Doomsday Book

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin

Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most respected and awarded of all contemporary science-fiction writers, Connie Willis repeatedly amazes her many admiring fans with her ability to create vivid characters in unusual situations. With Doomsday Book, she takes listeners on a thrilling trip through time to discover the things that make us most human.

For Oxford student Kivrin, traveling back to the 14th century is more than the culmination of her studies - it's the chance for a wonderful adventure. For Dunworthy, her mentor, it is cause for intense worry about the thousands of things that could go wrong. When an accident leaves Kivrin trapped in one of the deadliest eras in human history, the two find themselves in equally gripping - and oddly connected - struggles to survive.

Deftly juggling stories from the 14th and 21st centuries, Willis provides thrilling action - as well as an insightful examination of the things that connect human beings to each other.

©1992 Connie Willis (P)2000 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1993
• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1992

"Ms. Willis displays impressive control of her material; virtually every detail introduced in the early chapters is made to pay off as the separate threads of the story are brought together." (The New York Times Book Review)
"A stunning novel that encompasses both suffering and hope....The best work yet from one of science fiction's best writers." (The Denver Post)

a bad narration can kill a story

this is an amazing story that is hurt by a narrator with limited range.
the most important job a narrator has is to help the listener tell the ‏characters apart.
that didn't happen here, I was confused half the time, didn't know who was saying what.

Engaging and enjoyable, but a bit tedious

Willis does an excellent job creating an engaging protagonist in Kivrin. The dual story lines can be a bit of a drag to wade through however, as I would tend to want to know more about one plot line than the other. The other drawback is that Willis is, at times, unnecessarily redundant in her prose. I feel she is at her best when she is subtle and lets you fill in the blanks.

Not the most light-hearted story and it could be a bit graphic for the squeamish, but in spite of that I think the details evoke a visceral quality that adds to the story. I think, overall, it was worth the time and effort. I was emotionally connected to the main characters and was left wanting more in a good way, which is a positive thing for me in a story.

The performance was well done, although Sterlin's American accent could use some work.

Interesting premis

Overall story line is quite interesting. Frustrating, slow and awkward writing style. Many prejudiced and unlikable characters that seem to be presented as profound. Slow, thick, heavy narration does not help to move the story along. I did not listen to the sample audible provides so when the reader began I thought "Shoot, an entire book of this?"
Amateurish stalling techniques posing as cliff hangers rank as the biggest frustration builders- simply silly, and time wasting. The writing gives the impression it was produced by a novice. I would bet history-buff girls in middle school, keen on the blue death, would readily buy in. If presented to me as a work by one of my young budding writers here at home I would tell them the "Idea of the book is intriguing, and you are a pretty good story teller, but honey (!), go back and put some brains into the writing. You're not in Jr. High any longer." Unless this is an anomaly in Ms. Willis' cache I haven't the patience to wade through any more of this simple predictable "stuff". I will also avoid this narrator "like the plague"!

An excellent cure for insomnia.

Any additional comments?

It might be me, but I can't get farther than 15 minutes into this 60-hour odyssey without falling fast asleep. Ms. Sterlin's voice is soothing and hypnotic. She coaxes somnolence from me at every turn. The story is hard to follow when it's so disjoint. It must be good...it won awards.

A reasonable grasp of English it but bloody boring

ummm 15 words, boring could have been good bout took way way to many words and time to develop with weak character development or forever character development.

Author took much too long to tell the story

The story premise was good but the author took way too long to tell it. The middle of the story was particularly long-winded. I did consider not listening to the rest (which I rarely do for any book) but was interested enough to want to know what happened to the characters. However, I would not recommend this for others to listen. I did think the narrator did a nice job telling the story.

too much detail

a great story with deep character and locale development...but 36 chapters is about twice what was needed. narration was superb.

Uneven

The writing is uneven and so is the performance.

The opening chapters are agonizing. Using a character expressing concern over another character's safety to convey the dangers of time travel could work if there were an established relationship between the two characters. But the characters have just been introduced and there's no hint of any emotional connection between the two. The result is awkward and obviously a plot device.

The vocabulary is uneven as well. The story is set in England with English characters and yet, the characters, who live in the future, use imperial measures instead of metric.

The performer also exhibits unevenness. The pronunciation of the word "schedule", for example: British people don't say sked-dule:; they would say shed-dule.

I hope the rest of this is better.

Doomsday Book

What did you love best about Doomsday Book?

I loved the going back in history part.

What did you like best about this story?

The way Kivrin handles the everyday things she deals with.

Have you listened to any of Jenny Sterlin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I'm not sure.She was the perfect narrator for this book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes,it just wasn't possible!

Any additional comments?

LOVED this book!I hope the others are as good!

Time Travel Invented, Cell Phones Not So Much

What made the experience of listening to Doomsday Book the most enjoyable?

I loved the characters, the interplay between 13th century plague and a modern quarantined outbreak. Nephew Colin provided welcome comic relief. It also seems to me as if the imperious, bossy old lady everyone is scrambling to avoid is a stock Willis character. Will need to read more of her books to see if this trope holds true. The details about medieval life were fantastic. I really felt like I was "there".

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Colin, and I usually hate pesky, worldly-wise moppets. But he really worked for me.

What about Jenny Sterlin’s performance did you like?

She has a very pleasing voice and brought Kivirin to life as an almost angelic presence, which is how some of the contemps came to view her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Without spoiling the plot, I would not care to say.

Any additional comments?

The second half of this book does take quite a grim turn, but ultimately, I think the presence of Colin provides enough buoyancy to carry you along to a fairly satisfactory ending.