Crichton Mines History for a Tale of Time Travel That Doesn’t Fly

As the century closes, it is not surprising that the past is the subject of Michael Crichton’s latest novel. More surprising is that “Timeline” is his weakest and least believable fiction to date. (Random House Audiobooks; unabridged fiction; nine cassettes; 15 hours; $39.95; read by John Bedford Lloyd. Also available abridged; four cassettes; six hours; $25.95; read by Stephen Lang.)

Time travel, or rather, travel through space to another time, is the subject of a story in which quantum physics and the cruelties of the Middle Ages clash in a most bloody fashion.

Intrepid historians from 1999 travel through a “quantum foam wormhole” to 1357 France at the behest of an egomaniacal techno-genius, who sees the past as interactive entertainment. (Was not a similar theme used in “Jurassic Park”?)

Much akin to an afternoon movie serial from years ago, this becomes one horrifying and constant adventure that bleeds into another. There are no shades of gray: The bad guys are thoroughly evil, the good guys are true blue. One feels as if it were written for the screen, not the page, and some of it is derivative of traditional romantic lore, such as his riff on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

But Crichton does offer some enlightenment about these dark days, a time that was more sophisticated and cleaner than you might have expected. Unfortunately, passages describing the mechanics of quantum physics come across as dry lectures that make little sense to those of us with no previous knowledge of the subject.

The many characters in this novel range from Machiavellian abbots to crafty damsels in distress to frightened historians. Narrator Lloyd may not have the most memorable voice on the market, but he does a commendable job of altering it for each character.

His range is not enormous, but he noticeably deepens his voice for some characters and roughens it for others. He adopts a decent, though not superb, French accent for one of the good guys, and picks up a grating whine for one of the bad guys, which ensures our dislike of that character.

Lang, a better-known “name” in audio-book land, reads the abridged version. Happily, Lloyd is every bit as entertaining as Lang, so there is no need to opt for the truncated version just because you recognize the narrator. As always, the packaging from Random House is much sturdier than those of many other audio books on the market.

*

Another disappointment from a bestselling audio author is “Pop Goes the Weasel,” by James Patterson. Although the book is not entirely without merit, fans who enjoy Patterson’s brand of grisly thrillers will find this too predictable. (Time Warner AudioBooks; unabridged fiction; eight cassettes; 10 hours; $39.98; read by Michael Kramer. Also available abridged; four cassettes; six hours; $25.98; read by Keith David and Roger Rees.)

Detective Alex Cross, described as looking like a young Muhammad Ali, is investigating a series of gruesome killings in southeast D.C., a crime-riddled ghetto written off by the police. He believes they are linked to another series of horrible deaths dubbed “the Jane Doe murders.” His boss will have none of it, leaving Cross and his diligent detective buddies to investigate on their own time.

When Cross tries to prove that a British diplomat named Geoffrey Shafer is the lunatic on the loose, boundaries are blurred as Cross’ loved ones become the targets of Shafer’s villainous deeds.

There is no mystery to this audio, as we know from the onset that Shafer is the bad guy. Neither is there much depth in the form of meaningful character analysis or motivation. But there are lots of quick scenes and rat-a-tat dialogue that keep us mildly engrossed. As is often the case with the unabridged version of an audio, a lesser-known narrator was chosen, while better-known actors read the abridged version. Sometimes this does not matter. In this case, it does.

Kramer is a competent reader for much of the story, but the British accent he uses for Shafer is maddeningly amateurish. His other voices are passable, and in a few cases, quite believable. Yet he consistently lacks energy and sounds as if he suffers from a fatal case of ennui.

While one never wishes to recommend the abridged version of a novel, the caliber of reader is better in the abridged audio book. David has a rich, velvety voice. He has more vitality than Kramer and sounds like an African American man, which he is. And Roger Rees, being an Englishman, provides Shafer with an authentic accent.

A note for the squeamish: Patterson’s books are often rife with savage descriptions of violence. There are some rough scenes in this audio that seem especially brutal when heard aloud.

Rochelle O’Gorman reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Dick Lochte on mystery books.

For more reviews, read Book Review

* This Sunday: “Forgotten Treasures,” 38 writers weigh in on the neglected classics of the 20th century, books they adore that have yet to find the readers they deserve. In addition, William H. Gass on Gutenberg’s triumph: an essay in defense of the book.