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)

Sci-fi?

This is an excellent historical novel, but not what I would call sci-fi. The time travel aspect is kind of an afterthought added to move the characters around.

Ahh Time Travel

Connie Willis managed the time travel elements of this story with great skill and it was a bit like an Agatha Christie mystery. The description of St. Paul's and the war in England and London was exciting in itself. The plot moved along and the Chapter header quotes were moving. I recommend Blackout and All Clear to time travelers and historians.

great imagination.

Like the premise, great story, had to listen to the whole series!! Sometimes when the story lines get repetitive makes me wonder if the author forgot herself what had gone on previously?

breathtaking!!

Spectacular!!! Ive read the hardcopies and wished desperately for Spielberg to make a movie out of this story!!! but it would need to be a miniseries so as to not cut antlything! Terrific characters, fit seemlessly into gripping history, with more twists & turns than any mystery; I couldnt put it down, even knowing the story!! And the narrator did a magnificent job keeping all the voices straight, natural, and believable!

Improves with time

I really liked this on the first listen. Willis always draws strong characters and the narration is top class. Alf and Binnie are especially notable in both respects.

The book is even better on repeat listening when your brain can shift to trying to figure out whodunnit and can instead lean back and enjoy the construction of the plot. Much like the stories of Agatha Christie, who makes a nice cameo appearance

The research over ww2 made it worth while to listen

So tedious... could be at least 30% shorter and it would actually make it a better book. too many near misses and agonizing over every choice.

What stood out?
The goodness in people, and the vast amount of research that went into these books.


went through it because i was already invested in the story. but i nearly gave up....

outstanding

i first listened to blackout by connie willis, that was the first book i had read by this author, other than the occasional error (such as the victoria line being used even though it wasnt build until 1967 - i wont hold that against the author though ....) i loved the book from beginning to end.
i wondered how she was going to finsh it, well its here and wow she done a stella job with the book. i was emersed in the story from begining to end, im not going to put any spoliers in but if your a fan your going love this book, its is her best to date.
the story can get confusing because of the nature of the book (timetravel) but the reader katherine kellgren was pretty good and brought the charactors to life - though given the choice i would have loved scott brick to have read this.

Enjoyable series, not the ending I had hoped for

When I finished Blackout (book one) I had high expectations for this second concluding novel and the many revelations that were owed to us by the author. I admit that I felt let down but not so much that I didn’t enjoy the book and series overall. My single biggest disappointment in book 2 was the concept of the Continuum as portrayed. It was never well explained what it really was (time travel software, a super natural consciousness, the space/time continuum?), and in the end it just felt like a half baked idea that the author used because she couldn’t think of a more creative way to explain all that had gone wrong. That disappointment aside, I was happy to have read both, and I will be reading more of Connie’s books assuming she can bring herself to bring closure to future books in a single novel.

Great for ScFi and History buffs

Read the first book in the series, Blackout, before reading All Clear. Great books! Both are some of my favorite listens on Audible. The narrator does just an awesome job swithching between American and the various British accents, and between male and female voices. High level of realism. Great job of melding SciFi with the history of the Blitz! I listened to Blackout again while waiting for All Clear and it was just as good on the second listen. All Clear was able to wrap everything up in a very pleasing and surprising way.

Fabulous!!!

I love historical fiction and science fiction so you could say this series is made for me but I would say Connie Willis did even better on this book than the first. It has more action and ties all the stories together neatly. I will say I'm disappointed there is not to be a third in this series. I wanted more. I wanted to hear more about Elaine and Polly. I won't say more about that for fear of spoilers. Katherine Kellgren did a fabuolous job. After I finished this I got the Doomsday Book and if you read it, in my opinion, Connie Willis did a much better job on this series but All Clear in particular. Don't miss out on this. I made my mother, not a huge science fiction fan but a definite fan of historical WWII fiction and non-fiction, download this on her kindle. I don't do that for anyone because I try not to force anyone to read anything but I made an exception this time. ....oh, and she loved it!