641 pages
The engrossing sequel to Blackout, All Clear follows the same three time travellers as they try to make it home to the year 2060. Polly, Eileen and Mike join forces to discover another way back to Oxford. In the mean time, they are stuck in London and its suburbs during the dangerous time of the Blitz.
Again, while this is a time travel book, it feels very much like historical fiction. The characters go through the same deprivation and horrors as the residents of London. As our intrepid travellers search for another way back to the future, they are thwarted at every turn. It's almost as if the time web is trying to prevent them from returning home. But they know they don't belong in London in 1940-1941 and fear that their very presence in the past may have cost the Allies their victory over Hitler. The plot takes some sharp twists and turns, and you are never sure who will survive and who will not. I teared up in several heart-wrenching moments, but still found it a very satisfying read.
I enjoyed both Blackout and All Clear enough to go back and read them again. I wish there was a 3rd, but I don't see how Connie Willis could manage another one in that time frame. I would recommend this to anyone interested in time travel or historical novels of World War II.
I very much enjoyed Blackout and All Clear. They kept me "on the edge of my seat" until the very end. I felt as if I were a part of the blitz era there in London. I suppose I am fortunate in that I didn't discover Blackout and All Clear until they were both out, so I didn't have to wait as long as some to find out what happened to our three time-travelers. Otherwise, it would have been frustrating to wait for the second part.
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