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    Timeline
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    Timeline
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    Timeline
    Audiobook15 hours

    Timeline

    Written by Michael Crichton

    Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In an Arizona desert a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to the headquarters of a secretive multinational corporation that has developed an astounding technology. Now this group is about to get a chance not to study the past but to enter it. And with history opened to the present, the dead awakened to the living, these men and women will soon find themselves fighting for their very survival—six hundred years ago. . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 4, 2000
    ISBN9780375418693
    Unavailable
    Timeline
    Author

    Michael Crichton

    Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was the author of the ground-breaking novels The Great Train Robbery, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, Prey, State of Fear and Next, among many others. Crichton’s books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and provided the basis for thirteen feature films. Also known as a filmmaker and creator of ER, he remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year.

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    Reviews for Timeline

    3.5/5

    3,332 ratings111 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I couldn't put this down! As a kid I LOVED the movie, so I was stoked to actually read the book. From my memory the movie follows the book pretty well, although it's been a decade so I could be very very wrong. Timeline combine history, archaeology, and science to make this an action packed historical/ science fiction thriller. Fourteenth century France comes alive for a team of archaeologists. They had no idea that the site they were excavating could still theoretically "exist." When their team lead, the professor, goes missing, the team travels to the headquarters of a multi-billion tech corporation that has been funding their digs. Little do they realize that all their historical knowledge and expertise is about to come into play when they are transported back to France, only this time, it's 600 years earlier and the castles they have been excavating are still standing. Timeline is fast paced and fascinating, the history and science blend together to make a compelling action thriller. I definitely need to re-watch the movie now!
    • 4/5
      Michael Crichton’s Timeline follows graduate students Chris Hughes, Kate Erickson, André Marek, and David Stern, who must work with ITC, a quantum computing company and the financier of their excavation, to rescue their professor, Edward Johnson, who was transported to the medieval towns of Castelgard and La Roque in 1357. The novel, like much of Crichton’s work, addresses technical details (in this case quantum and multiverse theory), while telling its story. Erickson, Marek, and Hughes must use their expertise to adapt to a world they only partially understand due to gaps in the historical record while Stern remains in the present, offering an opportunity for Crichton to explain the concepts of quantum mechanics and so that he may help rescue them when the technology invariably breaks down, a theme in many of Crichton’s novels.At one point, Robert Doniger describes the commodification of previously-transient ideas, such as history, saying, “The purpose of history is to explain the present – to say why the world around us is the way it is… The future lies in the past – in whoever controls the past. Such control has never been possible. Now, it is. We at ITC want to assist our clients in the shaping of the world in which we all live and work and consume” (pg. 437). This recalls John Hammond’s commodification of genetics in Crichton’s Jurassic Park and the marketing of the past as experience in Crichton’s 1973 film Westworld.Crichton demonstrates a remarkable felicity for scholarship, addressing recent changes in historical understanding of the middle ages. He writes in his acknowledgements section, “Our understanding of the medieval period has changed dramatically in the last fifty years. Although one occasionally still hears a self-important scientist speak of the Dark Ages, modern views have long since overthrown such simplicities. An age that was once thought to be static, brutal and benighted is now understood as dynamic and swiftly changing: an age where knowledge was sought and valued; where great universities were born, and learning fostered; where technology was enthusiastically advanced; where social relations were in flux; where trade was international; where the general level of violence was often less deadly than it is today” (pg. 446). Further, Crichton draws upon David Deutsch, Kip Thorne, Paul Nahin, and Charles Bennett for the science and upon Bart Vranken for the history (pg. 446). In a nice reference to other time-travel fiction, ITC owns a cat named H.G., possibly a reference to H.G. Wells, author of The Time Machine (pg. 141).Richard Donner later adapted this novel to film in 2003 with a screenplay by Jeff Maguire and George Nolfi. The film received generally negative reviews and only recouped $43 million out of an $80 million budget. Worst of all, while Crichton has a relatively gender-balanced cast – even discussing how women in the Middle Ages had more power than most people realize – the film changed many of the women characters to men and reduced the influence of one of the women the graduate students encounter in the past.
    • 5/5
      I've read many of Michael Crichton's books over the past few years. They have ranged from his old classics of Jurassic Park and even to his more modern books, such as Next,but I haven't encountered a book of his that is like Timeline. For the most part, Crichton's books deal with cutting edge science and technology, but Timeline quickly breaks from the established norm. While it does incorporate some interesting technology, Timeline is a book that focuses on the past, a subject that I haven't seen Crichton write about. This melding of modern technology and historical fact created an interesting smashup that was thrilling and intense. I believe that Crichton has made on of his best books yet.Timeline is probably on of Crichton's most intriguing of stories. It starts off with a mystery. A couple finds a man walking alone in the middle of middle of the desert in a daze and speaking nonsense. He dies in a nearby hospital and is then quickly cremated by the company he works for and his death leaves some unanswered questions. Over in Europe, the lead professor of an archaeology expedition is flown out by the very same company. Soon after, the team of archaeologists make a surprising discovery when exploring the ruins: a message from the professor is found in the sealed chambers of the ruins, asking for help. The truth about his disappearance comes to light when the company, ITC, flies a small group of the archaeologists to the company headquarters. They learn that the professor has traveled back in time to the very place they were excavating through a breakthrough in technology. What transpires after is a thrilling adventure through castles, battles, and puzzles as the group travels back in time and have to fend for their very lives.This mix of technology and history makes for a very interesting story. Crichton has definitely done his research of the Medieval time period and recreated the world, from the details of the castles and tools to the very language, in the book. I felt immersed in the story as the group fought for their lives through Medieval Europe. The idea that they have gone back in time to this period creates a sense of looking at the world from a modern view, while still trying to understand the world as if they lived in it. Crichton created a strong balance of illustrating life in the medieval world, while still merging the high tech world of modern day into a coherent story.From beginning to end, Timeline held my attention. The book definitely had some very interesting twists in its story. I found myself constantly changing what I thought would happen and who was the culprit behind some of the problems the students faced. Crichton does a good job pacing the input of new information to slowly feed the fire of curiosity. Even when the villain is defaced, he keeps the suspense building until the very end. The action flies by at a breakneck pace and it never really feels like the characters get any sort of break. Timeline is a combination of historical fiction and technological thriller. The overarching story deals with the technology of time travel and its implications, but the true action takes place in medieval Europe. Crichton recreates this period with stunning detail, yet takes a different path of using it only as a backdrop for a bigger problem. I truly liked my time reading Timeline and it has ranked itself high in my list of favorite Michael Crichton novels.
    • 4/5
      Better than the movie.
    • 5/5
      Timeline is a science fiction novel, in which a group of archeologists are able to utilize modern technology and quantum mechanics to travel to the past. In this gripping novel, the scientist are able to visit their archeological site as it was in the period they are trying to reconstruct. However, as is likely when messing with time, things go poorly, and perhaps not everyone will make it out alive.
    • 3/5
      "Timeline" falls in class of books which are mass-market thriller, produced by authors like Sidney Sheldons of the world. I say this because apart from Sheldon, I've not really consumed this kind of fiction, so cannot really judge this book relatively. On it's own merit though, book is fairly gripping, tells a really good story, and keeps fast pace. Despite dialogues and actions filling the pages, any detour to describe the period or ambiance isn't distracting and fits well with the narrative.Story is mix of science fiction and history, with key arc being how bunch of historians have to spend few days in 14th century medieval England due to time-travel gone wrong. Their adventures of surviving then ongoing 100 year war, world of knights, peasants, monks, warlords, and era of widespread violence and plundering occupy 70% of the book. Science part of fiction isn't too bad either; of course, it takes a leap from reality at some point.Author had way too many convenient coincidences throughout historians' escapade in past to have them survive and come back. While I can still digest that, what I cannot get my head around is [spoiler] how CEO was killed mercilessly in the end, for no viable reason, and in most unbelievable way to happen in modern corporate.
    • 3/5
      Surprisly average. Chacters were typical and so was the plot. Nothing of real note.
    • 4/5
      Synopses on this book abound so I won't bother but it's definitely a compelling, edge of the chair, read. Crichton's usual masterful concoction of suspense, excellent plotting and believability.
    • 3/5
      This was essentially Jurassic Park with a time machine and a different setting.

      Top-secret, privately-funded tourism project? Check.
      A single-minded, egocentric antagonist? Check.
      An archaeological dig? Check.
      Employees with military backgrounds? Check.
      Helicopter rides? Check.
      An athletic female character? Check.
      Lots of action? Check.

      In fact, I enjoyed this more than Jurassic Park, at least right up until the very end when things fell apart. The conclusion left me feeling disappointed. Still, this was a fun, breezy read.
    • 5/5
      This was a very fascinating read. Very enjoyable. Was such a nice escape from my reality to this adventure. I had a very hard time putting this down. I am not usually a Michael Crichton reader but I did enjoy this one more than most. He has done some pretty good research for this book and has blended the technology with the middle ages pretty well. It took a few pages but after that I was hooked.
    • 5/5
      this was an awesome book. if you're interested in the time travel type thing, quantam physics type thing. or history or knights or castles or any of these you'll love this book. i tell you i have't been disappointed by crighton yet but i absolutely loved this book. i read it in large print so i'm not sure if its as long as i think it is but definently awesome.
    • 4/5
      3.5 Actually

      This book came up on my radar years ago when I first saw it's movie adaptation on SyFy Channel. Turns out that I actually started reading it a while ago, because when I went to pull it off my shelf, there was a book mark in it already. I really enjoy the movie and was excited to pick this up again since I've had such great luck with the other Michael Crichton books I've read recently. Unfortunately, this one didn't wow me as much as Jurassic Park or Pirate Latitudes.

      The book starts out with a lot of scientific jargon and explanations that just bogged down the story for me. It did finally start to pick up for me once we got to meet our historians, though getting to that point was a bit of a struggle. Though I did own a copy of this book, I ended up listening to about 90% of it on audiobook instead.

      This is one of those books that I could not just sit down and tuck into. I could only take a little section at a time before it got to be too much to absorb. I also think the movie adaptation was done very well and cut out all of the things that bogged this journey down for me, though there were several differences. I have seen the movie about four times, which tells you how much I enjoy watching it.

      Knowing how much I enjoyed the movie, I expected to enjoy this book as much if not more. Though I liked the book, I think my disappointment is reflected in my rating. I felt disconnected from the characters, which is a shame because Marek's story is one that I enjoyed watching in the film. I am glad that I did finally read this book, but it is definitely one of those books that I will not be looking to re-read in the future. I think I'll stick to the movie version instead.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this but it could have been so much more. The movie based on it was not as good but still worth renting.
    • 2/5
      Brain candy, a movie thriller plot with cardboard cutout characters.

      Its interesting to read Crichton's books 20 years after they were written. This one holds up better then Airframe, which I read earlier in the summer, but maybe that's just because I'm not as familiar with the technical concepts that underlie this book.

      Those earbuds that translate languages and allow the team to communicate with each other for over a day's time without running out of batteries - I wish we had that tech today!
    • 4/5
      This is a terrific piece of adventure fiction. I am glad that I read it before I saw its movie...which was adequate as an adaptation but unsatisfying in its simplicity.
    • 1/5
      Frustratingly stupid. This all happened because someone wanted to capitalize on time travel tourism? Fuck off.
    • 2/5
      Good basic ideas, but such cardboard characters. Here is a spoiler: the characters get caught, escape, get caught, escape, repeat, repeat, repeat.
    • 5/5
       Although I love time travel stories, they're rarely done very well. Timeline is not without its flaws, but I think it is one of the better books of the genre.
    • 4/5
      Canna say I care for the narrator, but the story is fun.
    • 3/5
      It starts out slow, but is thrilling in the end.
    • 3/5
      For most of my life I’ve wanted to be an archaeologist. Even though that never happened, I haven’t stopped loving history, it is something I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. So when I came across the movie Timeline before I really got into reading, I became slightly obsessed. Is it a good movie? Not really, but for some reason I loved it. When I finally got into reading and found out that the movie was based on a book, I just knew I had to get my hands on it.It took me awhile to get a copy, but now that I’ve finally read this book I’m a bit disappointed. However, I do feel like a lot of that is my fault. I was super excited to read Timeline, I had high expectations, and I’ve seen the movie too many times to count. I bet if I went into this before watching the movie and not really knowing what to expect, I would have really enjoyed it.My only real complaint is about Chris. I couldn’t stand him. He was the worst. He is the only problem I could find with the book. Other than him, it is a fun, fast-paced read that I didn’t want to put down.This was the first book by Crichton that I’ve read, but it wont be the last. I look forward to reading more.
    • 5/5
      My favorite Crichton book. Lost in the past, no way to get home, and danger all around. I'm not a huge fan of historical stories, so when this one went back in time, I worried. SO engaging though... I couldn't put the book down until I was done!
    • 3/5
      A typical Crichton sci-fi - improbable, but still a page turner.
    • 2/5
      Compare this to John Varley's Mammoth.
    • 3/5
      Not one of his best though ten times better than the crappy movie.

      Students discover portal being built by rich guy and go back in time to rescue their professor who decided to go walk about. One dickhead brings some explosive and proceeds to get brained with a mace which results in the destruction of the machine so they are trapped in history yayyyyy!!!

      Bunch of stuff happens they escape just in time and Billy Connelly is not at all funny.
    • 3/5
      Because this story started so slowly, I almost put this book in my abandoned queue; but I 'm glad I didn't. I enjoyed the story and liked how the authored used quantum theory to make time travel possible. Once the main characters went back in time, there was non-stop action and a gripping plot.
    • 3/5

      Someday I should reread this, now that I'm reading with more care because of wanting to write these GR reviews....

      -------------------------
      Reread to about 1/4 for the Time Travel Group on GR.  Commented there:

      Welp.  My copy finally came in at the library and so I dug right in.  At about 24% I'm kinda wondering if I'm caring, so I'm coming over here, and seeing the references to violence, bruisers, and the so/but formula.  Ah - thanks for letting me know that I can put it down, return it. :)"

      Also, the reason I liked Crichton is that I thought I was learning something.  Here, I'm not trusting the accuracy of either the science or the history.  So, indeed, I'm done.

      "
    • 4/5
      This is the ultimate historical fiction lover's book. Modern day archeologists gets sent back in time and must use their knowledge to survive until they can make it back.
    • 5/5
      I love time travel stories, I love Michael Crichton's novels, and I love learning about history/science, so this book was perfect.
    • 3/5
      Mixed feelings towards this book. I can't say I hated it, but I can surely say it wasn't my favorite book. In fact, I even found it slightly boring. Not because the story overall didn't impress me, but because I spent the entire book thinking that something was amiss. The background scenario was actually pretty good, but it still felt like reading half a book, as if part of the story had been removed so that it could fit within a page limit. I didn't feel "comfortable" reading the book.
      The scientific explanation and theories for time travel were excellent. In fact, they were one of the aspects I actually liked in the book. As for the story itself, well, the whole thing was very visual, but the characters seemed kinda "cold and distant" for me. There wasn't too much charisma in them, they were just there to execute actions. More or less like robots: no feelings, just cold acting.
      The scenario, the Hundred Years War had so much potential. There was just so much going on, but I felt like reading a History book with focus on a small group of people instead of seeing the whole thing. And even the historical figures were actually kinda boring, it was as if the author was trying to prove me that what I read in the books regarding one person being "mean" and the other being "good" was wrong, but he didn't say exactly why. Like I said, "cold and distant actions".
      There was just so much potential for this book. There was so much that could have happened, but did not. There are characters that could have been used in a better way but weren't. It was like reading a book that didn't really want to tell me a story.