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Imagine it's fifty years from now, and time travel is used regularly at Oxford
University in England as a means of historical research. They've rated time
periods for danger levels and refuse to send students back to certain ones,
but through political maneuvering, a historian has managed to open the middle
ages to one determined young woman named Kivrin. I don't want to give anything
away, but young Kivrin, who's only 18, finds herself in for more than she
bargained for, landing in the middle of the most basic and profound questions
of life and death.... And meanwhile, there are unforeseen difficulties back
in the 21st century, making it difficult for those trying to keep up with her
and get her back at the end of her stint.
Fanciful, yes. Intriguing, yes. Great literature—who knows? It's definitely
inventive and deeper than much of science fiction. Easy to explain how Connie
Willis won a Hugo award for this one.
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