I got ALL CLEAR by Connie Willis from my local library, but after giving it a shot yesterday, I'm

[raccoon]

going to return it without reading it.

The book deals with some of Willis' time travellers going back to the London blitz.

She switches around from a set of characters to another set in another chapter, and also in times--first chapter is in 1940, another one will be in 1945, 1944, etc. She does this very frequently, and IMO it's too much to try to keep up with.

I enjoyed her DOMESDAY BOOK, but this one I'll pass on.

[SheilaT]

1. Did you read Blackout first?

if you didn't you've entered the story at the halfway point. The two books are a single novel published in two volumes. You've picked up the book in the middle, so no wonder it doesn't make sense.

So, go back to the library and check out Blackout and you'll have much less trouble following the action when you return to All Clear.

[raccoon]

2. That explains what the author was saying in her preface. Maybe I'll do that. nt

[shimmergal]

3. Yes, you really do need to

read BLACKOUT first.

However, I found that book rather maddening, in that it doesn't give you a sense of character on any of the time-travelers at all. Just the people they meet back in WWII times, and of course many of them die even in the course of the novel.

I'll probably read ALL CLEAR, but I'm not in any hurry to do so. Much more eager to read Lois Bujold's CRYOBURN, as she always tries to do something new in each book of the series. I think Willis does too (and THE DOOMSDAY BOOK is IMO one of the best time-travel books ever), but Willis's works are a very mixed bag.

[bikebloke]

4. I read Blackout.

Then put All Clear on reserve recently. But thinking back on Black Out, I recalled the shifting about and flat characters as the book moved forward. So I canceled the hold. I'm looking for Domesday Book.