Review: Doomsday Book
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis
4/5
I read (and reviewed) To Say Nothing of the Dog - also by Ms. Willis, set in the same universe - about a month ago and absolutely loved it. It was funny, the characters were great, the plot was interesting - all in all, a fantastic book. I immediately went searching for more books by Ms. Willis and found Doomsday Book, one of her Hugo and Nebula Award-winning books. I was all excited to read it, and then I learned that unlike TSNotD, it wasn't funny. That put me off it for a while - I had loved TSNotD and didn't want to follow it up with a boring science-heavy scifi novel.
I should have trusted Ms. Willis - I absolutely loved this.
Kivrin, an adventurous history student, manages to convince her teachers to send her back to the Middle Ages - a time, her tutor tells her, full of cut-throats and rapists and burning young women at the stake. She has prepared for two years to go, however, and confidently arrives in England, 1320. Everything goes drastically wrong upon her arrival, however, and Kivrin is lost 700 years from her home. Meanwhile, in 2055 Oxford, England, Mr. Dunworthy, Kivrin's tutor, is sure something went wrong with her departure but is unable to reach her for problems in his own time.
What the story lacked in humor (though it did have its moments) it made up for in tension. The story had me turning pages anxiously, hoping to discover if Kivrin could make it back to her time or not. The story takes place some years before To Say Nothing of the Dog (well, alternating several years and seven-hundred years before) and the time-travel isn't nearly as safe. It also wasn't as complicated, which made it much easier for me to follow.
Much like TSNotD, the theme of the constancy of human nature throughout time played a large role, though it was much more serious in this book. The dual POVs (it switched between Mr. Dunworthy in 2055 and Kivrin in the 14th century) showed this quite effectively. I'm not always a fan of switching POVs - done badly, it's hard to connect with either character - but in this case, it worked masterfully. At the beginning, it seemed like time was a little inconsistent, but it came together quickly. Ms. Willis certainly has talent with her characters - I grew to like almost all of them.
The final scenes were very touching. Kivrin's emotions were shown amazingly well, and I really felt for her in the desperate situation she was in. It took a while to get moving - th beginning was a little slow, but once it got moving, I enjoyed it thoroughly. The science fiction element added depth to it, but you don't have to be a huge science fiction fan to get it. (I'm not, and I liked it). Highly recommended for everyone.
Cover: Neither cover blows me away, but I like the bottom one better than the top. The top one's too plain, and the bottom one makes me think of the old Nancy Drew covers.