This work is on a classic SF theme, time travel. A theme that has been done and redone so many times, but how does Connie Willis make it work? The answer is that it is all in the character development and the storytelling. There is also a tension that runs through the book that keeps you wondering and makes the ending meaningful. It all hangs together very nicely.
The story is about a history PhD student at Oxford university in the near future. In this future they have access to time travel when it does not affect the present, so it is only useful for students of history. That does not make it safe however, as Kivrin discovers when she goes back to 1320 to study a mediaeval village. Unknown to anyone Kivrin was sick with a new flu bug, think H1N1 with steroids, and the Oxford of the present ends up in quarantine as she falls sick in the past, to be succored by some visiting nobility.
What I really liked about this story, without giving away any details, is the way that the characters are torn with indecision, uncertainty and realism. In particular I like the way that the decisions of the Kivrin's supervisor change and evolve. The description of the past, especially the more harrowing parts which you will know when you get to them are particularly well written and I think it is likely that the writer has probably taken advantage of her own time machine to make this book realistic.
It is a bit different, it is already slightly dated, but it is a clear voice. I will definitely read more Connie Willis when I get the chance.
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