A little while ago, I made the literary journey to the Middle Ages through Ian Mortimer’s book The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England. I have since returned to that time and place through the pages of Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book. Set in Oxford, England in 2054, time travel is undertaken by universities for research, usually for the history department. This story involves Kirvin, an undergrad who longs to go to the 14th century. The ban on traveling to Medieval England (it is rated a ten, the most dangerous rating given to historic periods, due to the mortality rate, wars, and the Plague) is relaxed as Kirvin has been immunized against common illnesses (including the plague), trained in daily life skills she would need to fit in, and has learned common Medieval languages. The professor who has trained her, Professor Dunworthy, has considerable misgivings about sending one of his best undergrads to an incredibly dangerous time period. After all, if not the Plague, then bandits, if not bandits, then being burned as a witch. Kirvin, however, is determined to go and has chosen to return to Oxford, 1320 during Christmas. The plague did not come to England until Christmas of 1348 and 1320 was a relatively calm year so Kirvin thinks her trip shall be uneventful though extremely informative.
Time travel is managed by “opening the net” at the drop site. Intense calculations must be made to ensure accuracy. Slippage occurs due to a variety of factors, including the laws of physics that protect the time continuum. At the time of the drop, Kirvin’s biggest worry is she’ll be five days off from where she wants. But the drop goes as planned…until the technician manning it contracts a mysterious illness after rushing to Professor Dunworthy saying “Something’s wrong”. With the technician down for the count, Professor Dunworthy scrambles trying to determine Kirvin’s location. And then more people fall ill. Soon, Oxford is enduring a raging epidemic, making it nearly impossible for him to find the answers he needs.
Meanwhile, Kirvin has landed in the Middle Ages, delirious and lost. A noble family takes her in and nurses her back to health. The only slight problem is, she has no idea precisely where the drop happened which means, if she does not find it in time, she will miss the rendezvous and be stuck in Medieval Oxford forever.
I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are very natural and likable. Funnily, I did not notice how much I cared for them until the action started. I also like how Connie Willis manages time travel. While inventing laws of physics for it does seem like kind of an out, as you don’t have to go into great detail as to how it works, it is an incredibly convenient way to explain away the butterfly effect without resorting to horrifically technical stuff. It actually was very preferable to just think “oh. Science. huh.” and then get back to the plot. At the same time, it left plenty of room for questions and thought afterwards which has lead to some very enjoyable conversations on the possibilities of time travel with friends. I would definitely recommend to others to read.
