To Say Nothing of the Dog

Extract: Connie Willis' second of the Oxford Time Travel Series once again has hapless time traveling historians trapped in difficult predicaments by the malfunctioning net and surrounded by single-minded characters who barely let the protagonist get a word in edgewise. This time, this comedy of manners format is truly a comedy, crossing the style of Oscar Wilde with the formulaic mysteries of Agatha Christie set in the middle of some fairly complex time travel dilemmas. This was my second reading of the book, and I enjoyed it far more than my first time, when I was distracted by a painful back, impending lay-offs, and the deep longing to be back in the epic fantasy world of the novel I had just finished. This time, I thoroughly reveled in the chaos of time travel mishaps and time travelers who just can't seem to get a break...