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)

Great story idea but falls flat

I thought this would be the perfect book for me. Time traveling historians? Yes, please! Unfortunately this was too long, drawn out and repetitive. I listened to this on audiobook which probably didn’t help but the performance was good. It was varied and kept me listening. The dialogue and certain ideas were so repetitive. A person would have a train of thought and then one thing would change and the whole thing would go again, with the same thought just being repeated again. It was also excruciatingly detailed. He walked to the cart. He plugged up the electric kettle. He opened the tea bag. The story idea was great and it did pick up here and there but it was very slow in between.

Horrible. Grating. Dull.

I wanted badly to enjoy this book, but I'm over 12 hours in and about to give up. Most have mentioned the redundancy of the plot and dialogue, but few have mentioned the worst of the worst: the grating, ear clawing, tooth ache inducing children's voices. God help me--I want to throttle the obnoxious Agnes, who I fear is supposed to be cute or endearing or something. But the way the narrator renders her only highlights how whiny and tedious she is, and makes me hope she'll die of plague as soon as possible. I've had to skip ahead whenever she speaks to avoid a crushing migraine. Since the book is so bloated and repetitive, very little is missed skipping large swaths of the tedious, grating exchanges between characters. Pretty disappointing for an award winning book by an excellent author.

a little repetitive

This has the makings of a good story, but the author is too repetitive for my taste. The characters are maddeningly stubborn and constantly defy sound advice. The narrator is an older woman, which is at odds with the POV characters who are a young, headstrong woman, and an older grandfatherly figure. I think the whole book could have been cut down by half with some good editing (I normally avoid abridged versions of anything, but would recommend it in this case). Having said all of that, it's amusing to hear the "future" described from a position in the past - not sure what year this was written, but the author could imagine telephones with video feedback, but not wireless cell phones!

Interesting at times

I enjoyed the history of the plague parts and made me want to learn more about it but the overall book was not that good for me. I almost didn't finish it. Jenny Sterlins narration was slow, I had to check to see if it was on slow motion. My main complaint is that the characters didn't seem well developed. I like to be able to picture them in my head but their appearances weren't described nor any personal information.

Love-hate relationship with this book

Idea and storyline are appealing and original, but the prose is repetitive, long, drawn out, unoriginal, long, repetitive, same words used over and over again, ... do you get the idea? I listened compulsively, because I really wanted to hear the story. However, I did switch the listening speed to 1.5x, which really helped to reduce the boredom with the dry hackneyed words that appeared again and again. Is there no other way to describe a particular man as a "cut-throat"? Is clothing with blood on it, described only by the word "stiff"? Yet, the story was fascinating. I enjoyed the parallel evolution of events in both 1300's and 2000's. It was intriguing that the author envisioned time travel, video phones, and fabulous medical advances. However, interestingly, mobile phones were not heard of and the protagonists are constantly frustrated by not being able to find available landlines, or having to wait in their rooms for return phonecalls. In hindsight, would I listen to this book again? Difficult call - I think, yes. It catalysed some research into the middle ages and the plague. I enjoyed the characters. And the storyline was fascinating.

Repetitive and a bit slow

Still, it is a fun book with lots of humor and a very serious story

A wonderfully imagined trip to the not-so-good old days

The Doomsday Book is an excellent tale. To enjoy it you need to settle into the slow pace. It could have been edited down to about half its length. The narrator adds to the slow pace, and at times slurs a bit and sounds almost drunk! This book has typically British eccentric characters that are not likable and typically awful British imitations of American accents. The characters speculate endlessly about what is happening – a disappointing literary device. Regardless I enjoyed it very much, particularly because it gives a version of history that
is neither heroic nor sugar coated.

Nice idea but slow pacing.

Would you try another book from Connie Willis and/or Jenny Sterlin?

I might, if it were not as long. Normally I love long listens, but I have to agree with other reviewers that this one dragged, particularly on the 'contemporary timeline' side.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The idea was certainly interesting, and the depictions of the Middle Ages were very good. The parts set in the 'present' were definitely too stretched out and some jokes made over and over, losing their charm.

What about Jenny Sterlin’s performance did you like?

I think she did a very good job with Kivrin and with the young characters. Her Agnes was very good. Unfortunately she did a deplorable job with the American accents; I just had to try not to pay close attention during these parts.

Was Doomsday Book worth the listening time?

Unfortunately not. At the end I have to say I was glad it was over. Although I found the arc of the story quite interesting each part just took too long. I liked the characters but often wished they would just get on with it. I recently listened to "Just One Damned Thing After another"-- a book that may have been inspired by this one. I have to say it would have been a fitting title for this book as well.

Wow! What a tragic story.

I have to admit that Science Fiction isn't what I read or listen to but this book sounded interesting. I'm so glad I took the chance and downloaded this amazing story. I was captivated from the beginning and was transported to 2054 and then to 1328. The characters in this story became friends of mine and I wept towards the end for the loss of some of my new friends. The descriptions in this story were amazing and I was able to picture the village of Skeingate in 1328 and the people who lived there. Jenny Sterlin is a great narrator and made the story even more enjoyable and touching.

This is a very long book but I found myself not wanting to stop listening. I even recommended this to a friend at work and a few other friends who can't wait to read or listen to this book. Great book and amazing story.

5 Stars? 10 is more like it.

I can't tell my boss, but I listened to this book all day while I worked it was such a good story and the narration terrific. The characters were interesting and complex, rich and surprising at times. Even the unlikeable ones were drawn as understandable and not simply awful people. At the end, some were even very much appreciated.

The story was engaging and the settings vividly described. The futuristic year was well grounded in reality so entirely imaginable.

You cannot miss this book. I loved it and you will, too! Happy reading!!