Connie Willis constructs a nearly perfect time-travel scenario, with an eerily parallel set of plots occurring some 1,700 years apart in Oxford, England. Leavened by a dollop of acutely observed academic buffoonery, the book snaps into high narrative gear when the heroine, a young Oxford history student named Kivrin, successfully makes the jump to 14th-century England... but finds herself not exactly where or when her eager technicians had intended. Medieval village life in all its austerity and hardship is rendered with clarity and objectivity, while universal human emotions shine through the mists of time. Kivrin is called upon to do much more than observe the village people she lives among as the Black Death shudders its way across England. Who will survive? Will Kivrin be able to return to mid 21st-centry Oxford and her friends -- and will those friends survive their own epidemic crisis to bring her back? This is a classic page-turner that will appeal to history, fiction, and scifi buffs alike.Read full review
Sci-Fi about time travel back to the 1300's. Really well written and interesting. One forgets about the Sci-Fi-ness. Just a good story
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
If you ever wanted to time travel, this story of a young historian who is transported to England at the time of the Black Death will change your mind. Accurate history combined with wonderful characters. One of the great SF/F writers of our generation. Hugo Winner.
Verified purchase: No
Although easier to read than "To Say Nothing of the Dog" (unless you were an English Lit. major), this story really wore me down...plague is exhausting with no running water or electricity. I really dislike books with sad endings, unless they are tragic enough. This book qualifies. -g.s.
Connie Willis at her very best! You quickly get to know all the characters, but not so many that you would get confused. A wonderful book!
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