Doomsday Book

What is the Science Fiction Premise?

We are offered a world in which time travel is a basic tool of historical research. In this case, it is used to visit medieval England.

Is the science of the premise explored?

Here I have mixed feelings. Although the machinery of traveling through time and some of the rules governing it are extensively portrayed, the theory is not very elaborate. To deal with the most difficult aspect of time travel, we are simply told that paradoxes cannot occur. We are not told why this should be or why people believe it to be true.

None of this is all that disturbing. In fact, it probably puts Doomsday Book ahead of most time travel stories. Nevertheless, there was one aspect of this portrayal that irritated me. Occasionally, the story drifts into implying that the rules of time travel preclude changes to history. The difficulty here is that history is largely a human construct and I do not expect the rules of physics to take account of human interests and motivations in any special way. If they do, then there is far more that needs explaining than time travel.

Is the impact of the premise on an individual explored?

Again, I have somewhat mixed feelings on this score. The lives of those who travel back in time are changed by the availability of time travel, though not in any fashion that seems specific to time travel. One of our heroes is anxious to use this new research tool and the other is feeling very cautious. This might have been the result of any new capability that has not yet been fully explored.

There are, however, some interesting effects on the lives of those who greet the time traveler. For the sake of the story, I will not elaborate. Suffice it to say that these effects are subtly done and woven into the story in a seamless way.

Is the impact of the premise on society explored?

All I can say is that the author does not reveal much interest in how the availability of time travel might change the world we all live in. As far as the reader can tell, time travel is only used by historians to conduct research. We can glimpse how time travel has been integrated into academic pursuits, but these adjustments do not seem especially different because it is time travel.

It is doubtful that time travel could become an academic tool without also being used to resolve legal disputes or to find lost treasure. Perhaps all these things are happening; Doomsday Book does not discuss them.

How well written is the story?

This is where the book excels. The words read easily and well, the story is compelling, and there is a certain artistry to the endeavor. On this last point, I especially enjoyed the humor (it is a bit subtle) and the attention given to the bells.

My main complaint is that the story is rather long and the pacing somewhat slow. I confess, however, that being a slow reader, my tolerance for long stories is lower than most people's. Nevertheless, I did make it through and felt rewarded for the effort.

Can I recommend the book?

I can recommend the book without hesitation, but I would like to offer a more nuanced answer.

If I were teaching a course on Science Fiction Novels, this book would not be front and center. I would start by emphasizing books that explore their scientific premise in all three ways, i.e., the science, the impact on individuals, and the impact on society. I don't feel Doomsday Book shows a deep interest in any of these elements; it is primarily using a science fiction premise to enable an interesting and compelling story.

Let me hasten to say, however, that this is not Space Opera. It shows too much concern for the credibility of the science and the plausibility of its consequences. This is not simply an adventure story from a different genre relocated into science fiction; it is a story that could not occur without the science fiction premise.

For Doomsday Book, I would need a third class of science fiction; one that does not explore its science fiction premise deeply, but is dependent on that premise for its story.

Tar Daddoo