My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #5 – Doomsday Book
#5 – Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1992)
Another novel by Connie Willis which follows time travelling historians. This time, a history student is sent back to the 14th century, further back in time than any history student before her.
She wishes to go back to the 1320, but she ‘accidentally’ arrives in the year 1348; the time of the Black Death epidemic in England.
The story then switches back and forth between the 14 century and the 21st century, where a history professor desperately tries to bring his lost student home. However, another wrench is thrown in the machinery when a flu epidemic breaks out in the 21st century as well.
Is it possible the Black Death came forward in time?
Despite the dark overtones of being in the worst flu epidemic in history, Willis manages to make this more of a dark-comedy than a straight up thriller.
The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards and is considered one of the greatest works of science fiction in recent history.
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