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Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 384
Genre: Young Adult (Science Fiction/Time Travel/a couple of zombie-like creatures)
Received for review by Penguin UK
Summary: Liam O'Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2029. Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, 'Take my hand ...'
But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren't rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose - to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past. That's why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world...
Thoughts: This book has two things that usually make me stop reading: short chapters and Nazis. They are serious pet peeves of mine because a) I am capable of an attention span greater than 5 minutes, thank you very much, and b) haven't you heard the war is friggin' over???
And yet... TimeRiders was awesome. Awesome in that kind of action-packed, bad-ass, yes-we-may-kill-off-your-favourite-character sort of way. This book felt like a blockbuster movie – but with a superior script. Alex Scarrow writes action scenes with handful of main characters and ten dozen extras zooming across the page without breaking a sweat – a talent I seriously admire.
Scarrow also created some fantastic villains. I read an interview of his where he described his desire to make 3D characters who – one could argue – were merely misguided. He lived up to his claim in TimeRiders, writing a villain with pure intentions that became twisted by circumstance and insanity. A villain who is trying to save the world, just in a somewhat psychopathic way. It is a welcome relief from the typical twirling-moustache villain!
However, I found the main characters a bit flat. Although perfectly enjoyable, they were rather secondary to the plot. So much crap happened to them, but there is very little emotional payoff. I also found a couple of the time-travel sequences rather... convenient. The sequences that took place over two times – but appeared in the book simultaneously – felt somewhat contrived. Just one of the many dangers of time-travel, I guess!
Bottom line? TimeRiders is a fun, action-packed, addictive book. Will likely appeal to teenage boys as well as girls – just don’t expect too much emotional depth. I think Scarrow is saving it all for the sequel.
Oh, really? I kinda love this book with my usual fanaticism for tweeny series' books. Everything about it just worked for me. I can definitely see that the time travel thing might be a little annoying.
ReplyDeleteThe cover throws me off a bit. If I were at a book store, I never would have picked this up. But I was kind of hooked just from the summary. It sounds like a really fun book! I think I may have to add this to my TBR pile.
ReplyDelete@Becky - Don't get me wrong, I really liked it just... not as obsessively as I COULD have!
ReplyDelete@Cialina - I know what you mean about the cover. It's very boy-friendly and I probably would't have picked it up either. But it is surprisingly representative of the plot and the book itself is pretty kick-ass!