The Cat's Rrar

‘TimeRiders’: the start of a new series that will thrill and capture the minds of many sci-fi and action loving teenage readers.

Foster is an experienced TimeRider who is looking for new recruits to fill the gaps left by his previous team who were all destroyed by creatures from the time void. Step up Maddy, Liam and Sal. From three different generations and countries these three teenagers have one thing in common; thanks to Foster they have all cheated death. But this comes at a price; they must spend the rest of their days as TimeRiders. They have become trapped with only each other for company as together they try to save the world from the people of the future who will attempt to change the past. Their first mission faces them off against a scientist from the future who aims to save the world by taking control in the past, an event that will change the future forever. With Liam stuck in the 1940s and Maddy, Sal and Foster trapped in New York in a 2001 that’s rapidly changing, can they prevent this mission from becoming not just their first but their last?

In TimeRiders there are elements from so many other series but Alex Scarrow has effectively twisted them with his own ideas to produce a unique story that combats a very competitive market. The mystery and adventure squeezed into the novel holds the attention of the reader ceaselessly throughout, making sleep unthinkable. The structure also creates fascinating reading as the story jumps between plot-lines and time-zones frequently to keep the story fresh whilst the author subtly manages to intertwine them and bring them to a heart-pounding climax at the conclusion of the first instalment of the series. It is a well crafted novel that will be appreciated and enjoyed by 12+ readers. Their time was coming but they were about to find out what happens when you change the clock.

By Douglas, age 16