Doomsday Book

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

"A tour de force."--The New York Times Book Review

For Kivrin, preparing to travel back in time to study one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received.

But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin--barely of age herself--finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

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592 pages

Average rating: 7.59

46 RATINGS

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2 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

jamietr
Nov 18, 2024
10/10 stars
This is one of the most remarkable novels of any kind that I have ever read, and a truly stunning piece of time-travel/historical/science fiction.

I started reading [b:Doomsday Book|24983|Doomsday Book|Connie Willis|http:photo.goodreads.com/books/1167544945s/24983.jpg|2439628] because I'd read [a:Connie Willis|14032|Connie Willis|http:photo.goodreads.com/authors/1199238234p2/14032.jpg]'s [b:Blackout|6506307|Blackout (Blackout, #1)|Connie Willis|http:photo.goodreads.com/books/1275950636s/6506307.jpg|6697901] earlier in this year and was anxiously awaiting [b:All Clear|62152|Three Complete Novels Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears|Tom Clancy|http:photo.goodreads.com/books/1170599661s/62152.jpg|5054757]. I knew that DOOMSDAY BOOK was a Hugo and Nebula winning and I knew that Connie Willis was an outstanding writer, so I figured the book was going to be a good one.

It was a remarkably good one. I've come across very few books that are both page-turners, and emotionally jarring as well. There have been even fewer books that have moved me to tears multiple times. But this book was one of them. Connie's portrayal of the middle ages during the plague is brutal, and made more so by her impeccable ability to make the reader feel for the characters as if you know them, as if you are there with them experiencing the horrors. You almost wonder if Connie has the ability to travel back in time and used that ability to form the research for this novel.

Everything about the work is impressive, from the description and historical details, to the humor she injects, to the style of her writing and the care and effort she clearly puts into it.
Carsielee
Sep 19, 2022
10/10 stars
I first read this in 2013 for an English class. I have since read it at least once a year. The first bit can feel like a bit of a slow build, but once it picks up you won’t be able to put the book down.

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