Day 153: Timeline

I finished 'Timeline' about a week ago but I didn't put out a review because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. There's some good and bad about it, but on the whole I couldn't decide how it made me feel. I thought the plot had an excellent structure, particularly Chris' character arc, but it felt so perfect that novel became almost clinical. I could tell exactly what Crichton was thinking almost every time he foreshadowed something or put out a Chekhov's gun. I was also able to predict the arcs of most of the characters long before hand, which kinda removed some of the emotional impact especially towards the end. It wasn't formulaic exactly, but it was very cut and dry. Thing is, I don't know if that's because I'm improving as a writer and am better able to spot plot devices and structural elements, or if its something to do with this book in particular.

All in all, I did enjoy the book. The characters are interesting, it's suspenseful, and it has Crichton's signature deeply researched topical elements. He obviously put a lot of time and thought into the sci-fi behind the time travel and the historical background of the setting in 14th century France. The company ITC also feels like it could be a real company, like if IBM decided to invest in multi-universal time travel.

The plot begins with an introduction of ITC, who funds the archaeological dig at Castelgard and La Roque, both of which are led by professor Johnston. He starts to become suspicious about ITC's true motivations for the dig when it turns out they somehow know more about the site than he does. He demands answers from the company, who show him the devices they use to travel to the past.

Just days after he leaves the site to see what ITC is up to, four of the professor's grad students, Chris, Andre, Kate, and David, find a note from Johnston at the dig site ... a note that they go great lengths to prove was written in the 14th century. By the way, you should know that while working on the dig, Andre has conveniently convinced all his friends to take archery lessons with him. Andre is also a huge history buff, to the point of working out with a sword for fun and imagining himself as a gallant knight. It becomes critical later.

Hours after finding the note, they get a call from ITC requesting their help in recovering Johnston, who has somehow become lost in the 14th century. They gear up in period clothes, team up with two experienced ITC time travelers, and prepare to head back to find their professor. David however has second thoughts, and remains behind. His expertise lies far outside of the historical side of things and he believes he'll be of better help in the present, where he works with the company instead.

For Robert Doniger, ITC's brilliant but antisocial CEO, killing a popular archaeology professor with his new technology is a PR nightmare. He'll go to any lengths to cover up the problem, including sacrificing the whole rescue team to make sure nobody knows the professor ever went missing.

Upon arrival in Castelgard, things go wrong almost immediately. The murderous knight Guy de Malegant kills the two ITC employees on sight, destroying the device that allows them to activate the time travel pods. To make matters worse, the ex-military member they brought along happened to pull a grenade before falling back into the time travel pod. When he returns to the present all hell breaks loose. The grenade goes off in the secure area where the pods are, destroying most of them. It also floods the entire floor with toxic gas.

From there things only get worse. A battle is brewing between French troops and the English occupiers of Castelgard, leaving the students on a tight time schedule. They become separated, and Chris is forced to fend for himself after being chased by Malegant who is hunting his would-be bride, the beautiful Lady Claire. They get dragged into 14th century political scheming by the English lord of Castelgard, Oliver de Vannes, who has captured Johnston and is convinced that he knows magic that predict the future. Namely he's looking for a secret entrance to the castle La Roque that nobody has ever been able to find, including the archeological dig team.

Chris is forced into a joust with Malegant to defend his honor by the maneuvering of Lady Claire, Andre has to use his weirdly proficient sword skills to beat Malegant and his best fighter, and when they're captured afterward for besmirching Lord Oliver's honor, Kate comes to their rescue by using her rock climbing super powers to escape the guard (I'm serious, her rock climbing comes up incredibly often). From there they go on a merry chase around the lands of Castelgard and La Roque, avoiding the marauding French troops that have finally arrived to retake the lands. Chris puts together some life lessons and gains some agency that helps them all to not get dragged into any more political schemes. Andre gets the hots for Lady Claire. Kate continues to be a badass, and Lord Oliver continues to whine about how he can't find the secret entrance to La Roque.

In the present, David uses his skills as a physicist and engineer to help ITC figure out some problems with bringing the grad students back. Through a sudden moment of brilliance, he's able to save the day and make sure Doniger can't maneuver his way into getting all of them killed to prevent the PR nightmare. Now its only a matter of time to see if the team will be able to make it back ...

I won't spoil the end, but it does come to a very suspenseful head. I enjoyed the later part of the book the most because Chris becomes a worthwhile human being after his dramatic character development. I think this book is a good read and its well executed, but something about it feels lacking to me. I can't quite put my finger on it. Other than Chris' arc, I didn't feel much connection to any of the characters. I liked it, and I think a lot of people probably could love it, but I personally wouldn't put this on my favorites list.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley