
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is a time-travel science fiction novel that intertwines two timelines - one in the near future at Oxford University, where a historian named Kivrin is sent back to the Middle Ages, specifically to the year 1348 during the Black Death. Meanwhile, a contemporary viral outbreak adds a layer of complexity to the story, creating a sense of urgency and suspense. The book delves into themes of human resilience, historical accuracy, and the impact of catastrophic events on individuals across different time periods.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
There are content warnings for graphic descriptions of illness, death, and suffering related to the plague and the concurrent epidemic.
From The Publisher:
Five years in the writing by one of science fiction's most honored authors, Doomsday Book is a storytelling triumph. Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.
But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin-barely of age herself-finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.
Praise for Doomsday Book
"A stunning novel that encompasses both suffering and hope. . . . The best work yet from one of science fiction's best writers."-The Denver Post
"Splendid work-brutal, gripping and genuinely harrowing, the product of diligent research, fine writing and well-honed instincts, that should appeal far beyond the normal science-fiction constituency."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The world of 1348 burns in the mind's eye, and every character alive that year is a fully recognized being. . . . It becomes possible to feel . . . that Connie Willis did, in fact, over the five years Doomsday Book took her to write, open a window to another world, and that she saw something there."-The Washington Post Book World
Ratings (48)
Incredible (12) | |
Loved It (20) | |
Liked It (7) | |
It Was OK (5) | |
Did Not Like (2) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (129):
Read It (48) | |
Want To Read (57) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (23) |
5 comment(s)
DNF at 74%.
I started off liking this book and ended up hating it. First off, it seemed like the perfect seasonal accompaniment--it's almost Christmas in the book, it's nearly Christmas here, etc. And then things went horribly wrong.
First off, I get that this was written in 1992, so I understand some of the lack of comprehension regarding futuristic devices. Hell, C.J. Cherryh's Cyteen has them using *cassette tapes* to code people. However, despite that anachronism, it still managed to feel like it took place in the future. This does not.
I think it's the lack of cell phones that really kill it. Other sci-fi authors also envisioned things similar to the internet, which would've also eliminated about 300 pages out of this. No more waiting for phone calls, getting busy signals, etc. The information would travel much more easily, too.
Moreover, when the twist came, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. After all, the date she was supposed to be sent back to (1320) isn't *that* far away from the date she was actually sent to. Despite what they kept saying about "slippage", I had figured from the beginning what it was. Also, I swear, this is the most times I've ever read the word "drop" or heard characters fussing over toilet paper. *eye-roll*
I snuck a peek at the ending through Wikipedia and that temporarily convinced me to read more, up until I realized I'm just...done with this book. Emotionally and mentally done. I have enough IRL crap that I don't need to deal with a bad book on top of it.
I hate that my second to last or possibly last book of the year is a DNF, but...*shrugs* It is what it is.
2 stars for Connie Willis' prose. But this book was a colossal disappointment, appallingly boring.
Doomsday Book is a science fiction novel by virtue of the time travel that propels the plot, but it is so much more than that in the end. This is my second reading, and what strikes me this time around are the parallel mysteries in the 14th and 21st centuries.
Willis is concerned with how we interact with history: as students, as teachers, as observers. The historians in the Medieval History department at Oxford don't always treat their subjects as people, but Willis constantly reminds us that they are. Customs, language, and technology change, but family, love, fear, and hope are universal in Willis' world. Willis' writing is both funny and heartbreaking, and she makes it look so easy. After putting her characters through incredible misery, she manages to turn her science fiction/mystery/plague thriller into a romance with one short line of dialogue. Truly admirable and highly recommended.
DNF @ 48%.
It's a fine enough book, but I'm just not that interested in the time period and I don't care about the characters that much.
Wanted to like it but really struggled.
About the Author:
Connie Willis is a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She has received seven Nebula awards and eleven Hugo awards for her fiction; Blackout and…
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