Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm on a bit of a Connie Willis binge. It all started with To Say Nothing of the Dog, and before you know it, I was hooked on Willis' time-traveling Oxford historians.

I read Blackout, All Clear (read my reviews of those books here), and even a couple of Willis' non-time-travel sci-fi tales--Passage and Lincoln's Dreams.

But I finally found Doomsday Book at my local library, and plunged into one of the most compelling books I've ever read.

Kivrin is a young history student in 2048 Oxford who is determined to go back in time to visit 14th century England. That's despite the misgivings of her mentor and instructor, Mr. Dunworthy, who obviously feels a fatherly affection and concern for the young woman.

The Middle Ages were an extremely dangerous time. So many things could go wrong, from fatal disease to raping and marauding highwaymen. Not to mention messed-up time travel.

The best-laid plans...

But the Oxford time travelers are nothing if not prepared for just about any contingency. Kivrin has been vaccinated against everything, including Bubonic Plague, which isn't even supposed to happen until quite a few years after her visit.

She's also been schooled in every detail of how a young woman was supposed to act and look in 1320, including lessons in horseback riding, spinning wool, and embroidery--and she's even had a chip implanted that will interpret what passed as the English language in those days.

But if everything went smoothly, there would be no story. And believe me, everything does NOT go smoothly.

Problems in the future...

While Kivrin is trying to survive in the Middle Ages, there's a terrible problem in 2048 Oxford--a fast-moving epidemic of a deadly and baffling disease. It ends up striking many of the people that are concerned with getting Kivrin back to the future, including Mr. Dunworthy.

The juxtaposition of the desperate crises in two separate realities makes for some extraordinarily intense and compelling reading.

At the same time, I like Willis' ability to provide lighter moments to offset the drama. She's able to narrate even such a heavy tale in a calm and even matter-of-fact way.

An admirable heroine

I really liked Kivrin. Her courage, compassion and endurance blossoms under the most dreadful circumstances.

Mr. Dunworthy has become a favorite of mine as well, thanks to his very real concern for his historians.

And you've got to love 12-year-old Colin Templer, who provides some of the lighter moments in the book...and who also figures prominently in All Clear.

Religious questions

As a Christian, I had a bit of a problem with Mr. Dunworthy's identifying with God the Father's concern for the mistreatment of his Son. While reading scripture at a church service, he relates his desire to rescue Kivrin from the Middle Ages to God wanting to rescue Jesus from the cruelty he suffered on the cross.

This theme runs through Dunworthy's compulsion to find any way possible to get Kivrin out of her predicament. It's faulty, though--because Christians know that Jesus' death was the heart of the divine plan of redemption. God wouldn't have wanted to rescue him, because his death was the means of the world's salvation.

It's a minor quibble as far as the story goes, though.

And one of the real heroes of the story is the priest in the village where Kivrin ends up. Though poor, illiterate, and unable to preach flowery and eloquent sermons, his tireless compassion and love for his flock mark him as a genuine man of God. Father Roche will touch your heart.

Doomsday Book was ultimately uplifting and hopeful. I have to agree with this assessment from the amazon.com review:

The book, which won Hugo and Nebula Awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those of you who are fascinated with history and time travel, and who don't mind staying up late to read a story that won't let you go.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books! Click on the icon to participate.

My Review of Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

First of all, why am I reviewing two books at one time?

Take note: Do NOT read Blackout without a copy of All Clear right next to you. The two books are basically one book.

No, I don’t mean All Clear is a sequel to Blackout. I mean, they are two parts of the same book.

I, unfortunately, did not realize this when I checked Blackout out of the library and devoured it--only to get to the end and a message saying something to the effect of, "this story will be continued in the next book..."

Naturally, my library didn't have All Clear on the shelf when I raced back to get it, so I had to wait a few days.

The fact that I read this enormous book in one day (granted, it was a day in which I had not much else to do, and I'm a fast reader) is testimony to what an extremely good book this is.

Kind of obsessed with Connie Willis right now

I read Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog after reading a review of the book by one of my favorite reviewers, The Ink Slinger. His review prompted me to buy the book, and began a small mini-obsession with books by Connie Willis.

I've quickly surmised that my favorite books by Willis are those that involve time-traveling historians from Oxford, England, in the late 2050's.

Blackout


Blackout begins in Oxford with a few historians preparing for trips to World War 2 England.

Merope (who is going by the name Eileen in the past) is observing evacuated children at a rich lady's estate. Michael plans to go to Dover. Polly...who has already experienced V-E Day on a previous "drop" (as they call time traveling sessions), wants to experience London during the Blitz.

Fortunately, unlike most time travel related books I've read, these historians are totally prepared. They've been prepped on the fashions, manners and lingo of the time they're visiting. Polly even knows exactly where each bomb will fall during the time she's in the Blitz, so she can avoid those places.

Despite all this, all three time travelers quickly realize that something has gone wrong. They can't get their drop sites to open...which means they're stuck in the past.

Just at a critical point, the book ends abruptly. I mean, ABRUPTLY. That's why I'm telling you to have All Clear on hand so you can pick it up immediately!

Criticism of Blackout

During the time I was waiting to get my hands on a copy of All Clear, I read some extremely negative customer reviews of Blackout on Amazon.com

I could actually relate to some of the criticisms. For one thing, I agree that neither book needed to be quite as long as they are...and they are both very long books. There is quite a bit of redundancy and extraneous stuff that could have easily been trimmed down.

However, one of the common criticism was that Blackout introduced some characters whose stories seemed to go nowhere.

Well, those characters reappear in All Clear, and they are vital to the story.



All Clear

I don't think it would be too much of an exaggeration to say that All Clear is one of the best books I've ever read.

The suspense builds, with heart-quickening intensity, throughout the entire book. The criticism that Merope, Polly and Mike were hard to care about is totally voided (in my opinion) in the second book. I absolutely cared about them, and was vitally concerned about what was going to happen to them.

In Blackout, it was becoming obvious that something was going wrong with time travel. As All Clear picks up the story, the fear that the time travelers have done something to dangerously alter the space-time continuum solidifies.

And there's a lot at stake. If the historians have done anything, however small, to affect the course of history, then Hitler could have won the war, and we'd all be German-speaking slaves of the Nazi regime.

An eye-opening history lesson

I have to say that I came away from these books with something akin to awe for the British people who lived through World War 2, especially the Blitz. "Keep Calm and Carry On" wasn't just a cute poster for them. It was their life.

Can you imagine having to go through your daily life, going to work or school as if everything was normal, only to be constantly interrupted by air raid sirens and having a short amount of time to get to a shelter? Not to mention the shortages of food and clothing, and the frequent news that someone you knew and maybe loved had died on the very streets where you lived.

Yet the British people did this, with amazing strength and courage. These books were a vivid and fascinating history lesson for me.

I heartily recommend these books, under a few conditions:

--If you don't mind reading very long books (I happen to love them)
--If you don't mind losing some sleep staying up too late to read
--If you love history and are intrigued by time travel
--If you don't mind putting up with some frustration as long as you're rewarded with a satisfying conclusion.

For me, the journey was well worth it.

"Waterfall," by Lisa T. Bergren--Time Travel, Intrigue, Hot Italian Guys

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What red-blooded American teen-aged girl wouldn't want to be transported to a time and place where she's surrounded by hot young Italian guys?

That's exactly what happens to Gabi Bettarini in Lisa T Bergren's Waterfall. Oh, but there's more. There are medieval feuds, violent battles and deadly intrigue. And the hottest young Italian guy, who has his eye on Gabi, has a fiancee who pretty much hates her.

Plus, she can't find her sister, who apparently transported to medieval Italy with Gabi but is nowhere to be found.

I was thrilled when I received this book, because I've loved anything I've ever read by Lisa T. Bergren, and I've always been fascinated with time travel.

Then I saw that it was aimed at young adults. But you know what? That didn't dampen my enjoyment of the book one bit.

If anyone is equipped to be transported to medieval Italy, it's Gabi and her sister Lia. Because their mother and their late father were archaelogists, they've spent a lot of time in Italy and have a solid knowledge and sense of its history.

Their dad made sure Gabi had fencing lessons, and Lia happens to be an expert at archery. Both very handy skills to have in the setting in which they find themselves.

And Gabi is what the British call a "plucky" girl--brave, even daring, never one to back down from a challenge or stay too discouraged about some of the more daunting realities of medieval life.

Oh, and conveniently, she finds herself speaking in the Italian vernacular of the day without even trying--a smart device on the author's part.

The story is written from Gabi's perspective, and she sounds like a teen-ager (albeit an intelligent and well-educated one.)

Bergren says her eldest daughter Olivia and her friends were the first to read the book: "They set me straight on things that would make other kids roll their eyes." With those kind of consultants, Gabi's voice is authentic and genuine.

There's plenty of danger and suspense (along with the gentle romance) to keep the pages turning. And just the novelty of a 21st century girl finding herself in this era has a very engaging fish-out-of-water appeal.

I've never met a Lisa T. Bergren book I didn't like, and this one is no exception. Although I'm closer to Gabi's mother's age than Gabi's age, I'll definitely be reading the next book in this series!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Wynn-Wynn Media. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”