98. Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis (445 pages)

Rating: 4

Kivrin is a historian specializing the medieval period. However the powers that be don't allow time travel to the medieval times. So when the head of the medieval studies manages to get the restriction temporarily lifted, Kivrin is the first to volunteer. Her friend and teacher, Dunworthy, is less then thrilled, however, and the events of the book seem to confirm his suspicions.

Set in a near future, Doomsday Book is the first of Willis's books that I've read so far that firmly lands in the science fiction/fantasy genres. The book is obviously well researched and enthralling. Structurally there are two plot lines that diverge in the first hundred pages and don't reconverge until the last chapter. Both story lines, in some way, have to do with plague or epidemic. This is one of those books that once it grabs you, it will not let you go and you absolutely must finish the book. The only complaint I have is that the future is dated at 2056. I'm sure it seemed like a long way off at the time but to me it's overtly distracting since it's just about 50 years away and there's no way we'll be time traveling at that point. In my opinion, any way but it's truly a small issue.

I heartily recommend this book to everyone.