Timeline - Michael Crichton [0]
BRILLIANTLY IMAGINED …
A fast-paced story … [that] keeps the reader turning the pages … Crichton has so perfected the fusion thriller with science fiction that his novels define the genre.”
—Los Angeles Times
“The present and the long-ago past collide…. [as] three young historians whisk themselves back to fourteenth-century feudal France to rescue a friend—and engulf themselves in all manner of mind-blowing intrigue.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“In this book, futuristic quantum technology kicks into reverse, colliding with European history…. Cutting-edge scientists and scholars from 1999 go back six hundred years to encounter black knights, brigands, broadswords, and plenty of boiling oil. Readers will love this book for the way it commingles old and new: chivalry and physics, cauldrons and computers, photons and gunpowder.”
—USA Today
“Riveting … Truly fascinating … A thrilling story of cutting-edge technology … Crichton once more enlightens us as he entertains us.”
—Chattanooga Times
“A good, action-packed romp that ranks up there with the Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man.”
—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Wonderful … Superb … [A] gripping Crichton fantasy adventure.”
—Forbes
“A FAST-PACED,
ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE …
Sparkling narrative … Crichton scores again with Timeline.”
—Oregonian
“Readers turn to Michael Crichton’s novels for entertainment with relentless drive…. The problem for the astute reader of Timeline will be quelling the urge to turn pages ever faster to see how things end…. [A] thriller that will keep the brain in high gear long after the final page is turned.”
—San Antonio Express
“This is what Crichton does best: intermingling his prodigious research with his cut-to-the-chase writing to tell stories that become blockbuster books…. There is a deftness and a grace to his prose. His descriptions are as sharp and precise as scalpels.”
—Buffalo News
“A heart-pounding adventure … with Timeline, Crichton has written his best book since Jurassic Park …. Crichton is a master at explaining complex concepts in simple terms…. His plot is intriguing and his well-researched history and science are certain to prompt discussions. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal
“One of the great storytellers of our age … The best Michael Crichton novels are … edifying reads, whose gripping plots contain real ideas.”
—Newsday
“Gripping … A swashbuckling adventure … Fast-paced, compelling.”
—The Courier (Conroe, TX)
By Michael Crichton
Fiction:
THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
THE TERMINAL MAN
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
THE 13TH WARRIOR
(previously published as EATERS OF THE DEAD)
CONGO
SPHERE
JURASSIC PARK
RISING SUN
DISCLOSURE
THE LOST WORLD
AIRFRAME
TIMELINE
PREY
Nonfiction:
FIVE PATIENTS
JASPER JOHNS
ELECTRONIC LIFE
TRAVELS
For Taylor
“All the great empires of the future will be empires of the mind.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL, 1953
“If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything.”
EDWARD JOHNSTON, 1990
“I’m not interested in the future. I’m interested in the future of the future.”
ROBERT DONIGER, 1996
INTRODUCTION
Science at the End of the Century
A hundred years ago, as the nineteenth century drew to a close, scientists around the world were satisfied that they had arrived at an accurate picture of the physical world. As physicist Alastair Rae put it, “By the end of the nineteenth century it seemed that the basic fundamental principles governing the behavior of the physical universe were known.”* Indeed, many scientists said that the study of physics was nearly completed: no big discoveries remained to be made, only details and finishing touches.
But late in the final decade, a few curiosities came to light. Roentgen discovered rays that passed through flesh; because they were unexplained, he called them X rays. Two months later, Henri Becquerel accidentally found that a piece of uranium ore emitted something that fogged photographic plates. And the