Alex Scarrow, Penguin, pb $16.95
Imagine you’re on the brink of death but instead of death an old man asks you to take his hand. This is quite normal in the futuristic world of Time Riders, written by Alex Scarrow, which takes place in a dying world polluted by CO2 and other noxious fumes.
You have to wear gas masks wherever you walk and although the icecaps no longer exist, time travel does and many people will stop at nothing to change life as we know it. Join Maddy, Sal and Liam in their quest to turn back time and save the world from the destructive plotting of the evil Paul Kramer and make things right.
The book shows that goodness always reigns true, power corrupts, and that in life we all have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy. The book is 100 per cent packed with action, suspense and surprises. I would give it ten out of ten because of its use of descriptive language, the thrills and the tension, wonderfully written. I would recommend the book to all readers of all ages but it would be perfect for children aged 8–12 and/or sci-fi readers and other fiction enthusiasts.
I personally believe that Alex Scarrow could write about the phone book and keep me turning pages. ‘Mess around with time and the world you know could become a world you don’t.’
~ MW Priestley, Byron Bay Public School
