Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis

Paperback, 587 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 2012 by Gollancz.

ISBN:: 978-0-575-13109-5

(107 reviews)

Somewhere in the future, ordinary history students must travel back in time as part of their university degree. An award-winning best-seller in the United States, this is the first of Connie Willis' brilliant Oxford trilogy.Kivrin knows everything about the Middle Ages - she's read all the books. She knows it's dangerous: cutthroats in the woods, witch hunts, cholera, and millions dying in the plague. For a young historian, it's fascinating.When Kivrin's tutors in Oxford's history lab finally agree to send her on an on-site study trip, she jumps at the chance to observe medieval life first-hand. But a crisis that strangely links the past and future leaves her stranded in the most deadly and terrifying era in human history, face to face with the heart-rending reality behind the statistics. And while she fights for her own life, Kivrin finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope in this dark …

14 editions

AJ Kerrigan reviewed Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Review of 'Doomsday Book' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I had heard great things about Connie Willis, and the concept of this book sounded interesting. It seemed like a fine introduction to Willis's work. I found Doomsday Book a fairly tedious read though. There were interesting bits to be sure, and I enjoyed the way the book handled time travel mechanics. Large portions of character interaction seemed to be neither entertaining nor particularly necessary for the story though. If I hadn't subsequently read and enjoyed Willis's "Now Showing" novelette from the Rogues anthology, I'd suspect that I'm just not a fan of her writing style. I want to read more of her other material now (there's certainly plenty to choose from!) - but I think I'll skip the rest of this series.

chadkoh reviewed Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Review of 'Doomsday Book' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Much respect for all the research Willis did for this book. It is EXTREMELY detailed. However, the plot is so meandering and repetitive, it comes off has boring. I started skimming and it wasn't a problem, because I knew if I missed a plot point, it would be repeated 2 or 3 more times and I could keep up. Moreover, since the foreshadowing was pretty heavy handed, the reader already can predict what is going to happen, making the repetition positively excruciating. This book could have easily been half the length, and it would have been better for it.

I started with [b:To Say Nothing of the Dog|77773|To Say Nothing of the Dog (Oxford Time Travel, #2)|Connie Willis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1363105428s/77773.jpg|696], which is brilliant, and thought I would go back and read this book before continuing on with the series. There was no need. Just go straight to the Dog. It is a …

state_electrician reviewed Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Review of 'Doomsday Book' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Didn't finish, just read the summary. The writing makes this book unreadable.

Curtis reviewed Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Review of 'Doomsday Book' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is an excellent story. I was appreciated Willis' ability to pace the story so that it moved along quickly, while still focusing on specific actions, events, dialogue in sufficient detail to present the full effect of the events and circumstances in which Kivrin and Dunworthy each find themselves.

Near the end of the book, I found myself thinking of [a:Sam Harris|16593|Sam Harris|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1274184541p2/16593.jpg]'s book [b:Free Will|13259270|Free Will|Sam Harris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1332196118s/13259270.jpg|18360833] (my full review here), especially the idea that human actions matter even in the face of a certain inability (disability, even) to act and inevitability of outcome. The disparity of how Kivrin sees her own actions versus how Roche sees them is particularly compelling.