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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. Information moves instantly between two points, without wires or networks. Computers are built from single molecules. Any moment of the past can be actualized - and a group of historians can enter, literally, life in fourteenth-century feudal France. Imagine the risks of such a journey. Not since Jurassic Park has Crichton given us such a magnificent adventure. Here, he combines a science fo the future - the emerging field of quantum technology - with the complex realities of the medieval past. In a heart-stopping narrative, Timeline carries us into a realm of unexpected suspense and danger, overturning our most basic ideas of what is possible.
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I read this novel well after the movie came out. I never saw the movie since I heard some pretty bad reviews about it and I did come into this novel with a little apprehension. Crichton however manages to soothe my fears very quickly with this well thought out and suspenseful novel. He starts Timeline like many of his previous works with his two typical character groups: a cast of overly qualified professionals who end up over their head in trouble and the typical "evil corporation" out for their own personal gain with little regards to the consequences. The first group consists of historians working on excavating the site of a ruin in France. The leader of the group, Professor Johnson, is not only very knowledgeable but is also a very amiable person. He uses his charm to persuade other grad students from various fields (Computer Scientist, Architecture, etc.) to join him on his digs. Admittedly this is a very weak plot device from Crichton but it does serve to bring together enough diverse talents into the forefront of the story. The evil corporation turns out to be the main sponsors for Johnson's excavation site. It turns out that they have their own goals for wanting to be a part of this project. The corporation has been researching quantum technology secretly for the past few years and stumbled upon a way to travel across the multiverse (parallel dimensions through time and space) using something they called quantum foam. They have been surveying the site in the past and wanted to restore the ruins as close to the original as possible probably as an example for their own investors. One thing leads to another and Johnson visits the corporation and somehow wanders off by himself in ancient France. Of course who does a multibillion dollar corporation send in to save him, not a troop of battle harden veterans who might cause havoc with modern weaponry and create a time paradox but instead he sends in the fellow excavators in Johnson's party. Then a bunch of stuff happens and the Johnson's saved and everyone lives happily ever after (except for the people that died of course). Overall I gave this book a score of 6/10. I felt that Crichton did a wonderful job describing quantum theory in layman terms. He always manages to give enough factual and theoretical information to make his plots seem slightly possible. However where the book does fail for me is in the plot itself. I admit there is some suspense having to traverse through a hostile region with people killing and dying all around you but the actual plot seems so unbelievable that at times you're wondering why all the historians haven't died yet. One historian, Marek, who dabbles in archery and swordplay, admits in the very start that what he did was child-play when he witnessed actual combat. However a few days later on he turns into a killing machine slaying trained warriors left and right. Then there's Kate who is best described not as a female lead but as a climber. If there's anything in this book remotely climbable, Kate has climbed it and she also most likely fell from it as well. You would think after being caught so many times in this book and escaping so often that no one actually dies in prison since they seem to be able to escape every single time. It is frustrating to read a book that had so many possibilities and just have everything fall into place for the characters. In summary, Timeline is a decent read. It had interesting ideas and a lot of action but don't expect something truly moving with its sparse character development. I recommend borrowing this book from a friend or the library. It is not a book I will be rereading anytime soon.
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