when it bogs down it feels like a week of reading before the story moves on. There are way too many pages where we go inside a character's head and we listen to that character wonder. She'll wonder if she did something wrong and lost the war for England, she'll wonder where another character is and what they are doing and i...more

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Nov 14, 2010 Jon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jon by: Jamie

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, time-travel, read-in-my-40s

Wonderful, exceptional, loved every page. I find myself unable to describe what truly astonishes me about this novel without giving away huge spoilers. I laughed, I cried, my heart filled to bursting and erupted with hope and inspiration.

All Clear picks up where Blackout abruptly ended, back in the Blitz, London during the Blackout, the air raids, the shelters, life marches on for the stoic British citizens. Our stranded time-traveling historians face the facts, for the most part, and buckle do...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Elizabeth added it · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-ii

All Clear, or, I'm An Historian, Get Me Out Of Here!

What I really found lacking in this novel, and in Blackout All Clear 1, was an overall sense of being in another time. I know I was reminded of the fact of it on every single page for a thousand pages (“THIS IS TIME TRAVEL! I am AN HISTORIAN and THIS IS TIME TRAVEL!”), but I never got a real sense of it. Maybe this is because the Oxford of 2060 is very sketchily painted? I have no sense of home for any of the characters, and therefore no real s...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Eva rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Eva by: Sarah Connell

Shelves: epic, historical-fiction, science-fiction, read-in-2011, favorites

Can we change the past? This question is continually asked throughout both Blackout and All Clear when several time-traveling historians find themselves stuck in the past during World War II. Connie Willis makes brilliant use of time travel and its possible repercussions while also writing a sweeping portrait of Britain culturally and emotionally during World War II. Willis does something truly impressive in capturing the ordinary British citizens who routinely did the extraordinary, whether the...more

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May 13, 2011 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 21, 2011 Taueret rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, sci-fi, speculative-fiction, hours-i-will-never-get-back

I hate this book so much. I hate it so much that it hurts. I hate that I spent an audible credit on it. I hate that it's about subjects I LOVE- WWII? Bletchley Park? And it still sucks. It's not badly written- it's just a terrible story, and the lead characters are whiny, dumb, ignorant, and keep switching voices. (that last isn't the author's fault). I HATE that I know more WWII trivia than these "historians" do. That part is the worst. That and the idea that three professional time travellers,...more I hate this book so much. I hate it so much that it hurts. I hate that I spent an audible credit on it. I hate that it's about subjects I LOVE- WWII? Bletchley Park? And it still sucks. It's not badly written- it's just a terrible story, and the lead characters are whiny, dumb, ignorant, and keep switching voices. (that last isn't the author's fault). I HATE that I know more WWII trivia than these "historians" do. That part is the worst. That and the idea that three professional time travellers, stuck in some kind of boring time travelling paradox shit thing, would NOT PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER- but spend what seems like fifty years KEEPING THINGS FROM ONE ANOTHER. Oh my brain, my poor poor brain. To spare one another worrying. They suspect that the very fabric of time and space has been damaged (or something) but they are worried about WORRYING ONE ANOTHER.

And what the HELL is that CRAP with the whole Importance of Being Ernest thing? WHAT IS THAT? Oh your God. The only excuse for that is if they're code names or something to confuse "Jerrah"- but No I think these idiots are really called Ernest and Prism and Lady Bracknell. I CANNOT TAKE ANY MORE.

And really, mentioning Shakespeare all the time doesn't make all the missed connections and mistaken identities allusive. It's just crap. Same goes for Agatha Christie.

Also, I guessed the BIG SURPRISE. It hasn't been revealed yet but I already guessed it. Unless I'm wrong. So I guess I'll keep listening til the bitter end. And rant some more at that time.

---
19/3
Well I think I'm within a few minutes of the end of this instalment. Aren't there meant to be 3? Gah. In the last say 2 hours (I'm listening to audio or I never would have got this far) the plot has finally tightened up to the point where there is not an hour of unnecessarily literal descriptions of confused frustrated people running around in circles, and keeping things from one another. The actual STORY of Blackout and All Clear is ok- but you could cut great chunks out in between actual happenings, and not lose a thing (except me driving down the freeway yelling "SHUT UP!!" a lot).

Oh, but I apologise about my rude Importance of Being Ernest outburst. It WAS code. Whatever, it still sucked.

I was also wrong about the surprise, but mine was better. I'll update again when I finally have really finished.(less)

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Feb 05, 2011 Susanhayeshotmail.com rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the conclusion to Blackout by Connie Willis. I enjoyed both books but do not read one without the other. I loved the characters, especially the energetic Alf and Binnie, the examination of everyday heroism and the way that everyone "did their bit" to contribute to the war effort, sacrificing much, and just going about their lives with determined courage and good cheer. Willis did a good job of portraying London during the Blitz and I enjoyed all the personalizing bits of historical fact....more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Elizabeth Hunter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

Three stars is a compromise rating here. I have loved much of Connie Willis' work and her strengths keep growing. There is much to love in this two-book story: fantastic period detail, including real consideration for both how the period looks from a remove and how it was experienced by its "contemps"; nicely drawn characters who react in plausible ways to the situations they face; intricate plotting and an interesting story to tell. Unfortunately, there is much here to make one want to pull a D...more

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May 20, 2013 Tina Hoggatt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The two-part historical adventure that began in Blackout concludes in All Clear with heroism, bravery, warmth, loss and love. We are returned to wartime London, where three historians visiting England for observation during World War II have been inexplicably stranded. Polly, Eileen and Michael have managed to find each other and pool their knowledge about bombing raids and other key events in the war in order to stay alive in London during the Blitz, as well as find a way to let historians in t...more

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May 17, 2013 Annette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-history, sci-fi

Not a perfect book. As other reviewers on both this and its prequel / first half "Blackout" have pointed out, the three primary characters are essentially indistinguishable from one another in terms of their personalities, and Polly especially is practically pathological in her continual lying to her co-travellers - ostensibly to keep them from panic and despair, but this is such thin (and pointless) excuse that I ended up concluding that the actual reason was to move the plot along. (See my rev...more

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May 08, 2013 Lynn Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blackout/All Clear is a mixture of historical fiction and sci-fi. Even without the time-travel suspense it would be a compelling story. It's a vivid portrayal of how the people of Britain during WWII kept going in impossible conditions. I was amazed at the resilience and selflessness they displayed. I have seldom read a book that transported me so believably into another time period.

Now the brilliant part: In this book, time is not linear; you can only look at space-time, and the events that occ...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Antonio Marts rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"All clear", es la continuación de "Black Out". Los tres personajes que se han quedado varados en la segunda guerra mundial se enfrenta con la realidad de que no pueden volver a casa y que a pesar de venir del futuro tendrán que sobrevivir a los bombardeos alemanes sobre Londres durante la segunda guerra mundial como uno más de los ciudadanos de esa época.

La esperanza de la llegada de un equipo venido del futuro que los rescatará los mantiene adelante, sin embargo, con el paso de los días y al...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Craig Shier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Time traveling historians are trapped in the London blitz with no apparent way home to 21st century Oxford when their portals suddenly stop working. Their perspective on history is transformed from a third person distance into first person immersion as they develop close relationships with their intended subject and experience the terror of air raids. This story is about friends, fortitude, and hope in the midst of danger and tragedy. Each character is called on to make sacrifices, but they are...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Malakalima rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, read-2013, science-fiction

So...here's the thing...
I adore Connie Willis. Her writing is exquisite. Her plots are amazing. She is pure genius. The plot of this book (and by that I mean both Blackout and All Clear, which I will treat as one book here) is pretty incredible. The ending is like, my mind BLOWN! Brilliant.
BUT...there were some MAJOR issues with the line/content editing. This book is extremely repetitive. I honestly felt like I read the same three scenes for more than half of it. Also the use of cliff hangers an...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Obviously, all the same do some fucking research provisos apply as for Blackout (and all Connie Willis's UK-set time travel books, for that matter).

But this is actually much less satisfying than Blackout, as it becomes increasingly obvious that there will be a clean ending, as the authorial interventions on the nature of heroism get more clunky, as Merope's Choice is signalled with six kinds of not-Bletchley-worth code, I felt myself impatient to get it over with. Oh, well done Colin, oh look th...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Blue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historic-fiction, science-fiction

Twelve hundred something pages was a lot of time travel. Connie Willis is, of course, brilliant, and she pulls it of gloriously. However, I would not recommend these books (Blackout and All Clear) to those who do not have the patience for pages and pages of what-ifs. Most of the story is taken up by a very frustrating chain of events that keep the characters from achieving what they think they should achieve. And there is incessant internal monologues about considering and reconsidering the poss...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Josie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is at the same time, fantastic and extremely annoying. I loved the excitement of the story, but hated the cliffhangers on every page. Well, not so much cliffhangers as, "I have something really important to tell you, it will change your life and everything in the world. It's really important and very very amazing. You're going to flip when you find out. You must know what it is because it's just that important... but there's no time to talk now!"

Every time two characters have a conver...more

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Dec 09, 2012 TheIron Paw rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, science-fiction

A thoroughly researched, vivid description of England during its "darkest hour" in the context of an intricate plot/premise of time travel and time paradoxes. On this basis it would be well worth 5 stars. However its only a 1 star from the perspective of believable characters and editing. The protagonists are supposedly Historians trained and qualified to visit and observe the past, yet they constantly jump to unwarranted conclusions, continually imagine the worst, fail to communicate with each...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Elizabeth K. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of my main takeaways from this experience was that just because you are an established, award-winning author and can insist that a book be published as two long books rather than edit it doesn't mean you should.

A lot of this, the second installment, was much, or rather, exactly like the last half of the first installment, in which our time-travelers, Polly, Mike, and Eileen, spend most of their time trying to think through different strategies for improving their stuck-in-the-past situation...more One of my main takeaways from this experience was that just because you are an established, award-winning author and can insist that a book be published as two long books rather than edit it doesn't mean you should.

A lot of this, the second installment, was much, or rather, exactly like the last half of the first installment, in which our time-travelers, Polly, Mike, and Eileen, spend most of their time trying to think through different strategies for improving their stuck-in-the-past situation. "Different" is a bit of an overstatement, they never seem to get anywhere and they try a lot of things multiple times. The frustrating part is that they have to base most of their decisions off a set of assumptions, and even though they don't make any progress, it never seems to occur to them to reexamine those assumptions. In the first book, I was willing to overlook this because there was so much interesting information about their WWII-era daily lives, but by this point, most of the focus is on their endless conversations about various strategies and if/how/why they failed, and then they go to work and come back and resume the discussion.

I'm not sure which is more annoying -- that Mike and Polly treat Eileen like an idiot, or that she acts like one. And sure enough (I think this too vague to be a spoiler), by the end, there's a sort of "and it turns out Eileen was the smart one after all" thing going on, but it's not very convincing.

All that complaining out of the way, the story itself is a good one. I like where it ended up, and how everything comes together. The whole thing is kind of a series of platitudes, but you feel committed to it (well, I guess you'd have to be if you continued reading) and it is, at the end of the day, a mostly satisfying conclusion for the characters. There was one major bit with a WWII person and Polly that felt like it was supposed to go in one direction but maybe got dropped along the way, but OTHER than that, you did get a sense that there was a good plan in place for crafting this novel.

As an aside, one thing about whole Oxford time travel business that occurred to me during this book is to wonder why the lab isn't also crawling scientists, I guess mathematicians and physicists, who you would think would be using it as their research model. Except for the poor lab techs, everyone else is a historian. That seems irresponsible. Maybe there is a whole suite of researchers working next door to the lab, but they never come into the story.(less)

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Oct 31, 2012 Hogan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Don't read this book without enjoying Blackout first -- and be warned, if you read Blackout you will read this book too. These two books are basically one 1000 page book.

It lost a star because I feel Willis could have edited this down to a shorter and more terse story.

On the other hand, Willis' prior work has infused me with good will and I'm inclined to let her indulge.

Frustratingly a number of Willis' prior novellas felt way to short (Bellwether and Remake for example).

If you are new to Willis...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Georgen Charnes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, the two books (Blackout and All Clear) are really one book, cut into two. There's not even a pretense at an ending for the first book, and they don't stand alone at all.

I liked Blackout a lot, all the way through. Yes, the characters seem a lot alike, but that's because [spoiler] sometimes they are the same character. It rambles, but it helps to create a complex, chaotic atmosphere.

The first half of All Clear was, I'm afraid, not very good. The three characters trapped in London during the...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Dale rated it 5 of 5 stars

All Clear (audiobook) by Connie Willis
A great ending to the Blackout/All Clear "book" -
a sci-fi book for lovers of history

20 CDs
23 hours, 56 minutes
Read by Katherine Kellgren

43 hours of audio listening later (read wonderfully by Katherine Kellgren who handled a wide variety of accents and aging characters with real skill), I am finally done with the Blackout/All Clear saga. These books are intended to be one giant book, not a series, although you would never. ever know that from the audiobook'...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Lauren rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I am having a difficult time reconciling how I feel about this book, even after letting my thoughts stew for a week after finishing it. Everything I wrote about Blackout stands for this one as well.

I think my main complaint about both books is that the characters are morons. This is (somehow) distinct from idiots in my head: they are not entirely, unforgivably stupid. However, they can't communicate with each other to oh, say, literally save their lives. They're all hiding information from each...more

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About Connie Willis

Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.

She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Ficti...more Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.

She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).

She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.

Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch", found in the short story collection of the same name.

Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze Near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).

Other themes and stylistic devices include:

a scientist as protagonist (the main theme of Bellwether, but also present in Uncharted Territory, Passage, and—to a lesser degree—the Fire Watch universe stories)
an aversion to rampant political correctness (notably the over-appreciation of indigenous cultures in Uncharted Territory, anti-smoking stances in Bellwether, censorship of "addictive substances" in Remake)
the inclusion of meticulously researched, detailed trivia related tangentially or symbolically to the narrative (fads in Bellwether, mating customs in Uncharted Territory, old movies in Remake, the Titanic disaster in Passage, famous pairs of ill-fated lovers in To Say Nothing of the Dog)
the constant presence of trying to come to terms with grief, loss, and death; this is often attributed to her mother having died while Willis herself was still a child.[citation needed]
Willis is acclaimed as a science-fiction writer, most often exploring the "soft" or social sciences. She weaves technology into her stories only to prompt readers to question what impact it has on the world. For instance, Lincoln's Dreams plumbs not just the psychology of dreams, but also their role as indicators of disease. The story portrays a young man's unrequited love for a young woman who might or might not be experiencing reincarnation or precognition, and whose outlook verges on suicidal. Similarly Bellwether is almost exclusively concerned with human psychology.

Among other themes, Uncharted Territory contemplates the extent to which technology shapes expectations of gender; "technology" here ranges from a land rover and binoculars to Bult's online "chopping" and the pop-up holograms—even socioexozoology. Remake embraces old movies and the computer graphics revolution, as well as intellectual property, digital copyright issues, and the question of public domain.

Other Willis stories explore the so-called "hard" sciences, following in the classic science fiction tradition. "The Sidon in the Mirror" harks back to the interplanetary and interstellar romanticism of the 1930s and 1940s. "Samaritan" is another take on the theme of Heinlein's "Jerry Was a Man", while "Blued Moon" is similarly reminiscent of Heinlein's "Year of the Jackpot".
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“But if she'd come then, she would never have properly appreciated it. She'd have seen the happy crowds and the Union Jacks and the bonfires, but she'd have no idea of what it meant to see the lights on after years of navigating in the dark, what it meant to look up at an approaching plane without fear, to hear church bells after years of air-raid sirens. She'd have had no idea of the years of rationing and shabby clothes and fear which lay behind the smiles and the cheering, no idea of what it had cost to bring this day to pass--the lives of all those soldiers and sailors and airmen and civilians.” — 13 people liked it

“TO ALL THE
ambulance drivers
firewatchers
air-raid wardens
nurses
canteen workers
airplane spotters
rescue workers
mathematicians
vicars
vergers
shopgirls
chorus girls
librarians
debutantes
spinsters
fishermen
retired sailors
servants
evacuees
Shakespearean actors
and mystery novelists
WHO WON THE WAR.” — 12 people liked it

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All Clear (All Clear #2)

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