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)

Nice conclusion to the story

I'm constantly surprised that I enjoy this series because it is so far departed from what I expected it to be, and what I would normally listen to.

Willis has created a unique historical fiction, that is only superficially sci-fi. At times this is a bit annoying, as a more interest in the mechanics of time travel would have made the plot much more interesting. As it is, this series remains 99% character driven.

These books were captivating enough, but not particularly memorable. I enjoyed the journey but will soon forget about it and will not come back to revisit it.

Virtuoso Performance of the Great C. Willis!

What did you love best about All Clear?

This was a magnificent follow-up to Blackout with greater character and plot development, and it comes to its very satisfying conclusion. Only Connie Willis can, admittedly, develop her plot first, characters second but still come up with characters that make you want to laugh and cry. While there are a few plot problems (why, for instance, aren't the student historians required to research the entire era of the times they're going back to?), the book zips along, and the chapter endings make you feel you MUST listen to the next chapter. Then the next. Then, cross-my-heart-hope-to-die, I'll go back to work/housekeeping/life duties after this chapter, but I'll listen to just one more chapter, honestly! You'll keep going and going. Connie Willis, God love her, is just that way.

What was one of the most memorable moments of All Clear?

The acting troupe is lovable, the children are exasperating, the action is exhilarating! It's a breathless listen that has only a couple of pacing problems within the middle.

What does Katherine Kellgren and Connie Willis (introduction) bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Katherine Kellgren is brilliant! I hate to say it, but usually men seem to be better narrators, but Katherine Kellgren is an absolute artist, delivering character and emotion like no other narrator out there. Connie Willis writes an excellent book, but Kellgren makes it an audiobook that can't be surpassed. I wish she did more SciFi as sometimes the genre suffers from subpar or unenthusiastic performances. I bought the first "Bloody Jack" because of her and am looking forward to experiencing that book in her hands.

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

As I said, Connie Willis has an almost preternatural ability to write and develop characters that you are drawn into feeling for. There was laughter in this book, suspense, and many, many tears.

Any additional comments?

Connie Willis is my favorite author because of her skill and knack for characters. Characters make or break a book, and her characters live and breathe, and at times, they do stupid things that make you hope for the best for them. And likewise, a narrator can elevate a mediocre story into something really quite good. With Blackout and All Clear, Kellgren makes an excellent book truly magnificent! These books are well worth your credits!

ok book

I enjoyed the story line, but became frustrated with the constant repititions of the characters situations and thoughts. It also was hard to follow.

CON- FU- SING

I listened to Black Out and All Clear back-to-back and found All Clear to be so confusing that I spent 95% of the book going, "huuuh?" It is excessively detailed and very convoluted. It was, however, perfectly put together in the end, but wading through 2 lengthy books to figure out what the H was going on was a bit much. Connie Willis, is a brilliant writer/researcher though and I have loved her writing style despite the confusion.

Someone find this author a good editor

I listened to both books of this series on Audible. In some ways, it is a typical time travel story. The details of England during the war raised it a step above most time travel sagas.

My criticism is that the second book ( All Clear) is entirely TOO LONG. The story is quite repetitious. I probably would have given up on it if I had been reading and not listening. Katherine Kellgren’s narration kept me engaged to the story’s very satisfactory ending. The story should have been edit down several hours.

I was expecting better

Quite some time ago I read the author's earlier book "To Say Nothing of the Dog ...". I thought that it was very clever and well written. Blackout and All Clear are a two book set that follow on from that earlier book. Together they are something over 40 hours. While they follow the same 'time travel' principle, and the story is still creative, I was disappointed overall for several reasons. Much of the drama in the story was brought about by several of the main characters struggling over what seems would have been very 'basic concepts' about time travel. I found it hard to believe that time traveling historians would not have previously contemplated such things long and hard. In addition, much of the complication was based on these same historians consistently lying to each other to protect each other from havings to worry. That also was hard to believe from professionals historians who should have been working together toward a common goal. In summary, this could have been much better if edited carefully into a single book at half the length with much of the excesses left out.

Time travel at it's best!

A great ending to a great series! Wish there would be more, but then that's the mark of a great book!

Excellent narration and complex storyline; caveat

Overall good story with complex, interwoven story lines. Excellent narration. The characters seemed obsessed with deceiving one another with almost no apparent cause, despite supposedly being friends and mutually trapped in a dangerous situation. This happened to to a point that it seemed pathological and made it difficult to suspend disbelief at times.

Stands up to repeat listens

Connie Willis is great and Blackout/All Clear may be her best. The historical detail is what makes this pair of books so wonderful. Time travelling is dealt with in an imaginative way and the characters are quite likable. Willis' literary allusions are charming, not irritating, and have induced me to follow up on the references and quotations. Sometimes her comedy of errors style can drag a bit, but the real test was that I have listened to Blackout/All Clear more than once so they must be pretty good.

Great second book

This is the conclusion to Blackout. Be sure to read Blackout first. Both are great stories intertwining WWII with a time travel twist.