All Clear (Oxford Time Travel, 4) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 27, 2010 Shannon rated it it was amazing

Right off the bat, a few things to indicate how highly I think of this book:

1) I am a master of delaying gratification when it comes to finishing a book, yet I stayed up an hour an a half past when I was tired last night to finish this book.
2) I cried so much during the last 100 pages that I had to switch from regular tissue to the lotion kind because my nose was sore.
3) I gave it five stars, which I do not do lightly.

I loved this book even more than its companion Blackout. Blackout was a great ...more

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Feb 18, 2020 Loretta rated it it was ok

The thing about this book that is so irksome to me? It could have been really good. The fundamental conceit of how time travel works, of a group of folks trapped in the past and the mystery of why that's happening, the ultimate resolution of that mystery - these were the nuggets of a really good story. And telling the story of the London Blitz, I mean, that's a great story! And there were many great moments. I learned more about WWII and the Blitz than in any other single book and I appreciate t ...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

Same Review as for Blackout, the first in this series:

I have been on a WWII-London-in-the-Blitz kick since I started the Maggie Hope series. I noticed Blackout was available from the library for my Kindle as I browsed online, and I remembered how much a friend loved these books.

All I can say is, “Wow.” These books definitely deserve 5 stars. If you love sci-fi and time travel, read these books. If you love a good story (and a good cry), read these books. If you love the British pluck and dry hum ...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Shelley rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, sci-fi

4.5 I'm a bit in love with Colin right now, I have to admit. I still think Blackout was too long, but the emotional payoff worked for me.

This book definitely moved at a faster, more desperate clip than the last. Everything had higher stakes. That made all the just-misses all the more frustrating for the reader and characters. I can see why this book took almost a decade to write and why she hesitated to edit it down from 1100 pages - everything mattered in this chaotic continuum, and I think she 4.5 I'm a bit in love with Colin right now, I have to admit. I still think Blackout was too long, but the emotional payoff worked for me.

This book definitely moved at a faster, more desperate clip than the last. Everything had higher stakes. That made all the just-misses all the more frustrating for the reader and characters. I can see why this book took almost a decade to write and why she hesitated to edit it down from 1100 pages - everything mattered in this chaotic continuum, and I think she was afraid of accidentally editing out something little that would matter later. Because it's the little things that matter and make a difference. But still. I think Blackout could have been trimmed and added to this one.

I liked that she took elements from all the Oxford books - John Bartholomew from Fire Watch, Ned and Verity were mentioned, Mr Dunworthy's first expedition to the Blitz at age 17 was important, etc. But I know that Ned and Verity changed history - there was a different woman in charge of flowers in Coventry during the Blitz at the end of the novel. So the continued repetition of "But historians can't change history!!!" had me baffled. Historians can totally fix history. I went in knowing that.

It was interesting how Polly and Michael continually underestimated Eileen, but she was even stronger and just as smart as they were. I also loved how Binnie was like Eileen in so many ways. I think I liked Eileen best of the three.

The Ernest/Lady Bracknell/Algernon/etc bit in Blackout had me confused and a little annoyed in the first bit, but I ended up loving how it played out here. Although Michael and Colin almost made me cry. :/

SPOILER SPECULATION! Seriously, don't finish this if you haven't read it yet...

I am guessing from the end - both Binnie and Polly's reactions - that Colin is a descendant of Eileen, that her job in history was not only saving Alf and Binnie, but having baby Mary so that Colin could be born and save them all. I am trying to figure out lineage, though. His great-aunt in Doomsday was a Mary, but there's no way it could be Eileen's daughter. She'd have been about 100 in Doomsday, 2055. So Mary had a Mary and another child, who had Deirdre, who had Colin? I'm not sure the years add up right. Anyone? ...more

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Feb 15, 2010 Carly Thompson rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010, anglophilia, time-travel

All Clear is the conclusion to the story begun in Blackout, in which three time traveling historians from 21st Century Oxford get trapped in London during the Blitz. I enjoyed the book, especially the humor and the WWII atmosphere. The book (and its predecessor) were very heavy on plot. Good portions of both books were spent with characters trying to get somewhere and encountering obstacle after obstacle. I think some judicious editing could after pruned both books down and created a stronger st ...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Alison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, z-md-elibrary

This was just wonderful, though I do wish I'd read it sooner after finishing Blackout, which is the first of the pair. This is part of her Oxford time travel series (it's 2060 and time travel is used to send historians back in time to conduct on the spot research) and takes place during WWII. It does jump back and forth in time through the war, and I was also wishing I paid closer attention to the dates given at the start of each chapter - I have a tendency to gloss over that. The characters are ...more

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