All Clear

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren, Connie Willis (introduction)

Length: 23 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

In Blackout, award-winning author Connie Willis returned to the time-traveling future of 2060, the setting for several of her most celebrated works, and sent three Oxford historians to World War II England: Michael Davies, intent on observing heroism during the Miracle of Dunkirk; Merope Ward, studying children evacuated from London; and Polly Churchill, posing as a shopgirl in the middle of the Blitz. But when the three become unexpectedly trapped in 1940, they struggle not only to find their way home but to survive as Hitler's bombers attempt to pummel London into submission.

Now the situation has grown even more dire. Small discrepancies in the historical record seem to indicate that one or all of them have somehow affected the past, changing the outcome of the war. The belief that the past can be observed but never altered has always been a core belief of time-travel theory, but suddenly it seems that the theory is horribly, tragically wrong.

Meanwhile, in 2060 Oxford, the historians' supervisor, Mr. Dunworthy, and 17-year-old Colin Templer, who nurses a powerful crush on Polly, are engaged in a frantic and seemingly impossible struggle of their own - to find three missing needles in the haystack of history.

Told with compassion, humor, and an artistry both uplifting and devastating, All Clear is more than just the triumphant culmination of the adventure that began with Blackout. It's Connie Willis' most humane, heartfelt novel yet - a clear-eyed celebration of faith, love, and the quiet, ordinary acts of heroism and sacrifice too often overlooked by history.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an introduction written and read by author Connie Willis.

Also listen to the first book, Blackout.

©2010 Connie Willis (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 2010
• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 2011
• Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2010: Readers' Choice (SF Site)

"By the time the three historians and Mr. Dunworthy have unraveled the mystery and arrived at the full-on, three-hanky finale, you’ll no longer be a disinterested observer. Drawn in Willis’s skillful storytelling, you’ll be back in 1941, wondering what’s about to happen next." ( The Village Voice)

"Katherine Kellgren's delightful English accent is perfect for the many characters she portrays." ( AudioFile)

“As vivid an evocation of England during World War II as anyone has ever written.... You’ll find here a novelist who can plot like Agatha Christie and whose books possess a bounce and stylishness that Preston Sturges might envy.” ( The Washington Post)

Read it

It is an excellent book. Also, Connie Willis s theory on time travel actually makes sense and it is absolutely consistent throughout the series.

Truly EXCELLENT

WW2 Time Travel epic that started in Blackout (listen to that one first). This is a much faster paced book, but still very suspenseful. The three time travelling university student historians realise that they could be caught in the 1940s for life - and could unknowingly change the outcome of the war. Not only is time travel not romantised, but the blitz and the struggles of everyday folk living in the underground shelters is so well portrayed. It is an incredible achievement to be both history book and sci-fi. The awards this book has won are well deserved. Incredible plot (and working through the time paradoxes, just wonderful) And yes - very well narrated.

Simply superb! Highest recommendation.

I can't overstate how much I enjoyed this book and the reading of it in this recording. It's a great plot that incorporates excellent historical fiction set in the Blitz into an SF story is the highest quality. Characters. Drama. Even -believe it or not- Agatha Christie makes a cameo, besides influencing Willis' style. It deserves all the awards it received!

Fascinating history, good story, ok characters

I loved this and the prior novel for the in depth look into World War 2 on the ground level. The Sci fi aspects were a good plot device, but ultimately the answers to the riddles presented were lackluster, and I never found the characters to be very interesting.

Overall: fantastic read for a history buff, decent enough read for anyone else

Poignant, Historically accurate, and greatly entertaining!

Listeners of this book have presumedly listen to Blackout first, An absolute necessity. Even if you are not a fan of science fiction, but enjoy period Novels, you will love this book. Just except the invention of time travel as a given, and everything else is a riveting, historically accurate story of individuals living through The perils and heart aches of World War II. It is beautifully read. I highly recommend it!

Educational, but trying

Where does All Clear rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This ranks at the middle of the bottom half of my library. I liked the story but not enough to chase the series.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

honestly the most interesting part of the story is learning the history.

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren and Connie Willis (introduction) ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I thought the whole thing was good, but slow.

really enjoyed this book

I really enjoyed both this book and the other book by Connie (the first one of this series - blackout!). The only bit I found a bit annoying was that the characters were rather stupid in working things out and I found it got a bit repetitive at times. I found myself thinking "oh for goodness sake get over it". The twist was a little bit obvious I'm afraid! However, the story was nice and it was fast paced enough to keep my attention.

A bit dragged out....

What did you like best about All Clear? What did you like least?

I was glad to finally get some closure to the first book. It was also nice to put some of the pieces together. Loved the characters of Alf and Benny. Had me smiling every time they appeared. All the war detail the strategies, the history of buildings etc.. that wasn't really needed. i was wanting to hear the personal stories, not read a history lesson.

Would you recommend All Clear to your friends? Why or why not?

Not so much. It dragged on for way longer with more info than needed. I found myself spacing out for a lot of it.

What about Katherine Kellgren and Connie Willis (introduction) ’s performance did you like?

you knew the different characters for each had their own distinct voice. pretty good for all the characters in the book!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

yes! but since they like to leave a lot out when doing that, leave out the boring historical details. it bogs down the story. i care more about the characters and their story than historical data about strategies and war movements etc...

Any additional comments?

This book really could have been great at about half the length. I contemplated a couple times moving on without finishing it. It was too long. Too much that wasn't really needed to tell the story...

Great job on the reading!

Blackout and All Clear are two thick books populated by our cast of immensely thick time travelers. There are times you will want to reach in and slap your protagonists, but Ms Willis has constructed an intricate tale of homage to the heroes of England during WWII.

What an exceptional job of voice acting by Katherine Kellgren! Bravo! Every character comes to life and with the many timelines woven throughout she keeps us straight and enthralled.

And hurrah for the imps, Alf and Binnie!

Great reading by Katherine Kellgren

This is a great book - but it is really just one of two and you must read both to get the story. The reader does a great job with this book. She is able to bring all the characters to life including the young kids and the many other minor characters. There are many memorable characters, but I loved the two trouble maker kids in the first half of the book. They were great at getting into and out of trouble. I thought the ending of this book would at least show a break, but it does not. So be prepared to read both books. But this is a very fun and interesting story.