The Hour of the Cobra [Paperback]

Maiya Williams (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

The second book in the thrilling time-travel series that Children’s Literature called “upbeat, adventuresome”

In this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Golden Hour, sibling rivalry between twins Xanthe and Xavier threatens to keep them trapped in the past forever.

The Twilight Tourist Frequent Flier Club, an elite organization, sends its trial members—Xanthe and Xavier Alexander, and Rowan and Nina Popplewell—on a mission to Egypt, 58 b.c.e. This trip seems like a snap for the veteran travelers . . . until Xanthe is mistaken for a goddess by none other than Cleopatra. Desperate for some independence from Xavier, Xanthe just can’t resist a little meddling. Escapes from mummy-filled tombs and fights with sword-wielding gladiators are among the many highlights in this thrilling adventure.

Awards and praise for the trilogy:

A Book Sense Pick!

International Reading Association Fiction Award

Southern California Booksellers Association Children’s Book Prize

“Fun . . . for all lovers of fantasy, and thediversity is welcome.”—Detroit News and Free Press

“Engaging . . . smart.” —The Newark Star-Ledger

“One of the few fantasies with any African-American characters . . .” —Booklist

“Fills the gap between Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events.” —Time Out New York Kids

“It’s refreshing to have African American teens as main characters without their race being a main theme of the book . . . this action packed fantasy will appeal to adventure readers and those who like time travel or historical fiction . . . readers will eagerly await the next trip.”—VOYA, 4Q 4P

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In this sequel to The Golden Hour (Abrams, 2004), twins Xanthe and Xavier Alexander are reunited with their friends Rowan and Nina Popplewell. After Aunt Agatha recommends the children for membership in the Twilight Tourist Frequent Flier Club, giving them greater access to the time-traveling alleviators of the Owatannauk resort, they are sent on a trial mission to ancient Egypt. Xanthe's resentment of her brother leads her to feel more sympathy for Cleopatra, who mistakes the girl for the goddess Isis, resulting in an accidental changing of history. A visit to an alternate present reminds the siblings of their importance to one another and leads to their return to the past for an effort at restoring the proper course of history. Williams uses extensive detail about daily life in ancient Egypt and the conflicts between the Ptolemies to frame her story, and concluding notes describe her sources and explain where she deviated from actual history. The twins' roles in Egypt are limited because they are African American, an unusual touch for a fantasy novel. Xanthe's resentment of her brother for taking over what she sees as her personal territory will ring true to any reader with siblings, and the changing relationships and development of the four main characters add realism and depth to the story. After a slow start that re-establishes the characters and focuses on Xanthe's resentment, this novel finds its stride as the characters learn about the past and themselves.–Beth L. Meister, Pleasant View Elementary School, Franklin, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. In this sequel to The Golden Hour (2004), Xanthe and her twin, Xavier, together with Rowan and his sister, Nina, carry out a new mission. Charged with saving manuscripts from the great library in ancient Alexandria, these modern young people must abide by strict rules of time travel. The temptation to meddle in history is great. When Xanthe can't resist befriending the young Cleopatra, her actions set in motion a complex chain of events involving multiple time shifts, narrow escapes, a harrowing look at an alternate reality, and a desperate rescue attempt inside the Great Pyramid. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810993627
• ISBN-13: 978-0810993624
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,522,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joy to read, April 16, 2006

By 

Christine Kirk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hour of the Cobra (Hardcover)

Delightful! I purchased this book for my young teenagers and found that not only they, but I couldn't put the book down until the last page. The historical references were just enough for young readers to get a sense of ancient Egypt without being bogged down in minute and tedious details, but what impressed me the most was the relationship between the siblings in the book. For anyone who has fought with feelings of sibling rivalry, this is a must read.

5.0 out of 5 stars A teacher that uses this in their classroom, October 11, 2011

By 

Mrs. Michelsen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hour of the Cobra (Paperback)

I have used this book as well as its predecessor as summer reading for my 6th, now 7th graders and they are requesting the 3rd installment to be their 8th grade summer reading. It is a wonderful mix of adventure as well as history lessons that often go untouched in a normal classroom. I recommend this as a must read for Middle School students as well as their families. Maiya does a wonderful job capturing the time period along with the thrills of time travel!

5.0 out of 5 stars An Egyptian Wrinkle in Time, May 9, 2006

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hour of the Cobra (Hardcover)

If you have been waiting for a worthy successor to the time twisting novels of Madeline L'Engle, without the religious baggage that sometimes drag L'Engle's stories into the realm of preachy, you might enjoy Maiya Williams. Her children enjoy the wonders and paradoxes of time travel without being too much occupied with theology. Does anyone remember the novels of Edward Eager from the 1950s and 1960s? Those were frivolous entertainments with a group of siblings whoi honestly cared about each other, even when they were driving each other crazy. Ms. Williams gives us all that, and more. Eaxch one of her books is like injectine a whole library of historical information directly into your blood stream. Here you get the lives and loves of thje ancient Pharaohs, complete with some chilling scenes of imperial, pre-Cairo dynasty madness, as the children who went back into time into the French revolution, in Williams' previous prizewinner, THE GOLDEN HOUR, tumble back to a few decades before the birth of Christ. Cleopatra is a stunning queen, well aware of her own power, and she forms a good role model for our heroine Xanthe Alexander, who is mistaken by the "jewel of the Nile" for the reincarnation of a goddess. What a dilemma! The story gets more and more complicated as Rowan, Xanthe, Nina and Xavier realize that they have somehow stumbled into an alternate universe, where they daily bear the risks of running into alternate versions of their own selves! Plus, they must return to the scene of the crime (Egypt) in order to right things with Octavian. Kids who have seen and enjoyed THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT with Ashton Kutcher will thrill to this heady intellectual idea, for they find out that if you disturn one aspect of the past, such as killing a butterfly, it may mean that the future brings famines and earthquakes, metaphorically speaking. Some good comedy ensues in the ancient scenes, where the boys rebel against wearing the culturally approved loincloths of ancient Rome, referring to them as "diapers." They are being trained as gladiators, having adventures that would be denied to them in present day America, where boys are not exactly encouraged to do anything exciting except go to war overseas. Maiya Williams brings us right into the center of the action, a sort of Indiana Jones paradise filled with mummy cases and man eating lions, one desperate chase after another. And yet she never neglects the emotional core of the story, one in which sisters and brothers are constantly at war with each other, a loving war in which resentment, pity, and the golden rule are constantly shifting their priorities, like barber poles set up in a desert sand dune. These kids have spunk, and if you hate spunk, you're out of luck here. The rest of us will have a blast. If Nickolodeon or the Disney Channel really cared about kids, they'd be making mini-series out of THE GOLDEN HOUR and THE HOUR OF THE COBRA. I think these books would do well overseas, appealing to the same audiences world wide who love Tintin and Snowy. Here you get all that excitement and brain stimulation, but you get family love too--the one thing Tintin lacks. In the background is Cleopatra's love and rivalry with Octavian, a neat parallel to the modern day story. Xavier impersonates the god Osiris in one comical scene.