“This is one of my most-loved books. I'd never part with it because I enjoy rereading it often. Taking place at Christmas-time, it's always fun to read it in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I think it successfully blends historical fiction and science fiction along with a good dollop of medical mystery and drama. ”
“I notice this book on the shelves of a number of folks with whom I share lots of books in common. I'm interesting in reading some Connie Willis, and I wonder which book is the better place to meet her: "To Say Nothing of the Dog" or " Doomsday Book"... any thoughts either way?”
“This is certainly a grittier picture of Time Travel then something like Robert Silverberg's Sailing to Byzantium or Moore's That Vintage Season. I guess encountering the plague and its victims is about as real as one can get.jerry-book”
“Loved the premise, time travel, but used in the studious, sober manner of historians, who are also funding-challenged Oxford dons. This aspect has a lot in common with Susan Price's 2 Sterkarm books, which also illustrate the testing of human nature when facing the unknown. Willis has a remarkable ability to maintain two worlds and depict the tension when the worlds intersect. ”
“Any other good books about the plague?I really loved this book and my favorite was how descriptive it was of the plague. I liked the time travel for the fact that Kivrin knew about the plague and how deadly it was and such, but definetly the most intrigueing was learning more about the plague. Books I've read in the past weren't nearly so descriptive and basically just said whole villages were wiped out and maybe a few other details. They didn't go into the emotions of the whole thing. The two I've read more recently took place in Ireland in the 1300's (I think) and they were The Changeling of Finistuach and Confessions of a Pagan Nun. I can't think of the author off the top of my head but they were both very good. With reading both of those and Doomsday I have learned that I love reading about the plague no matter how 'depressing' it may be. For some reason it intrigues me. So have any of you read any good books about a plague? Fiction and Non fiction though I'm currently reading a non fiction called The Impact of Plague in Tudor and Stuart England. Its interesting, but I would like to learn more about the 14th century.”
“Any recommendations for other time-travel books?Though I'm not really a sci-fi aficionado, I am a sucker for a good time-travel/historical fiction book (even if the "historical" part doesn't play a huge role). I thoroughly enjoyed Doomsday Book and was really sad when it ended: I felt I needed to know what else happened to Kivrin. I also enjoyed another Connie Willis book, To Say Nothing of the Dog. Other time-travel books I've read and enjoyed are Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, The House in the Strand (DuMaurier), the Jack Finney books ... probably a few others that I can't recall at the moment.Can anyone recommend some other good time-travel novels, especially ones that involve travel to the past rather than the future?”
“No I don't have it. I had totally forgotten about it until I read your question. Check your public library.”
“I couldn't find this book on shelfari. Only one book came up for Maggie Prince and it wasn't it. And it didn't come up under the title. So do you have this book on your shelf? If so could you recommend it to me so that I'll have it right there? It sounds really good. Thanks.”
“I have read two books by Candace Robbs and enjoyed both of them. I also enjoy Peter Ellis and Sharon Kan Penman.”
“The House on Hound Hill is a YA title by Maggie Prince about a girl in modern-day London who time-travels (inadvertantly, unlike Doomsday Book) to 17th cnetury London, because her neighborhood is located on a plague mass burial site. Or something like that, it's a little vague in my memory.”
