goodreads | The Doomsday Book (Reply)

Title: The Doomsday Book
Author: Connie Willis
Genre: Sci-fi, Historical fiction
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 578, Audiobook ~26hrs
Date read: January 2007, May 2019

For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of 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.

Absolutely brilliant book. It came highly recommended by a friend and did not disappoint. I was immediately drawn into the story, as the plot is captivating and the characters delightful... even if I did occasionally want to take one and hit the other. The chapters switch between being 'then' and 'now' as you follow the ongoings of Kivrin and her professors.

Reread 2019: I'd forgotten how SLOW this book is. That's not to say it's boring, because it really isn't, but there's a LOT of pages committed to setting the atmosphere rather than moving the plot along. So if character-driven books aren't your thing, you might find this a bit too long for your liking. I still really liked it though, but it did take some getting used to... especially as I listened to the audio version this time around.