Book: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (TT, SF, H)

In Doomsday Book, a female historian goes back in time to research and to experience the Middle Ages and finds herself in the middle of the Black Death as it begins to wipe out much of Europe. The characters are well-drawn, the theory of time travel used in the novel is consistent and fresh, and the story is engaging. My only complaint is that the first half of the book seemed to drag because the author was trying to hide two secrets which were not horribly important or interesting (and I hate being manipulated like that). However, once those two mysteries were uncovered, the pace of the story picked up, the story began to focus more on the historian in the past than on her team in the "present," and the novel itself greatly improved.

This is the story of millions of people dying from a horrible plague, and nothing is held back in the descriptions of their suffering. However, this detail is not gratuitous, but rather heightens the emotional reactions of everyone involved. Recommended. Grade: B