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A review of Timeline

by Michael Crichton

Another great sci-fi thriller from the writer of Jurassic Park

Reviewed by: Alan McClymont
About Alan McClymont

Timeline Michael Crichton is well known by everyone for writing such great thrillers as Congo, Jurassic park and The Andromeda strain. This one doesn't stray far from the style of any of his previous books. This, however, is no bad thing. Sticking to the tried and trusted method of taking a far-fetched scientific theory and then following that idea through to its logical conclusion is exactly what he has always done and exactly what he did here.

I personally am always a sucker for these ideas. Every time I read any book like this I take the idea and I agree with it and I believe that if only someone could prove it to be true then we are only one step away from this story from becoming reality. Unfortunately, my scientific knowledge is equivalent to that of a 12 year old and my memory is only slightly more sophisticated. So, after a few months I tend to find myself believing in another theory, the previous one completely forgotten. I console myself with the fact that many others must share my willingness to accept scientific theory.

This surely, however, cannot explain the success of Crichton's novels. This novel itself is based on the premise that nano-technology is capable of transporting people between various alternative realities (basically, they can travel to any point in time). A group of scientists have been conducting experiments but they encounter trouble while in 14th century France. Suddenly a team of archaeologists are thrust into a deadly adventure and their knowledge of what they have always studied as a matter of history is now a matter of life or death.

As you can probably tell from the quick review that I have given I find the actual storyline (as good as it may be) to be much less important than the ideas which are developed and tested. Crichton does, however use a wonderful storyline to build his ideas around and his theories seem to be well researched. The book is probably his best written adventure since Jurassic park and no less far-fetched (or believable) than it.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Timeline

Copyright © by Alan McClymont, 2003

Reviewed by Alan McClymont :
-- Dead Famous - by Ben Elton
-- Neither here nor there - by Bill Bryson
-- Lucky Jim - by Kingsley Amis
-- Round Ireland with a fridge - by Tony Hawks
-- The River at the Center of the World - by Simon Winchester
-- The Rape of Nanking - by Iris Chang
-- Timeline - by Michael Crichton
-- How to Be Good - by Nick Hornby
-- Notes from a Small Island - by Bill Bryson
-- Player Piano - by Kurt Vonnegut
-- Wilt - by Tom Sharpe
-- Number9dream - by David Mitchell









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