Author | Connie Willis |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction novel |
Publisher | Spectra |
Publication date | October 19, 2010 |
Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Pages | 656 (Hardcover) |
ISBN | 978-0-553-807677 |
Preceded by | Blackout |
All Clear is a science fiction novel from Connie Willis, and the second half of a book that began with Blackout. It was published on October 19, 2010.[1]
It is the latest of four books (and a precursor short story) the author has written which involve time travel from Oxford during the mid 21st century. [2]
Author's Comments
In a February 12, 2010 interview[3] Connie Willis said:
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.
Plot Summary
All Clear begins where Blackout left off, with Michael Davies, Polly Sebastian, and Eileen O'Reilly trapped in 1940 Britain during the Blitz. Knowing something has gone wrong which prevents them from returning to 2060 Oxford, the three time travelers attempt to determine an alternate way for them to find a drop. Mike and Polly remember that another historian, Gerald Phipps, is at Bletchley Park studying Ultra. Mike goes to investigate, but discovered Gerald’s packet of information still waiting for him, indicating he never came through to his assignment. Polly uncovers further evidence that things are amiss when she figures out that Mr. Dunworthy, their supervising professor, changed everyone’s assignments to be in chronological order, to prevent deadlines. 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. The situation worsens when Eileen acquires a coat that Polly has seen her wear in 1945 on Polly’s previous trip to the past, indicating that they couldn’t get out.
In 2060 Oxford Mr. Dunworthy sends himself on a rescue mission to retrieve Polly shortly after she goes through in September 1940. However, when he arrives at St Paul’s Cathedral he is unable to determine in what time he is before the raids strike.
Due to a misunderstanding by Eileen, Polly, Mike, and Eileen 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 on the St. Paul’s firewatch, but fate conspires against them. 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. Mike gets called into service as a fireman and Eileen, Alf, and Binnie drive an ambulance and take several wounded to the hospital, saving their lives. However, they are unable to find Bartholomew before he travels back to 2060 Oxford.
Their frustration at their inability to find Bartholomew 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 which had been her nemeses in Blackout, giving her life meaning.
One day in St. Paul’s Polly stumbles across Mr. Dunworthy. Instead of mid-September, he came through during the December 29th raids and his drop won’t open, meaning he is stuck with the rest of them. He explains what he had learned, that the slippage wasn’t a result of the time continuum trying to prevent historians from changing the future, but was rather 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. The death of many of their fellow boarders convinces them of this horror.
However, all hope is not lost. Mike faked his own death and in 1944 is engaged in Operation Fortitude, a misinformation campaign designed to fool the Germans into believing that that the Allied invasion of Europe will occur at Calais. In this position, he is able to plant many 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. Additionally, he hunts for Denys Atherton, another historian, who is studying D-Day troop movements.
As Polly and Eileen settle into life in 1941 London, 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. Looking back over the experiences of Mr. Dunworthy, Bartholomew, herself, Eileen, and Mike, she realizes that they repeatedly set into motion events which ultimately were critical to winning the war, such as the lives they had saved on December 29. Even Alf and Binnie Hodbin often interfered at critical times. 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.
Colin Templar, an overeager teenager from 2060 Oxford with a crush on Polly, has been trying to rescue the historians as well. He is able to go back to 1944 and find 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. This solves the mystery of the man 1944 Polly had helped after a bomb but was unable to find again. 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 Hodbin, who tells him Eileen died in 1989. However, he learns was able to rescue Polly and Mr. Dunworthy. Binnie, who has learned all about time travel and has been watching for him, helps him figure out where he can rescue the stranded historians.
Back in April 1941, where Polly and Eileen are rehearsing for a pantomime, an older Colin comes through at St. Paul's and finds Mr. Dunworthy, who leads him to Polly and Eileen. 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 where to find them sometime in the future, 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, leaving Eileen, Alf, and Binnie to live their own lives in the past, be at VE-Day to be seen by Polly, and meet Colin in 1995 so he can plan his rescue.
Critical reception
Julie Phillips of The Village Voice describes All Clear as "neither tragedy nor comedy, but a mystery story with touches of grief and slapstick."[4] Adrienne Martini of Locus Online describes the 1940s Britain that Willis created as "richly textured".[5]
References
- ^ "All Clear by Connie Willis". Random House. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ "Oxford Time Travel Guide". Retrieved 2010-10-29.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Phillips, Julie (October 20, 2010). "Connie Willis Invades Wartime Britain". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ Martini, Adrienne. "Adrienne Martini reviews Connie Willis". Locus Online. Retrieved 2010-10-20.