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Indlæser... Blackoutaf Connie Willis
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Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstrÃ¥de pÃ¥ Snak om denne bog. (K)(2010)Time travel tale that takes 3 historians back into the early days of World War II. They think their travel is going well until little things start to add up until it becomes certain that something may have gone wrong and not only will they be stuck in time but history may be changing because of it. Pretty good narrative that gets you down and dirty with everyday life in England at this time. Story just ends with no resolution so that I will have to read the sequel ?All Clear? to see who the 4th traveler who shows up on the last page is and what happens to the other 3. BookPage Review by Kate PritchardConnie Willis, perhaps best known for her tour-de-force time-travel novels such as Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, is back with another story that skips merrily from point to point on the time-space continuum. Blackout and its sequel, All Clear (to be released this fall), follow several characters from their homes in mid-21st-century Oxford to various destinations in World War II-era England¥where they may be in more danger than they know. As Blackout begins, the time-travel lab in 2060 Oxford, which is mostly used by historians doing research into past events, is experiencing some trouble. ?Drops? are being pushed back, moved forward and pushed back again; the lab is in a chronic state of disorganization, the costume department is hopelessly behind schedule and nobody is very happy about all the chaos and confusion. Mike Davies, who has been preparing to go to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (and has had an American accent implanted for the occasion), is suddenly being sent to the evacuation of British forces at Dunkirk instead, while Polly Churchill learns that she is being sent off to the London Blitz with barely enough time to find out where the bombs are going to fall. Just why the lab technicians can't manage to stick to a schedule is unclear, but it could perhaps have something to do with a new and disturbing theory that means time travel may not be as innocuous as believed. Mike, Polly and a third historian, Eileen, are the novel's protagonists, though they spend most of the book separated from one another and trying, often in vain, to figure out where they are and how to get somewhere else. Missed connections, mistaken assumptions and other such comedy-of-errors scenarios are Willis' forte, and they are abundant hereÂ¥although with each new novel set in the future, it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that none of her characters use cell phones! Still, Willis' fans will be excited to meet and travel with characters both familiar and new, and the complex plotÂ¥which unfolds slowly but steadily, as our protagonists draw closer to each other both geographically and chronologicallyÂ¥and cliffhanger ending promise a major payoff in All Clear.(PW)With her trademark understated, eloquent style, Willis expands the conceit of her Hugo and Nebula winning 1982 story Fire Watch into a page-turning thriller, her first novel since 2001's Passage. Three young historians travel from 2060 to early 1940s Britain for firsthand research. As Eileen handles a measles outbreak during the children's evacuation and Polly struggles to work as a London shopgirl, hints of trouble with the time-travel equipment barely register on their radar. Historians aren't supposed to be able to change the course of history, but Mike's actions at Dunkirk may disrupt both the past and the future. Willis uses detail and period language exquisitely well, creating an engaging, exciting tale that cuts off abruptly on the last page. Review includes All Clear, as I view the two books as really just one long book. "It was the one thing historians could never understand. They could observe the contemporaries, live with them, try to put themselves in their place, but they couldn't really experience what they were experiencing. Because {they} know what's going to happen." These books (Blackout and All Clear) are science fiction time travel books, part of Willis's Oxford Time Travel series. Time travel has become possible in the future, but it is used strictly by historians to make discrete journeys to the past to study history. In these books, and in the other book in the series I have read, The Doomsday Book, the books are more historical fiction rather than science fiction, as the primary focus is on the experiences of the historian in a historical society/culture. Here the focus is on three historian/travelers. Polly has been sent back to London to spend several months during the height of the Blitz. She has been given implants so that she has knowledge as to where various bombs fell during the Blitz, so that she can avoid those places at the particular time the bombs fell. Another historian, Michael is sent to a coastal town to observe the evacuation of Dunkirk at the beginning of the war. And Eileen has been sent back to a country estate to observe the inner city children who were evacuated 5to the country during the Blitz for their safety. All three have been given background covers to get by in the past. As always, the primary rule they must abide by is to do nothing to change the past--they are there strictly to observe. Then, for each of them a crisis: the portals through which they were to return to their own time have closed or disappeared. They are stuck in the past, and until they can figure out how to get back to the future, they must use their wits to survive during dangerous war times, starting with making a living to purchase day-to-day necessities like food. And each of them begins to fear they may have done something, or interacted with a contemporary in some way, however minor, that may have irrevocably changed the past, perhaps even resulting in the allies losing the war. They no longer have the advantage they initially had over the contemporaries of knowing how it all comes out. These novels were rich with characters and historical detail. The experiences of Londoners during the Blitz are fully captured, as well as the chaos and despair of the Dunkirk evacuation. Other seminal events are also portrayed, such as the code breakers at Bletchley Park, and VE Day. And all the while Polly, Michael and Eileen are desparately trying to solve the problem of how to get "home." I did feel that the book went on a bit long at times. In particular, there was a lot of repetitive hand-wringing by the historians as to whether a particular act on their part might have been something which did or could affect history. And usually they didn't share these fears with each other, and they sometimes weren't honest with each other about what actions that they took which might possibly be questionable. There just seemed to do a lot of internal moaning and groaning that went on a bit long at times. But this is only a minor complaint, as the story is otherwise so compelling. Recommended. 3 1/2 stars I have to admit this one left me kinda blah. I wasn't able to engage with many the characters. I usually anticipate one of Connie Willis's novels, but this one just didn't really do it for me. The novel is not bad - by any means. Personally I think I just read it at the wrong time. (It happens) It may also be that I feel World War II is just overdone - with all those time travelers running about in it, especially the London Blitz - I'm starting to wonder if .. ok I'm kidding. This isn't much of a review.. Let me start again. Connie Willis is a fabulous writer. Her attention to detail and setting - not to mention the genre of time-travel writing - makes this book one well worth picking up. It is the first half of a duo (All-Clear) in a single tale. While there are some weaknesses in description of "science specific items " and "time-stream behavior" (and to be honest.. who in this time knows how the time stream actually behaves?!) it doens't detract from the plot or the overall story. This won a Hugo Award for a reason. Pick it up.. read it.. then get the sequel. =) I haven't given up on this duo I will continue by reading the second half. So here is hoping that I'll be in a better frame of mind and it'll result in a better review. By all means DO NOT bypass this novel because I had an off day. =) [fwiw I'll re-read this book sometime in the future.. maybe later in the year .. when I do I'll come back and revise this review] (reviewed for Shaunie's SF Challenge)
Science fiction and the historical novel only seem to be utter opposites. I mean, future vs. past, right? In fact, the two genres are closely related. Both transport the reader to strange, disorienting worlds, where the people, beliefs and social norms are often distinctly alien to a present-day sensibility. In certain kinds of time-travel stories, it's often difficult to tell the two genres apart. Is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" historical fiction or proto science fiction? Certainly, Connie Willis's new novel, her first since "Passage" (2001), about near-death experiences, is as vivid an evocation of England during World War II as anyone has ever written. It's also indisputably science fiction. . . . If you're a science-fiction fan, you'll want to read this book by one of the most honored writers in the field (10 Hugos, six Nebulas); if you're interested in World War II, you should pick up "Blackout" for its you-are-there authenticity; and if you just like to read, you'll find here a novelist who can plot like Agatha Christie and whose books possess a bounce and stylishness that Preston Sturges might envy. That said, "Blackout" does end with a cliffhanger, which may leave some readers dissatisfied: The whole story won't be completely resolved till October when Ballantine/Spectra publishes a second and concluding volume titled "All-Clear." Still, this is Connie Willis, my friends, which means she's worth reading now, and she's worth reading in the future. What she's also able to do is to play her reader like a newly tuned piano. Scenes that could be milked for every last mawkish drop somehow get around your defenses and wring out your heart.
When a time-travel lab suddenly cancels assignments for no apparent reason and switches around everyone's schedules, time-traveling historians Michael, Merope, and Polly find themselves in World War II, facing air raids, blackouts, unexploded bombs, dive-bombing Stukas, rationing, shrapnel, V-1s, and two of the most incorrigible children in all of history--to say nothing of a growing feeling that not only their assignments but the war and history itself are spiraling out of control. No library descriptions found. |
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While the characters and situations are engaging and well-written, they still have not discovered what is affecting time travel or their immediate situations.
There's my growing irritation that the story arc will not be as strong as DOMESDAY BOOK as there's way too much buildup that has to be resolved within the same number of pages in ALL CLEAR.
I really enjoyed this, but don't want the complete story (BLACKOUT ALL CLEAR) to have that rushed and clumsy story arc like a Star Trek Next Generation episode (intriguing idea, good buildup, Act 2 twist, and then everything resolved (sorta) in less than 10 minutes). ( )