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 … 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.
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.
“From the Paperback edition.”
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Transported me from the future to the past with wholly believable worlds.
I love to re-read this one around the holidays…although it doesn’t sound like it would be a good Christmas read by title. Set in the Christmas of the future; and in the Christmas of the very long past.
This is the perfect book to read during a pandemic.
Plagues, pestilence and oddly, a good read for the holiday season! An Oxford historian of the future time travels to the year 1320 during the twelve days of Christmas. If you like your Sci-Fi with a historical fiction twist, you should check out this Hugo award-winning book by Connie Willis.
To think I nearly passed on it because of the 1 star reviews saying it was boring. I have rarely been so glued to a book to the point where I let other important things go so that I could read. I had to know what happened to Kivrin and the others.
It was a terrible story (as in the story being told was terrible), yet fascinating and beautiful in many ways. So intricate, detailed, and believable. I think one of the things I got from it is how much you think things change with time, they don’t, not as much as you think they will or did or should. That goes for people, too.
Something else I rarely do is talk excitedly to my spouse about what’s going on in the story I’m reading. He had to listen to me go on about Maisry and Finch and Colin and Sir Bloet–oh, and especially Roche. He didn’t know who any of these people were, but he listened patiently.
The Doomsday Book was wonderful and dreadful. Utter hilarity on one page offset by pure horror on the next.
I will never forget this story.
I’m not usually a sci-fi reader, but I love history and I love Willis’s sense of humor, as well as her knack for creating interesting and sympathetic characters. This book kept me enthralled. In it, a young historian travels back in time from the mid-21st century to medieval times. The descriptions of two pandemics are eerily familiar in 2021. You might not think there’d be any occasion for humor under the circumstances, but Willis finds them. Still, you don’t keep reading for the comedy, but for the suspense.
I couldn’t put this Doomsday Book down. It was absolutely stunning! The plot is reasonable and immediately captures the reader’s imagination; the dialogue is completely realistic; the characters are fully realized and engage the mind and heart from the first chapter onward. You are THERE!
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. A modern woman goes time travelling to the past and discovers strong characters she loves–only to be plunged into the midst of the bubonic plague. If you’ve never read this, I envy you. I have to settle for rereading.
Careful this whole series is addictive! Very well written. I’ve since read everything written by Connie Willis Much to my delight.
Time travel book with a pandemic on each end — great characters that I grew to love and worry about
A perfect book to read during our own pandemic. Triumph of the human spirit!
Loved it!
The best time travel book I’ve read
Great book! Also try Blackout & All Clear
!
Best book I have ever read.
Good portrayal of medial life
One if my favorite time travel novels. Great history/fiction interplay.
Connie Willis never misses. This one is no exception. Time travel is hard to get right, and Connie tells wonderful tales about the very human people she challenges with the complications.
Unlike a lot of other authors, Willis is consistently high quality, and always makes me laugh and cry. If you like this one and go looking for other titles, you won’t be disappointed.
Loved this book!!
Great book. Good sci-fi and a good story overall.