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Princess Lirin (talk | contribs) Creating redirect—content was merged to Blackout/All Clear per discussion |
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#REDIRECT [[Blackout/All Clear]] {{R from merge}} |
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{{Infobox Book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] --> |
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| name = All Clear |
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| translator = |
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| image = |
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| author = [[Connie Willis]] |
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| country = United States |
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| language = English |
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| series = |
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| genre = [[Science fiction novel]] |
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| publisher = [[Bantam Spectra|Spectra]] |
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| pub_date = October 19, 2010 |
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| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]]) |
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| pages = 656 (Hardcover) |
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| isbn = 978-0-553-807677 |
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| oclc= |
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| preceded_by = [[Blackout (novel)|Blackout]] |
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| followed_by = |
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}} |
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'''''All Clear''''' is a [[science fiction]] novel from [[Connie Willis]], and the second half of a book that began with [[Blackout (novel)|''Blackout'']]. It was published on October 19, 2010.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553807677 | title=All Clear by Connie Willis | publisher=Random House | accessdate=2010-10-06}}</ref> |
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It is the latest of four books (and a precursor short story) the author has written which involve time |
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travel from [[Oxford]] during the mid 21st century. <ref>{{cite web | url=http://azsf.net/cwblog/?page_id=49 | title=Oxford Time Travel Guide | accessdate=2010-10-29}}</ref> |
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== Author's Comments == |
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In a February 12, 2010 interview<ref>[http://suvudu.com/2010/02/connie-willis-talks-blackout-part-2.html]</ref> Connie Willis said: |
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<blockquote> |
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What are ''Blackout'' and ''All Clear'' about? They’re about Dunkirk and ration books and D-Day and V-1 rockets, about tube shelters and Bletchley Park and gas masks and stirrup pumps and Christmas pantomimes and cows and crossword puzzles and the deception campaign. And mostly the book’s about all the people who “did their bit” to save the world from Hitler -- Shakespearean actors and ambulance drivers and vicars and landladies and nurses and WRENs and RAF pilots and Winston Churchill and General Patton and Agatha Christie -- heroes all. |
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</blockquote> |
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==Plot Summary== |
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''All Clear'' begins where ''Blackout'' left off, with Michael Davies (as Mike Davis), Polly Churchill (as Polly Sebastian), and Merope Ward (as Eileen O'Reilly) trapped in 1940 Britain during the Blitz. Similarly to ''Blackout'', the novel switches between multiple people and times. |
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Knowing something has gone wrong which prevents them from returning to 2060 Oxford, the three time travelers attempt to determine an escape plan, but none of their efforts are successful. Gerald Phipps, who was supposed to be at [[Bletchley Park]] studying [[Ultra]], never came through to his assignment. Due to a misunderstanding, they only realize that another Oxford historian, John Bartholomew, is also in their place and time less than a day before he will leave. Frantically they try to get to him, but the three are separated and repeatedly delayed, not helped by the fact that this is the night of December 29, 1940, some of the worst raids of the war. They are unable to find Bartholomew before he returns to 2054 Oxford. When Mike and Eileen figure out that Polly has a deadline in June 1943 – meaning that if she isn’t out by then she’ll die, since she’s already visited that time – their search for a way out becomes even more desperate. Their frustration turns into tragedy when Mike is killed during a raid. Eileen refuses to accept his death, but upon realizing Alf and Binnie’s mother has been dead for months, volunteers to raise the orphans, giving her life meaning. |
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In 2060 Oxford Mr. Dunworthy sends himself on a rescue mission to retrieve Polly in September 1940. However, when he arrives at [[St Paul’s Cathedral]] he is unable to determine the date before the raids start. (St. Paul's, and especially one of the paintings in the Cathedral, ''[[The Light of the World (painting)|The Light of the World]]'', are viewed several times by most of the important characters in the book. They are either inspired or depressed by their current view of the painting.) When he realizes it is December 1940, he becomes hopeless and distraught. Polly stumbles across him in the cathedral a few weeks later. He explains that slippage isn’t a result of the time continuum trying to prevent historians from changing the past as was previously thought, but is a response to changes they’d already caused. The continuum around World War II is in such disarray that it has sealed itself off to time travel, and will engage in ‘corrections’ – likely the death of the historians and those they have influenced. Their worst fears – that they have been able to influence the past and cause discrepancies – have been realized, possibly to the point the war will be lost. |
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However, all hope is not lost. Mike faked his own death and in 1944 is engaged in [[Operation Fortitude]], a misinformation campaign. He is able to plant notices in newspapers hinting where Polly and Eileen are located in the hopes that someone in 2060 Oxford will find the notices and be able to rescue the girls. Another potential rescuer is Colin Templer, an overeager teenager from 2060 Oxford with a crush on Polly. He goes back to 1944 and finds Mike, right after he has been hit by a bomb and helped by a clueless 1944 Polly. Mike explains that Polly and Eileen are together and falls unconscious as Colin brings him back to 2060 Oxford. Colin also goes to the 1970s for research and 1995 to try to find someone who knew Polly. To his surprise, he meets an elderly Binnie, who tells him Eileen died in 1989. Through what he learns, he is able to rescue Polly and Mr. Dunworthy. Binnie, who has learned all about time travel and has been looking for him, tells him where and when he can rescue the stranded historians. |
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Polly’s worries about leading to the deaths of those around her by interfering do not prevent her from saving the life of Sir Godfrey in a bombing. She finally realizes what is going on as she lies recovering in the hospital; the historians have caused small things to happen which ultimately led to winning the war. She concludes that they’re stuck in World War II not to be killed by the continuum, but because there are things they need to do so that the war is won and history is as it should be. |
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In April 1941, an older Colin comes through at St. Paul's and finds the historians. Polly and Mr. Dunworthy leave with Colin to return to 2060 Oxford, but Eileen stays behind. She reasons that she must remain in the past so she can tell Colin in the future where to find them, and she refuses to abandon Alf and Binnie. Colin tells them that Mike had faked his own death, but died from his 1944 injuries. Finally Polly, Mr. Dunworthy, and Colin return to the St. Paul's drop and Oxford. Eileen, Alf, and Binnie stay behind to live their lives in the past. Binnie meets Colin in 1995, and gives him information that helps him plan his rescue. |
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==Critical reception== |
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[[Julie Phillips]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' describes ''All Clear'' as "neither tragedy nor comedy, but a mystery story with touches of grief and slapstick."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-10-20/books/connie-willis-invades-wartime-britain/ | title=Connie Willis Invades Wartime Britain | publisher=[[The Village Voice]] | last=Phillips | first=Julie | date=October 20, 2010 | accessdate=2010-10-20}}</ref> Adrienne Martini of [[Locus Online]] describes the 1940s Britain that Willis created as "richly textured".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2010/02/adrienne-martini-reviews-connie-willis.html | title=Adrienne Martini reviews Connie Willis | last=Martini | first=Adrienne | publisher=[[Locus Online]] | accessdate=2010-10-20}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Time travel novels]] |
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[[Category:American science fiction novels]] |
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[[Category:2010 novels]] |
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[[Category:Novels by Connie Willis]] |
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[[Category:21st-century American novels]] |
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{{2010s-novel-stub}} |
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{{sf-novel-stub}} |
Latest revision as of 04:57, 1 June 2011
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