Customer Reviews

The Time Quake (Gideon Trilogy)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

the gideon trilogy is listed as children's stories but this is not really true.
i am a 70 year young man, interested in science, ufo's, time travel, and etc. i listen to audio books as i travel to and from work. i got gideon the cutpurse the first of this trilogy a couple of years ago and was hooked. (loved it) got the other two in the series as soon as they wer available on amazon. they are all very good and this final one wraps it all up pretty neat.
i recommend them to anyone interested in this type story no matter the age. anyone can enjoy them.

I received this book on October 14 (after having waited over a year for it to be released, and having resisted the impulse to order it from Amazon.uk, where it was released in July) and began reading it immediately. I ate my dinner with it, and stayed buried in it until I had completed it. All I can say is "Wow!" I became completely wrapped up in Lord Luxon's attempt to change history by becoming involved with a modern historian and finding a pivotal point of history to manipulate. His plot, the result, and the growing effect of the time quakes brought about by use of the anti-gravity machine take up only a part of the fabulous series conclusion. In the meantime Kate's tie to the physical world of 1763 grows more tenuous each day; she experiences more of the "fast forward" effect as time goes on and is finally reduced to binding herself to Peter, who she realizes is her "ground." In the present and in the past Peter and Kate's family and friends do their best to recover the children to their own time, and in the end it is Gideon and "the Tar Man" who must make a difficult choice before the time quakes splinter the world.

The entire trilogy (TIME TRAVELERS, TIME THIEF, and TIME QUAKE) is highly recommended. The cover blurbs push this as similar to Harry Potter, but please note there is no magic here except for the exciting adventures across past and present which move at a breathless pace, suspense building in each volume. Highly recommended! (Wait--I've said that already, but then it's that kind of book.)

This is the last in the Gideon Trilogy and a great conclusion to a time-traveling adventure. I ordered the first book in the series for my son (11) for Christmas. Initially, I was more fascinated by the story line than he was, especially as the characters developed over the centuries and in this particular book Lord Luxon's plans to re-write American history. It took my son a little longer to get captivated by the Gideon Trilogy as it was recommended as 'Harry Potter like'. He's an avid Potter fan and the book is nothing like it. Once you get over that, the story is great, the characters are interesting and exciting and it has been fun to imagine what the Tar Man, Gideon, the Parson and Sir Richard look like. No doubt this will be heading for the big screen, such as Potter and Ink Heart. Many actors sprang to mind that would be a great fit to portrait these characters. On first glance, book 3 is probably the least dramatic of the series. However, the author does not leave us in the dark as to how America may look had history taken a different turn. It is difficult to describe the story without giving the plot away, hence I am limiting myself to "fantastic, the author has 'bottom'!" On the negative side: The recommended age-group is misleading and too restricting, e.g. I do not think that under 12's can appreciate the complex emotions related to the impact that time travel may have and the relationships between the characters in the story. It is a very good fantasy story for the recommended age-group, but a thought provoking study of "what if's" for adults.

The Gideon Trilogy is a saga about two 21st Century British pre-teens (Kate and Peter) who accidentally travel back to 18th Century England and befriend Gideon, a gentleman and former cut purse. In their attempts to return to their own time, they encounter a two cruel enemies who intend to use time travel to serve their own evil purposes. As a result, time is forever altered and the very existence of humanity is threatened-unless Peter, Kate and their friends can prevent a disastrous destruction of time and existence.

The Gideon Trilogy is a well-told story that keeps you coming back for more. I had a hard time putting the books down, especially the first two. Buckley-Archer is compared to J.K Rowling. I wouldn't go THAT far, but it is a good, entertaining story.

The character development is decent. I read this trilogy after reading the amazing 100 Cupboards Trilogy which has phenomenal character development, so try as I may, it was hard to not compare the two. But, Buckley-Archer does a decent job of describing Peter's coming of age and the believable metamorphosis of one the of the villains.

Buckley-Archer includes good lessons on friendship, character, and contentment. There is also some good redemptive themes.

This is probably a beef I have with ALL time travel books (save Many Waters by Madeleine Lengle), but I was very disappointed with the ending. I read through these books with baited breath and then it fizzled in the end. If you find thinking through theories of time travel exciting, you may enjoy the ending. I hope I don't give away too much, but as with most time travel books, everything is reversed in the end and voila! time is fixed. I find this disappointing because all the character development you just read vanishes. And is everything really "fixed" if there are alternate existences? There is no real conclusion and I don't like that in books. The story kind of just fizzled out.

Excellent trilogy, all three in the series are a delight to listen too and is suitable for all ages. Would highly recommend this trilogy, was easy to follow character development and had many unique twists and turns to the storyline.

I found the first book in this series in a used bookstore. I read the first one and promptly bought the next two books from Amazon. What a wonderful series this is! If you like time travel and like historical backgrounds then this is the series for you.

The characters were all fully developed and likeable - to the point you hate to see the book end. The historical background and attention to detail was wonderful. I look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with, even if its not more time travel books. Great books!

Being a huge fan of time travel stories, I thoroughly enjoyed this series. The characters were top-notch, and the author has a way of making them human - even the villians. The plot is fairly complex for what is supposed to be a children's book, and it deals with some dark issues at points.

***possible spoilers ahead***

My only complaint is about the ending. It's quite abrupt and doesn't give enough of a feel for the future of the two main characters. After spending three books with this young pair, rooting for them to end up together, I would have loved to have read a payoff scene of them married at some time in the future.

I read the other 2 books in this series and this last book is just as great. Good reading for the younger kids and also goood read for the adults.

My 10-year old son and I have read this series together, and I have been as entertained as he has. The historical elements are accurate, so he's learning about the 1763 and 1789 periods of history, including important events and lifestyle. This book is the third and last book of the series. As an adult, I intuited the ending, and was correct, but I don't think a lot of kids will find it so obvious. Because of the time and location switches in the story, it can be a bit difficult to navigate at times, but it's a good challenge for kids. I wouldn't equate this series with Harry Potter, which the reviews seem to indicate, but it's a good, interesting story for kids 8+ years old.

A complex series, with delightful, engaging characters and a well-constructed plot. After reading the second in the series, I visited amazon.com on a regular basis to check to see when this book would be released.

I heartily encourage others to read this series, especially fans of the Harry Potter series. While it is science based, rather than magic, there is definite magic to this series.