The Doomsday Book

As I've mentioned earlier, starting in February, and continuing on until perhaps past March, I'll be reading Sci-fi novels pertaining to time travel. I had come upon a website listing 23 time travel novels, and I added seven, making my list 30.

I've just finished #3 - The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. When I had read Willis' To Say Nothing of The Dog a few days ago, I hadn't realized that that novel was # 2 in a four part series about Oxford time-traveling historians. I loved that novel, and decided I'd read the entire series. Fortunately, reading the 2nd novel first, and the 1st novel second doesn't cause a problem.

The Doomsday Book was first published in 1992 and the "present" in the novel is the winter of 2054/2055. The time traveler, Kivrin Engle goes back to the early 14th century.

One of the things I liked about To Say Nothing of The Dog was the humor. Although there is the occasional humorous episode in The Doomsday Book it is far more dramatic than "the dog". Never the less, I loved the The Doomsday Book just as much.

Written well before our current COVID pandemic, Willis writes of an influenza epidemic in Oxford in 2055. There is also mention of an earlier pandemic - although the specific year of the pandemic isn't given. Willis' prediction of how people will act during the 2055 influenza epidemic is quite similar to how many acted in our real (current) pandemic.

The final 2 volumes in the Oxford time travel series are Blackout and All Clear. I'm starting #3 today.