Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

Timeline - Michael Crichton

February 16, 2021.
Requested by Angela Jr.

I started today and am still in the Corazón part on page 30. The story already has me intrigued and eager to find out what happens next!

Probably start tomorrow... got sidetracked by a long-delayed new release read today... and I hadn't seen you around in a bit...

No problem. It's going to take me a while to finish those 500 pages...
I wanted to wrap up another buddy read book before starting Timeline :)

Finished the Corazón part.
(view spoiler)[the book starts pretty much the same as the only other Crichton book I've read - Jurassic Park. That one also opens with a string of random people who are starting to unravel a mystery.
I like the formula though. It gives you just enough clues to be intrigued, but you basically don't know anything yet lol (hide spoiler)]

Started on the way to work...

Is corazon the french dig site?... I really like Crichton’s style of pseudoscience mixed with real science to make everything sound reasonable... can’t remember if I read any other Crichton in my school days... been a long time or never...

Took about 30% of the book to reach the 5 minute mark of the movie (I only watched a couple minutes at some point and fell asleep or did something else)... the movie rushed the setup to get to the action...

I’m around 40-45% now, and more interested in the (view spoiler)[present day pseudoscience than the medieval stakes, I think (hide spoiler)]... we’ll see if my opinion changes later...

The medieval part is growing on me...

The pseudoscience hasn’t been without problems, tho... (view spoiler)[I had alot of problems with the dismissive nature of the paradox discussion... and the multiverse doesn’t explain how the Professor was able to leave a message for his colleagues to find in the ruins...

Trying to reserve judgment, tho, until we find out how much of that was misdirection from the CEO, hiding how the tech really works... (hide spoiler)]

Gonna join! =)

Probably start tomorrow.

Around 66% already... even when I'm not the happiest with the story, it passes fast...

Overall, this kinda reminds me of a more serious Chronicles of St. Mary's adventure... more life and death situations, and more concrete conclusion (I assume)...

Also, the timeline (unintended pun) seems super tight, given the time limit on (view spoiler)[returning to the present (hide spoiler)]

I finished. =) Overall, it was a fun ride. I liked the medieval part more than the present day bits.

I'm guessing that the following spoilers are up to the mid-point of the story I think.

The pseudoscience for how they are traveling in time is pretty nuts.

Time Paradox: The debate on that was hilarious! It is a stance that is taken by those who discuss/fight about it. (view spoiler)[I wondered if that would have any impact on what happens in the story but I don't think it did? (hide spoiler)]

I'm going to call the process they use as the "jump" because of how it's explained in the story. It makes me think a bit of Star Trek and beam me up process.

Jump: (view spoiler)[The idea that a person is recorded by the machine, destroyed and put back together by an alternate universe tech is wild! I'm not sure if I would have been willing to be a guinea pig for that kind of test.

Also, the idea of the Jump and how they're not traveling in time so much as different, similar multiverses is interesting. It's like time is taken out of context except for as a marker of events. Like all time is happening at the same time and yet changes that happen in the past can ripple to the present, etc. (hide spoiler)]

I REALLY enjoyed how the group of scientists took in the medieval world. From knights & fighting to architecture & design. Very cool.

I enjoyed the book, altho I felt like the ending was a bit fast... not that I didn't feel like (view spoiler)[the Bossman got what he deserved for treating the historian lives like shit the whole book... (hide spoiler)]

Re: paradoxes: (view spoiler)[I think the story touched on this, since the historians didn't understand why it seemed like a battle/war was fought at the castle, but in the end it seemed like they caused it to happen by going in time and giving better explosives and fueling the anger between the 2 leaders (Robert's interference probably didn't help either) (hide spoiler)]

Jump: (view spoiler)[I'm still really hazy on this whole multiverse isn't "time travel" thing, but tried to roll with it for the most part... (hide spoiler)]

Time Paradox: (view spoiler)[I think the battle in the castle was going to happen regardless because Claire isn't dumb. She was doing her share of manipulation to stay independent.

The argument in this book is that a Paradox will not happen regardless of time jump influences because whatever is meant to happen will happen. The varied chances for making the event happen will have a stronger percentage of happening vs derailing or stopping it. (hide spoiler)]

Jump: (view spoiler)[ Going by the idea in the book, the similar alternative worlds can progress at different speeds. So instead of going back & forth in time, they are traveling across to a new world & coming back to the origin world.

Eh, tho, that's all fairly fuzzy since whatever chances are made in the alt world can show up in origin world.

I still think it's weird how the jumps kill people going and coming back and yet still be "mostly" the same person on return.

Infinite alt worlds! (hide spoiler)]

What happened to the boss was just desserts. =)

Ending was rushed but the last bit at the end was cool.

Due to work, I haven't made much progress yet - I am still at the French dig site. I have a lot of downtime in the next two days though!

I liked the dig site part. The bit where they go back is even better. =D

I liked it too! Just finished the part at the research lab in New Mexico. And I agree - how they explained the jumping is pretty nuts. It was the same in Jurassic Park: Crichton uses real science to explain how something completely impossible can be done. It almost makes you believe it could really happen lol.

Now I'm about to dive into the medieval part!

Well, that sure escalated quickly! Only 10 minutes in and (view spoiler)[and already we have two dead bodies and no possibility of return. At the beginning, they said two people were going to die and one would be severely injured. Now we know that none of the historians are going to die, which lowers the stakes quite a bit and was an unfortunate choice, in my opinion... (hide spoiler)]

Crichton feels very movie-esque... I could easily see this as a screenplay for a movie...

I think this book was made into a movie? Right? I wonder if I watched it...

Soo wrote: "I think this book was made into a movie? Right? I wonder if I watched it..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bol11...

Looks familiar! lol I think I have seen it. Hmmm. Kinda want to rewatch it now that I've read the book.

I'm in the middle of 30:10:55
(view spoiler)[and the medieval intrigue is getting a bit too much for me. It almost strikes me as ridiculous at times. I'm having a hard time picking the book back up at the moment (hide spoiler)]

Somewhere after 10 hours
(view spoiler)[I'm enjoying the story a bit more now, even though the deus ex machina has been featured heavily lol. I'm interested to see if they manage to get back or not! (hide spoiler)]

Sometimes the advantage to being a fast reader/listener, is finishing a book before getting bored by it...

Finished!
(view spoiler)[what they did to Doniger was a bit too much, in my opinion... They could have sent him somewhere else instead of killing him with the Plague.
I liked that we found out about Marek's fate at the very end. The story would have felt incomplete without knowing what happened to him. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, a 3 star average read. I enjoyed most of it, but wouldn't reread.

Angela Jr. wrote: "Finished! ..."

I felt the ending was rushed, but I agree it was a bit of an over-reaction, even if I feel leaving him in the present was asking for trouble...