ja_mageia

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...

I came across a copy of one of Alex Scarrow’s adult books, A Thousand Suns, in a remainder book shop a few summers ago.  I spent a lot of the holiday, as always, with my head inside the book and thoroughly enjoyed the read. A few months ago I discovered why the book was in a remainder book shop. The books story was about a lone aircraft in WW2 that was to deliver a nuclear bomb onto New York in a last gasp attempt by Germany to win the war. The book came out in the worst week possible, the attack on the twin towers in New York. Somehow the appetite for such a book seemed to disappear even with really good reviews.

That day must be etched into the mind of Alex so much that his first book for Young Adults uses the day a central reference. The story is based around three teenagers who are plucked from various point in time just before they are about to die.  They are recruited to a time agency who are responsible for ensuring that time travellers don’t interfere with History. Therefore they constantly go out on that fateful morning in September 2001 to check if time has been altered even subtlety.

One morning they go out to find New York covered in swastikas. Obviously in this world the Germans won the war. Using the internet they find all history has been deleted before 1956 when the Germans took charge of the US. The young teenagers must find out quick what happened because events are about to get worst… much worse.

I really enjoyed the alternative histories that Alex has woven into his stories. Its my type of fiction. Its skilfully written and although aimed at Young Adults has a quality that makes it a decent read for everyone. It’s developing into a series, the next part is out in August. I hope it keeps its style as the series progresses. As a first work in YA fiction I’d highly recommend this book, indeed its quite brilliant.