Timeline

Crichton is, without question, my favorite author, and what I love most about his books is the singular word that defines them all: immersive. As one of the later Crichton books I read, I actually saw the movie adaptation of this book first, and I cannot stress enough how much better the book is.

The details involved build both a compelling representation of 14th century France, complete with indecipherable language, and a believable mechanism for that time travel based on quantum mechanics, more than a decade before the boom of multiverse fiction.

While I was researching the time travel device for my own novel, I remember how much I enjoyed Michael Crichton’s scientific explanation of how they had cloned the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. I read the book before there was even a movie. Knowing I wanted to keep my time travel method steeped in science and not a whirring machine that my characters step in and out of (i.e., a phonebooth or a DeLorean), I took a chance on Crichton’s time travel novel, Timeline, hoping he had used some of the same approaches to explaining science fiction with real… show more.

I like Michael Crichton’s novels because they dive deep into the science of their science fiction concepts. His books spring from the cutting edge of real science into speculative wonders, like cloning dinosaurs or quantum time travel. I learned a ton about quantum physics from Timeline—all while enjoying a fast-paced story with a ticking clock that kept me glued to the pages.

Even more, I was so enthralled by the gritty medieval world Crichton depicted that I was inspired to write my own medieval story. This became my first novel, a buddy-knight epic that I drafted when I should… show more.

I’m not exactly sure if this book qualifies as pure fantasy, but it’s definitely on the fantastical side. An old man from a distant era shows up in the desert, which ultimately leads a group of scientists to follow him back to his realm, the Middle Ages. This was another fun time travel/portal book that explored the idea of parallel times and parallel dimensions, meshing modern times with the medieval era. 

This is a sci-fi-archaeological hybrid packed with action and history. It incorporates fascinating quantum physics with a creative spin. The futuristic tech in the story takes the reader on a ride through time and space to a bygone era steeped in realism. The breakneck pace of this story will make you binge it in one sitting.

The premise is simple. A time travel story about a team of researchers who use technology to go back to the dark ages to rescue their professor. While we tend to romanticize the medieval time period, this is definitely not a place for the faint at heart as the group soon discovers. What it is, though, is the perfect setting for a suspenseful novel that includes Black Death, war, bandits, and English invaders, making survival almost impossible. The mixture of sci-fi, history, and advanced technology is a combination that will leave the reader with far more than just a run-of-the-mill… show more.