Blackout

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren, Connie Willis

Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

In her first novel since 2002, Nebula and Hugo award-winning author Connie Willis returns with a stunning, enormously entertaining novel of time travel, war, and the deeds - great and small - of ordinary people who shape history.

Oxford in 2060 is a chaotic place. Scores of time-traveling historians are being sent into the past, to destinations including the American Civil War and the attack on the World Trade Center. Michael Davies is prepping to go to Pearl Harbor. Merope Ward is coping with a bunch of bratty 1940 evacuees and trying to talk her thesis adviser, Mr. Dunworthy, into letting her go to VE Day. Polly Churchill's next assignment will be as a shopgirl in the middle of London's Blitz. And 17-year-old Colin Templer, who has a major crush on Polly, is determined to go to the Crusades so that he can catch up to her in age. But now the time-travel lab is suddenly canceling assignments for no apparent reason and switching around everyones schedules. And when Michael, Merope, and Polly finally get to World War II, things just get worse. For there they face air raids, blackouts, unexploded bombs, dive-bombing Stukas, rationing, shrapnel, V-1s, and two of the most incorrigible children in all of history to say nothing of a growing feeling that not only their assignments but the war and history itself are spiraling out of control. Because suddenly the once-reliable mechanisms of time travel are showing significant glitches, and our heroes are beginning to question their most firmly held belief: that no historian can possibly change the past.

BONUS AUDIO: In an exclusive introduction, author Connie Willis discusses her fascination with WWII and the historic context of Blackout.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Blackout is the first volume of a two-part novel. To find out what happens to the time-traveling historians from Oxford, we invite you to download the concluding volume, All Clear.

Listen to Connie Willis and Carrie Vaughn: A Conversation. And listen to All Clear.

©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)

“If you're a science-fiction fan, you'll want to read this book by one of the most honored writers in the field; if you're interested in World War II, you should pick up Blackout for its you-are-there authenticity; and if you just like to read, 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)

It takes time…

I have owned this audio since it first came out. At first I was disappointed as I found it hard to jump around time. Then I listened to it a second time, then a third, then the millionth. It is one of my go to books. I listen to it in all kinds of ways, I will follow a character line (love the Hodbins). I’ll just check out how the the girls are doing fending off men and V2 rockets. Be sure to pick up ‘All Clear’ at the same time, you are going to want to find out if we win the war!

You're in for a wild ride!

I'll start by saying Blackout and All Clear are a package deal, so don't expect to listen to one and not the other; you'll want to start All Clear immediately after finishing Blackout, because you can't just let the story end there. These books are amazing - the best time travel science fiction I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Anyone interested in time travel or WWII history will love them. You really connect to the characters, and you can't guess what will happen next. Time travel is my favorite topic in sci-fi and fantasy, and this series is my number one recommendation in that category. If you like these, listen to all of the Oxford Time Travel series. They're worth it.

I want more. I will definitely keep an eye on Connie Willis. I hope by the time I've gotten through her other works she'll have released a new one.

Wait for the other half; then listen to both

I WISH I had read further and found out that this is half a novel and that I must wait months before the other half is out; as a Connie Willis fan, I just ordered the book the moment I saw her name. More than the abrupt ending was a disappointment: what is the point of timetravel in order to experience the everyday lives of the contemporaries, when the historians then ignore everything except worry about how to get home? Why not revel in the opportunity for observation? It seems completely contradictory to me, and also misses out on the charm of "The Doomsday Book", which is all about the compassionate presence of an historian. In a word, disa..... [the remainder of this review will be available later this year]

fantastic!

While I wish there was more Oxford (a la "To Say Nothing of the Dog"), this time traveling tale is classic Connie Willis. I do appreciate the sustained focus on the WWII scenes, as they really draw you in and bring the era to life. The suspense, the mad cap confusion, and all the other elements of her earlier time travel books are all here.

A good look at the blitz

Connie always writes a good entangled novel. I was not happy about the outcome. It screams sequel.

Blackout/Washout; 3.5 stars

I should start by saying that I quite enjoyed this book. That said, however, the litany of complaints made by others about this novel and its sequel "All Clear" are largely justified, so it's really a matter of how interested you are in the war, or how much of a Connie Willis fan you are as to whether you'll stick with it.

As has been said before:Blackout/All Clear is a very flawed book. Sadly, the issues are largely editorial, ie avoidable. One overlong novel has been divided into two, whereas in fact the author should have been told to cut it by about two hundred pages. I can't remember when I last read a book that had so much redundancy. There are also stupid errors good editing should have picked up, such as Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" being called by its original American title of "Murder in the Calais Coach" (it was never called this in the UK); and constant mistakes concerning the differences between English and American usage. By the way, I am not even English but Australian; if I can pick up that a supposedly English character is talking like an American, then heaven help people in the UK. Nor does Connie Willis really grasp the subtleties of the British class system. One example will suffice: the character of Merope, pretending to be a servant, develops a romantic friendship with a young local clergyman. With due respect to the clergy, it is almost inconceivable that in 1940 a university educated Anglican priest would have become friends with an Irish maid, or had anything more than a strictly pastoral relationship with such a person. People just did not cross those sort of educational and class boundaries with the ease that they do now--even in wartime.

With regards to the narration, Katherine Kellgren is adequate. She has some very annoying vocal mannerisms, including some tortuous dipthongs and a rising inflection that nearly drove me crazy. But I did listen to it all the way through, so it was not quite a washout in the end.

engrossing

Throughly enjoyed the listen. The story captures and holds your attention and the narrator was great. Am jumping straight into All Clear.

I enjoyed every minute of it.

I guess it's the combination of the location, I'm an anglophile, and the time travel aspect that keeps me coming back to this series. I can't remember enjoying any book more than these.

Yes, it is two-parts and I will download more

Yes, as others have mentioned, this is a two-part series. Effectively this is historical fiction combined with science fiction. Set in the London during the raids the author introduces us to a trio of time travelers going back to have first-hand exeriences. Though not visiting the front line, the historians meet everyday heroes. Might sound a little boring but it is not. The narrator is the best I have heard. She does a great job of distinguishing the many different characters. I am a monthly subscriber and unsure whether to dive in now or next month, but I will listen to part two.

Very Enjoyable

I was initially interested in this book, then put off by some of the reviews, then cautious because it was a "two parter" - but after listening to "To Say Nothing of the Dog" I decided to take the plunge.

If you are looking for fast paced action thriller - go elsewhere...but if you are looking for something that draws you in, gets you involved with the characters, the feeling of the times, and pulls you along and along - then this is for you. (Although having written that, there IS tension, there ARE explosions and there is real action) .

I really like Connie Willis and I like her style. I have read her hardcopy books before, but I really like listening to the audible books - the accents, the characterizations seem to really bring it to life for me. Not boring it all. But I can imagine that its not everyone's cup of tea......

Connie Willis is an American, but writes about the Oxford based time travelers with a particular focus on the 1940's England and the sensibilities and habits of those times. I think that if you are a bit of an anglophile, a Masterpiece theater period show kind of person - you will like this dramatization. I know I did and as soon as my credits were available (I have a monthly subscription) downloaded the "All Clear Book" as I did not want a break from the story!

Although Connie Willis is a science fiction author -the story is more about fitting into the social manners of the times - the Blitz, working in shop on Oxford street, the protocol of the air raid shelters, etc. Quite entertaining.