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Description edit
In an Arizona desert, a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
The novel begins with a couple driving along a road in Arizona towards a near town when they are startled to see a man wandering in the middle of the road speaking deliriously and in need of medical attention. He is soon rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors notice veins, arteries and even... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- André Marek: Medieval enthusiast and Archeologist. In love with the middle ages. Tall, muscular, and incredibly handsome. He seems to know everything about the Middle ages and speaks several languages including Old French. He has an easy manner, but can get hard and cold. He has amazing survival techniques and has been known to be obsessive over "his time". The students often laugh at his intensity behind his back, but he knows
- Claire d'Eltham: A French woman who stirs up a lot of trouble in the Hundred Years War, but falls for Marek and his easy charm.
- Katherine Erickson: Architect student who switched to studying history for more authentic architecture.
- Christopher Stewart Hughes: Researcher. He enjoys his line of work, the Professor helped him after he was going down a dark path. The Professor helped him not get expelled from Yale. He isn't built, but he is handsome. He isn't trained in any of the way from the Middle Ages.
- Professor Edward Johnston: Lead archaeology instructor. A very kind man with a good heart and a mind for teaching.
- David Stern: A physicist on the team.
- Sir Robert De Kere: Counsel to Lord Oliver and serious trouble maker for Marek, Kate, Chris, and the Professor.
- Lord Oliver de Vannes: English King who invaded France for the teretory.
- François Dontelle: Frenchman that in the movie, went back with them. But in the book, had only a brief part where he met with the Professor.
- Robert Doniger: ITC president and billionaire.
- Arnaut de Cervole: French Ruler.
- John Gordon: ITC vicepresident
- Francis: A great read from a great author. This novel combines the physics of time travel (loosely examines the concept of worm holes) and weaves it into a gripping medieval thriller that will really change your outlook on the combat of that era. Excellent read!
- Calvin Chee: Add a description of this character.
- Louise Delvert
- Dan Baker
- Brother Marcel: An old monk who lives in the mill.
- Joe Nieto
- Victor Baretto
- Charles de Gaune
- Magister Edwardus: Professor Edward Johnston in the medieval period.
- Susan Gomez
- François le Gros
- Diane Kramer
- Liz
- Sir Guy de Malegant
- Joseph A. Traub: A depressed professor of ITC.
- Beverly Tsosie: Doctor in Gallup
- Rob Deckard: Robert De Kere in modern times.
- Frater Marcellus
- Carlos Chavez
- Rick Chang
- Squire Christopher de Hewes
- Elsie Kastner
- François Bellin
- Raimondo
- Andrew d'Eltham
- Nigel
- Hugh Everett
- Nancy Hood
- Geoffrey
- Richard Feynman
- Miss Delvert
- Garman
- Sophie Rhys-Hampton
- Lord Abbot: Head Monk of the monastery
- Jimmy Wauneka: Cop at Gallup
- Corazón Canyon
- Einstein
- Bill Gates
- Saint George
- Mr. Stern
- Godin
- Mr. Marek
- Mr. Doniger
- John II
- Ms. Kramer
- George Washington
- Magister Edward de Johnes
- Abraham Lincoln
- André de Marek
- De Kere
- Allie
- Crichton
Quotes edit
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“Should have killed it," Marek whispered. "I'm hungry.”
André Marek -
“Risk everything, or gain nothing”
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“Nothing in the world is as certain as death”
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“A nut by any other name would smell like feet.”
Crazy man from begining -
“I pray God look with favor upon your journey and deliver you safe back.”
André Marek -
“I'm not leaving," Marek said. "I'm staying here.”
André Marek -
“El tiempo no pasa, pasamos nosotros”
John Gordon
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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“In other centuries, human beings wanted to be saved, or improved, or freed, or educated. But in our century, they want to be entertained. The great fear is not of disease or death, but of boredom. A sense of time on our hands, a sense of nothing to do. A sense that we are not amused.
Highlighted by 51 Kindle customers -
Professor Johnston often said that if you didn’t know history, you didn’t know anything. You were a leaf that didn’t know it was part of a tree.
Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers -
“The purpose of history is to explain the present—to say why the world around us is the way it is. History tells us what is important in our world, and how it came to be. It tells us why the things we value are the things we should value. And it tells us what is to be ignored, or discarded. That is true power—profound power. The power to define a whole society.
Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers -
“The very concept of time travel makes no sense, since time doesn’t flow. The fact that we think time passes is just an accident of our nervous systems—of the way things look to us. In reality, time doesn’t pass; we pass. Time itself is invariant. It just is. Therefore, past and future aren’t separate locations, the way New York and Paris are separate locations. And since the past isn’t a location, you can’t travel to it.”
Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers -
Yet the truth was that the modern world was invented in the Middle Ages. Everything from the legal system, to nationstates, to reliance on technology, to the concept of romantic love had first been established in medieval times.
Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers -
“The glory of the past is an illusion. So is the glory of the present.”
Highlighted by 24 Kindle customers -
Then in 1957, a physicist named Hugh Everett proposed a daring new explanation. Everett claimed that our universe—the universe we see, the universe of rocks and trees and people and galaxies out in space—was just one of an infinite number of universes, existing side by side.
Highlighted by 21 Kindle customers -
“I pray God look with favor upon your journey and deliver you safe back.”
Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers -
“Risk everything, or gain nothing.” GEOFFREY DE CHARNY, 1358
Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers -
Baker, a forty-year-old building contractor in Phoenix, was beginning to feel uneasy. Especially since his wife, an architect, was one of those artistic people who wasn’t practical about things like gas and water.
Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
- Castelgard: Medieval French Town.
- La Roque: Medieval French Town.
First Sentence edit
He should never have taken that shortcut.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Time-Travel: What happens to people who travel in time. Can they impact the timeline?
Series & Lists edit
This is book 68 of 100 in NPR's Top 100 Killer Thriller. (community list)
This is book 5 of 10 in Publishers Weekly Bestselling Novels in 1999. (authoritative list)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 0679444815
Page Count: 449
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1999
ISBN: 0679444815
Page Count: 449
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PS3553.R48 T56 1999
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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Movie Connections edit
- Timeline (IMDb): 2003, directed by Richard Donner, starring Paul Walker, Frances O'Conner, and Gerard Butler.
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