Timeline
This one, while it still had scary parts, was more of a fun, adventure-type story. The theme here is time-travel, but without the futuristic and creepy sci-fi
aspect as in Sphere.
On the Michael Crichton website, he
shares some interesting thoughts about his choice and preparation for this book. He said he wanted to talk about history and create an unusual adventure.
He said he spent a whole year just reading, then had to decide what era of history to cover. Since he wanted it to be accurate, he couldn't go back so far
that there was no recorded information. He needed to know how the people lived, ate, dressed, spoke, and behaved. He also wanted to debunk any myths about
knighthood—"women in pointy hats, everybody freezing in bare, chilly castles." He decided to choose France, around 1300-1360, because knights were still
important then, and France was always at war. He decided on 1357, with the capture of King John, who was a bad tennis player. Crichton didn't know that
before doing the research, and he also said he learned so much preparing to write this book. And lastly, he had to be able to describe the scenes and costumes as "seen by
contemporary observers."
All his work paid off! This is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, with more than a few chuckles. (The end, however, is a real guffaw!)
The story begins as Liz and Dan are lost in the Arizona desert land because Liz collects authentic Navajo rugs. Suddenly they hear a thud, and realize they
have hit an old man with no idea where he came from. They go back to pick him up and he is dressed in a heavy brown robe, but is not hot. They get him in the
car, and see that beneath the robe are jeans and a shirt and tennis shoes. He talks in nonsense rhymes, and mentions losing something. Dan finds a white
ceramic square with a button in it, which he pushes, but nothing happens. It had the letters ITC stamped on it. They think he's nuts and get him to the
hospital in Gallup, into the trauma unit where they do an MRI. They find a paper on him that looks like a computer
printout with "mon.ste.mere" written on it. Dan and Liz see a cop examining their car.
Eventually the cop comes to speak with them, and says there was no evidence the man had been struck by their car. He has identified him as Dr. Joseph A Traub, a
physicist at ITC. Meanwhile, the trauma unit notices that the man's checked shirt seems to be patched together. But that ain't nothin' compared to the fact that the MRI reveals that his veins
don't match up either. The man dies of cardiac arrest. They contact ITC.
Robert Doniger, president of the company; wealthy, brilliant, and a real prick, isn't too particularly shocked about Traub's death. Vice President John Gordon,
though, is the one who speaks with the cop at the hospital, giving the excuse that Traub was depressed because of his wife's death. The trauma unit and
police don't buy the story, since Traub was found in the desert far from ITC. And they also contact a priest, who informs them immediately that mon.ste.mere was the Monestary of
Sainte-Mère (the Virgin Mary) and it was French. However, upon doing more research, he reports that there is no monastery in the world with that name.
(These characters become irrelevant for most of the rest of the story, but serve to unfold the secret activities going on at ITC. They have built a unit that will
travel back in time. The little ceramic square is the control device, but going back too many times takes it's mental and physical toll, which accounts for the
strangeness of Dr. Traub and the fact that his body parts don't fit together correctly.)
Now we go to an archeolgical excavation site in Dordogne, France. A much-loved professor, Edward Johnston, is leading an archeological excavation along with
some students. Chris Hughes is one of them. After his parents death in a car accident, he went a little on the wild side in promiscuous relationships.
Nearly getting kicked out of school, Johnston had helped him get his life together. In fact Johnston is like a father to many of his students, helping
them far beyond the requirements associated with his position. Other members of the team are Katherine Erickson, a grad student specializing in architecture
and history, who loves to climb the walls getting samples of the mortar and André Marek, a Dutch graduate of Utrecht University, and an "experimental
historian—one who re-created the past by living it", to the point where he felt that "his time" was really back in the Middle Ages. He speaks the languages,
knows how to joust, and would feel quite comfortable in 1357.
The expedition is funded by ITC. Johnston thinks they are simply a research company, and one of their interests is dating equipment for artifacts. He has
no idea. A nosy reporter, however, informs him that the company is buying up huge parcels of land in remote areas all over the world, and believes they are
doing something in secret.
Meanwhile Diane Kramer, attorney for ITC is also on the site. She talks to Johnston alone, but he suspects something funny taking the radio from Chris as he
leaves, but turning it on and indicating to Chris to listen in. Chris goes to the technical guy, David Stern and gets a radio to eavesdrop on their conversation. Kramer sort of drops a bomb on
Johnston, saying ITC wants the site rebuilt, accurate to how it existed in medieval. Chris hears Kramer talk about a tower and the woods, and other things
that no one else knew about. Johnston turns around and sees Chris at a distance, and motions for him to take off into the woods. He and David do, and
sure enough, Kramer was right. They find the tower.
Around the same time David receives a phone call from the policeman who handled Dr. Traub's death. After Kramer leaves, they
get the email with the photo David had requested—the one that looks like a computer printout with "mon.ste.mere" written on it—the site they are
excavating. They show it to Katherine, who agrees, but there are structures they haven't uncovered yet. Now they are all suspicious, and when Johnston goes
to meet Kramer for a private lunch, he has Marek and Chris with him. They pin her down and want to know what is going on. Johnston says he is flying back
with her to have a talk with Doniger.
The others continue to excavate without Johnston, and then receive the shock of their lives—in the ruins they find a lens from Johnston's glasses and a
parchment asking for help written in modern English. The team flies back to ITC, and learn that Johnston has time-traveled to the Middle Ages. All but
Stern follow him.
And this is where the really cool stuff begins. With the help of Marek and his Medieval expertise, the team lands right in the middle of a war and puts all
their knowledge to use, not only to survive, but to rescue Johnston. It is a harrowing experience, but also has some very funny parts.
This book was made into a movie in 2003.