Customer Reviews

The Time Pirate: A Nick McIver Time Adventure (Nick McIver Time Adventures)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How exciting could life possibly be with no cell phones, computers or video games? Very! While I wasn't head-over-heels crazy about the first book of this series, Nick of Time, Book 2 is a different story (pun intended). Less nautical jargon, same vintage feel and a much better story!

Other than the prologue (which, to me, does nothing except make the book fourteen pages longer), everything about The Time Pirate is fun. The main characters we met in Book 1 are all here again, but Nick is much more front and center than before. In this adventure he travels to 1781 and meets such legendary characters as George and Martha Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Bad guy Billy Blood has used his own Tempus Machina to threaten the very existence of the United States of America, and in order to save his own dear England from the Nazis in 1940 Nick must fight against her in the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War.

This might be a fun book for middle school teachers to use during a unit on Revolution as much of the story takes place before and during the Battle of Yorktown. There is some battle-related violence, but no bad language...a great book for kids and the rest of us who love to dream about time travel!

In 1940 the Nazis invade the British Channel Islands. To repel the enemy, teenager Nick McIver teaches himself to fly an obsolete WWI fighter plane that he had found in an abandoned barn. From the air, barnstorming Nick photographs minelayers and patrol boats during the day and conducts bombing raids over Nazi airfields at night.

Meanwhile his enemy pirate Captain Billy Blood wants possession of Nick's time machine. Using his own, he travels to Greybeard Island where he kidnaps Nick's sister Kate, and takes her back to 1781 Port Royal, Jamaica; but he leaves Nick a message that in exchange for his sibling he wants the time machine. Traveling to the late eighteenth century, Nick of Time learns of a plot that could result in Washington's defeat as Blood has amassed an invincible armada.

Fighting in two wars over a century and half apart, heroic Nick hopes to be on time to save his sister and for his side to win twice. Incredibly fast-paced with over the top happenstances, this lighthearted fun teenage pulp fiction is very entertaining though not deep in either era except when blood and tomatoes mix as Nick battles The Time Pirate.

Harriet Klausner

Time Pirate, Ted Bell's new Young Adult novel and sequel to Nick of Time, comes back full steam ahead with a rip-roaring action packed adventure story for boys and men of all ages! 464 pages of non-stop thrills and chills that will have you on the edge of your seat from page one to the end.

Time Pirate picks up right where Bell left us at the end of Nick of Time, on the island of Greybeard in the British Channel Islands, with 12 year old Nick McIver getting ready for the inevitable coming war. The year is 1940 and as we start out this installment, the Nazis are slowly approaching and inching their way to invading the islands. Nick McIver's friend Winston Churchill is doing his best to forestall the onslaught, but the powers that be have British troops retreating leaving the islands demilitarized and abandoned to fight for their lives on their own.

This story is pretty complex and involves many paralleled events that put Nick McIver and his friends Gunner, Lord Hawke, Commander Hobbes and his adorable little sister Katie, in quite the tailspin as they once again risk their lives for home and country. One day Nick uncovers his father's old WWI fighter plane, a dilapidated old Sopwith Camel. With the help of Gunner, the islands Inn owner, they rebuild and rejuvenate the old plane to it's original glory. After Nick presents his father with his old war prize, Angus McIver teaches his son to fly it himself just in time to do some real live spying and reconnaissance work for Churchill as his daily flights take secret mission photographs of the enemy. Death defying barnstorming scenes with Nick in the air shooting at Nazi's, and German parachuters sailing onto home grounds, have Gunner and Nick realizing it's time to fight. Together with the help of weapons specialist Hobbes, they create apple size bombs that allow our young hero to teach the enemy a few lessons.

But that's not all that's in store for Nick McIver. His old arch enemy, the evil pirate of the Caribbean, Billy Blood, is out for revenge after Nick sliced of his hand and comes to kidnap his sister and bring her back to 1781. Billy Blood wants the second time travel orb that Nick has in possession and uses Katie as bait to get Nick to travel back to the high seas to get his sister back in trade for Leonardo Da Vinci's time machine. And while we the readers witness more high seas battles of wit with cannons firing and pirates dueling, Nick uncovers Billy's secret mission to band together 100 pirate ships that will attack and overtake an armada in the Americas. His plan involves another historical event that involves George Washington, and General Lafayette amidst the American Revolutionary War at Yorktown Virginia, the crucial battle that ends the winning war for America that sent the Redcoats packing! Masquerading as a British drummer Boy, Nick goes undercover surviving in the wilderness alone, killing indians and becomes a double spy for both England and America, helping George Washington win the war.

This is a superb action novel that never lets up. It is finely written with wonderful characters both good and bad, and reflects detailed historical research on the author's part that surely adds to the success of this series. When it comes to action and a hero destined for the classics, you can't beat Nick McIver and his Time Travel adventures. Time Pirate has you hearing the clang of Pirate swords, cannon fire exploding upon tall ships of the high seas, the sound of blunderbusses and flintlocks, cavalry horses stampeding, and droning airplanes complete with bombs and bullets flying as Nick McIver once again saves the day. Fabulous, absolutely positively fabulous!

THE TIME PIRATE, by Ted Bell, is the second installment in the Nick McIver Time Adventure series (the series has apparently been renamed between the first and second books). Our intrepid heroes, 12 year old Nick McIver, and his fearless little sister, Katie, are still having fascinating adventures and preserving the flow of history. And this time, loyal, duty-bound Nick must betray his country, his beloved England, in order to save it.

Like all young boys, Nick McIver wants to grow up to be hero like his father, a highly decorated WWI ace pilot. The values of loyalty, honor, and duty are part of Nick's very soul. Nazis have invaded his home, one of the British Channel Islands, and Nick knows that he must do whatever he can to protect his home, his family, his friends, and his country. To this end, Nick lovingly restores his father's old WWI Sopwith Camel biplane, takes flying lessons from his father, and conducts secret air raids on the neighboring Nazi compounds. Ever brave, Nick faces his fears and does his duty. But his duty comes on other fronts as well. As we learned in the first book, Nick is in possession of one of two time machines invented by Leonardo Di Vinci. The evil pirate captain, Billy Blood is in possession of the other. Blood plans to change history, by ensuring that the Americans lose their battle for independence. Nick realizes that if America never achieves independence, then she cannot come to the aid of Britain in 1940, and his country will be conquered by the Nazis. Nick must travel back to a critical turning point in the American Revolution and give aid to General Washington. But, to do so will be an act of betrayal against England. Can he do it? Can Nick live with the results of his choices? Can Nick alone defeat Billy Blood, and preserve the course of history?

THE TIME PIRATE starts off with a bang and plunges forward with excitement and adventure to the very end. Along the way, Nick meets a number of historical heroes, and he does his very best to do what he thinks is right. I love the values and morals of these books; they are filled with duty, honor, family, country, and politeness - all things I want my children to know. I also love that Nick and Katie's parents are alive, loving, and supportive, and that they form a strong family unit. His parents may not know everything Nick is doing, but they know enough, and while they worry, they understand his motives.

Although it is marketed to grades 5 through 8, THE TIME PIRATE is really for the adventurer in all of us. I wish I had had something like this when I was learning history; history might have "stuck" with me better. I definitely would have enjoyed it more. And I did some checking: while the story is fictional, the facts are not. THE TIME PIRATE is rich in details and history of the both wars- the American Revolution and WWII.

IMHO, THE TIME PIRATE does what most sequels fail to do; it not only equals the first book in the series, it surpasses it. THE TIME PIRATE is a grand mash up of the best of Horatio Hornblower and Harry Potter. I hope Ted Bell plans many more books.

This is a can't put down, read till wee hours, woke up very early to keep reading book for children. I first learned of Ted Bell's "The Time Pirate" from Glenn Back. After listening to an interview with Ted Bell, I immediately went to Amazon, purchased the book and mailed it to my 9 yr old Grandson, Jack. I received a telephone call from Jack 1 day after receiving The Time Pirate telling me that he had read 5 chapters and absolutely loved the book! Jack called me yesterday (4 days later) after soccer games, baseball games, school and homework to tell me that he had finished the book and hoped that I would send the next one! Jack has read every Magical Tree House and many more "series" books. I do hope that Ted Bell continues to write books for our children / grandchildren with his amazing ability to teach history so magically. We can't wait for his next book! TamieA

It was such a good book that I read it cover to cover in about 2 hrs. It had alot of history about America and information on our big wars which I like.

This is a great adventure book for kids and their parents who are not too old to still enjoy a rollicking yarn filled with pirates, George Washington and the American revolution, Sopwith Camels, and spying against the Nazis in World War II. How exactly, I'm sure you are asking, can you fit all that into one book. Well it helps if you have a working model of Leonardo da Vinci's, Tempus Machina, a time machine. Nick McIver, our twelve year old hero, is game to try anything. He probably gets this trait from his dad, who was a heroic flying ace in the RAF during the First World War. Along with his sister Kate, his friend Gunner, who had served in the Navy and some other help along the way, Nick leads us from one hair breath escape to another in a continuous romp that will leave you asking for more. This is book two of Nick McIver's adventures in time. Hopefully not the last.Nick of Time

Gold Star Award Winner!

It's 1940, and the British are preparing for a Nazi invasion of England. As a resident of Greybeard Island, the smallest island of the British Channel Islands, Nick must help to save his homeland.

The Nazis aren't Nick's only enemies, though. When Nick's sister, Kate, is kidnapped by his arch-rival, Captain Blood, and taken back to Port Royal, Jamaica, in the year 1781, Nick must use his time machine to go back in time to save her.

While in Jamaica, however, Nick discovers Captain Blood's plot to attack a French fleet on its way to Yorktown to prevent the retreat of General Cornwallis. The interruption of this battle could change the outcome of the American Revolution. Can Nick stop these time pirates from changing history and save his sister at the same time?

THE TIME PIRATE is a fast-paced, action-packed time-travel adventure. The story is intense and unique. The mixture of history and science fiction is well-crafted. The characters are well-developed and likable. Readers who like science fiction, historical fiction, and adventure will truly enjoy reading this book.

Reviewed by: Kira M

The Time Pirate is another great adventure series taking you to several different points in our history. A good read for the tweener's, but as an adult I liked it too.

I read the first one titled: Nick of Time and decided to read the second. I highly recomend this book!