Turn, turn, turn

Fantasy has finally evolved into something much more than just magic and wizardry. TimeRiders is a sci-fantasy — a blend of science fiction and fantasy, similar to Eoin Colfer’s popular Artemis Fowl series, writes Aadi Sharma.

TimeRiders
Alex Scarrow
Puffin Rs 250 pp 432

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Fantasy has finally evolved into something much more than just magic and wizardry. TimeRiders is a sci-fantasy — a blend of science fiction and fantasy, similar to Eoin Colfer’s popular Artemis Fowl series. While it doesn’t really match up to Colfer or even Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, it’s definitely worth a read.

TimeRiders is about, you guessed it, time travelling. Three children who are going to die are visited by a mysterious man called Foster, who offers them a chance to escape their fate.

The first is a boy called Liam from the year 1912. He was aboard the doomed Titanic, but just before he drowns, a man named Foster magically emerges and transports him to 2001.

Two other girls, Maddy and Sal (both from the 2000s), have a similar encounter with Foster and are sent to 2001 as well. Foster explains that the three children have to form a team to prevent others from going back in time to change history. Helping them out is a flesh robot named Bob.

The children soon discover that a man named Kramer has changed history for the worse by altering the outcome of World War 2, and they need to go back in time to set things right.

Of course, things don’t go according to plan. When do they ever? Fiction would be dead boring if they did.

The story is fast-paced and exciting. Unlike most children’s books, in this story anyone can die, the good guys included. The story is quite dark in parts, and certainly not meant for the meek-hearted.

Author Alex Scarrow also adds a fair dash of humour to the narrative. Liam, being from 1912, constantly tries to adjust to the modern world, often misinterpreting slangs for serious talk. His refusal to eat a burger because it appears strange reflects his confusion and ‘out of place’ emotion well.

Bob, the support unit, is robot with a difference: unlike other robots, it is ignorant — an extreme version of Liam as it knows nothing about any world or period, let alone the modern world.

Interestingly, Bob learns to understand humans, thanks to his experiences with the children.

The book is racy and every plot detail is explained well. I didn’t have any “What is going on?” moments in the book, and neither should anyone with average understanding capabilities.

TimeRiders is a good read. It will keep you hooked throughout the story, and the action begins very early. There are some better fantasy action books out there, but that should not make you dismiss this one. The author claims that it is the first in a series, and the sequels certainly sound promising. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series, and you would too if you gave this book a chance.

Aadi Sharma is a student of Class 8 at The Shri Ram School, Gurgaon