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)

Rescued by the second half

Blackout and All Clear really constitute a single book. Blackout leaves the reader without any resolution and All Clear has no back story (and hence makes no sense) without Blackout. Ms Willis, in the introduction to All Clear, says as much. However this review is only for All Clear.

Ms Willis seems to have had the goal of telling the story of the British civilian population during World War II and especially during the Blitz and to have used the characters in the book as the vehicle for doing so. In this she has succeeded brilliantly. Although I have read many books about World War II none have really told the story of the British civilians and how they coped with the violence and devastation of the war and especially what living through the Blitz was like. I have a much better idea of what people had to go through as part of their daily lives and what just getting through the day must have been like.

The main characters, however, seem like terribly flawed individuals. They are supposed to be professional historians but act as though they are continually on the edge of panic. At every step they make the wrong choices and assume the absolute worst about what is happening around them. During the hours of listening I wanted to just tell them to "get a grip" and stop acting so stupidly. I was going to title this review "Historians acting stupidly" or "These are professionals?", but the second half of All Clear, where Ms Willis began to put the pieces of the puzzle together, was so well done that I felt the book was rescued from a 3 star rating.

The narration was very well done with many characters having such distinctive voices that I could tell who was speaking without having to be told.

I would recommend this book with the caveat that the reader might want to listen to the two parts of the book separately. Together they are 41 1/2 hours and that was just too much of these characters for me to listen to at one time. Perhaps if I had separated the two parts of the book I would have had more patience with the characters. As it was I ended up having to stop listening to All Clear about half way through and read an entirely different book before I was able to go back to All Clear and finish it. Still, having said that, I must credit Ms Willis with enough misdirection to credit Agatha Christie (who makes a cameo) appearance in this book.

This is the 2nd book of a series.

This is the 2nd book of a series. the 1st book of teh series is blackout.

Absolutely loved it

Connie Willi is one of my favourite authors and I think this would have to be her best work. Her writing is so evocative and her research so thorough, that listening to these two books almost felt like time travel. I waited until both parts were available and listened to them as one big book, which they actually are. So, the biggest problem was finding the time to listen to it because once I had started listening, it was difficult to stop. About half way through, I was feeling slightly annoyed by all the false leads in the plot but I loved the writing so much that it was easy to overlook the winding plot and just enjoy the descriptive writing. The plot was pulled together so beautifully in the end, that I forgave any tendencies to ramble. The narration was very good, although Ms Kellgren did tend to make most of her female "contemp" characters sound like Mrs Slocomb from the British TV show, Are You Being Served.
So, two very minor points in an otherwise fabulous listening experience.

Blackout and All Clear are magical books!

Having read all the customer reviews available so far, it's clear the Blackout/All Clear double book is either loved or hated by its readers / listeners. I'm one of the former - as a long-time fan of Connie Willis' work I've been waiting for All Clear to come out before I listened to Blackout and boy, was it worth the wait!

I can see why some readers found the characters' internal agonising over the impact their actions may have had on the space/time continuum too frequent or too long but, to me, the characters were incredibly three-dimensional and their fates something I really cared about. Yes, there were minor issues in historical accuracy - but the depth of Connie Willis' research into WWII England (and, especially, the Blitz) is incredibly impressive! And yes, there are minor inconsistencies in the books and, occasionally, Katherine Kellgren's somewhat unusual pronounciation of words was, er, surprising - but I was swept away by the story and the story-telling and the reading!

I find myself thinking about the characters and wondering what happened to them - sometimes devising plots to resolve ends which weren't tucked up entirely neatly. I think these are truly wonderful books and recommend them to anyone who likes their SF to have a human face

You need to read Blackout first

If you're considering All Clear, you've read Blackout already or you need to.

This one is just as good or better. Enjoy.

A Tale That You Won't Forget

Connie Willis writes books that really get to me. Others have complained about "Black Out" and "All Clear" for being so long and for being repetitive. While there may be something to this, I just can't shake the feel and emotional context of the story. "Passage" was the same way--as was "Doomsday Book." Most books you listen to (or read) put them away and forget about them. Connie Willis's novels haunt you long after you reshelved them.

Endless agonizing but good basics

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, but only with the caveat that the story can drag as the characters second guess their every action and miss each other as soon as they are out of sight. Against this is a sound story, some really good characters and good atmosphere.

Would you be willing to try another book from Connie Willis? Why or why not?

Yes but I would have to allow some time to pass - as I did after reading The Doomsday Book before starting Blackout/All Clear (together really only 1 book). The time allows the endless agonizing and repetition to fade in my memory so that I am left with the basically good story.

Did All Clear inspire you to do anything?

I plan to listen to Winston Churchill's 'The Second World War'.

Any additional comments?

Good narrator.

Deserves Six Stars

This is a joint review of Blackout and All Clear, which rightfully need to be read as one book. Blackout/All Clear are technically sci-fi books featuring time traveling historians experiencing WWII England from the perspective of normal people living on the home front. The sci-fi elements of the book are pretty limited. It's just an excuse for getting modern people into the historical setting and providing additional drama above-and-beyond the drama of the war so that the characters, who know that the war ends successfully, experience the same uncertainty as the contemporaries because they do not know how their own experience will end. The book is incredibly well-researched. In a forward to the second book, the author describes an amazing experience where she was able to interview members of a reunion group of women who served their country during the war and many of their real stories appear in the books. The author makes you feel like you have been dropped into the Blitz with bombs dropping around your head--a feeling of despair and fear buoyed by amazing acts of humanity.

The author does not wear her faith on her sleeve or make the message overly obvious, but there is a Christian message in the story--or at least an undertone of a message that I found especially heartwarming. The subtle message plays out through one of the character's interactions with a local parish preacher and through another character's frequent visits to the famous The Light of the World painting in St. Paul's Cathedral. It is amazing how the author is able to weave a story of faith into the overall plot without being overt or preachy. This shows the author's talent and the strength of the message.

I confess to being a history major in college and having a particular interest in World War II, which I'm sure influences my love of these books. Regardless of your interest in history, though, this book is a masterpiece. If you don't have a strong interest in history, this book may spark an interest and you may find yourself cruising through Wikipedia for more information on the historical events. You will have a better appreciation of what civilians went through during World War II--their fears, joys and sacrifices are all on vivid display. The writing is clear and captivating. The story is vibrant and creative. Blackout/All Clear quickly leaped into my all-time favorite books.

I also need to say a word about the narration. I've listened to dozens of books on Audible and this is by far the best narrated that I've heard so far. Katherine Kellgren is amazing and really brings the characters to life--particularly Alf and Bennie, two adorable urchins that the narrator clearly enjoyed bringing to life. Her enthusiasm for the characters really shows through in the powerful narration.

Lastly, it should be noted that Blackout/All Clear represent the third and fourth books in the Oxford Time Travel Series. The first two books are both fantastic in their own right--Doomsday Book (a dark drama) and To Say Nothing of the Dog (a lighthearted comedy). It is not necessary to read either of the first two books to read Blackout/All Clear as the stories are almost completely independent. There is one relationship in Blackout/All Clear that makes a little more sense if you have read Doomsday Book, but the essential background information is explained in Blackout/All Clear so it's not mandatory to read Doomsday Book first.

Blackout/All Clear is truly fantastic.

All Clear

What made the experience of listening to All Clear the most enjoyable?

I loved the storyline and the narrator is wonderful!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eileen,she seemed the most real of them all.

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren and Connie Willis (introduction) – was your favorite?

Binny

Any additional comments?

I was gifted this book for a review.I felt I could not do just the last book so I started w/book 1.This is book number 4.I loved this series.The characters were all well written.Katherine Kellgrin was the perfect narrator for all the characters from young child to old man.
In the future,there are Historians who can go back in time to witness events,then return.All Clear is the book that seems to tie all the stories up.There are many Historians dropped in WW2,than they can't find a way to get home.We trek across England where they try to find a 'drop' site so they can come home.It takes us back and forth in time and can get confusing,but it is worth the wait.I recommend this book,and the 3 others very highly.

Good concept but plods along

This is very detailed (with much research), but moves so painfully slow. Why did the author stretch it out into two books? She could (maybe should) have condensed the same content into one book! Again, the details are amazing, and the characters are very interesting. But I warn that the listener may find their eyes glazing over while listening.