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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Same as Gideon the Cutpurse, January 25, 2008
This review is from: The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)
This is a very good book for both 10-15 years olds and adults who enjoy historical fiction. Well written with entertaining, fresh characters and a fast pace. However, it is the same book as the hardcover "Gideon the Cutpurse". I think the title and the style of the hardcover did not appeal to younger readers so it has been repackaged and retitled for paperback. Do not get confused that this is the second book in the proposed Gideon Trilogy as a few reviewers apparently did. Look closely at the cover of this book and it says "previously published as Gideon the Cutpurse". Also at the end of the hardcover version of this book it says the second of the trilogy will be called "The Tar Man", it is not, so this has apparently been changed as well. Still highly recommended however.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first book in a trilogy that promises to be an epic adventure seeped in history, August 11, 2008
This review is from: The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)
Peter Schock is looking forward to spending the first day of his Christmas holiday with his father and finally getting to enjoy the birthday treat that was originally planned for him months before. But much to Peter's anger and disappointment, his dad has had to cancel yet again because of an important meeting. They get into a bitter argument, and Peter is sent to spend the weekend in Derbyshire with his au pair Margrit on her friends' farm. When they arrive, Peter feels out of place with the countryside compared to the hustle and bustle of city life to which he has grown accustomed. He is introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Dyer and their large family, the oldest being Kate.
After a tour around the farmyard, Peter is invited to ride along with Kate and her father while Dr. Dyer makes a visit to the laboratory where he works. He shows Peter an antigravity machine that is part of a top-secret scientific experiment funded by NASA. Then there is a freak accident, and before they know it, Peter and Kate find themselves in the year 1763. Unfortunately for them, getting back home becomes nearly impossible when the machine is taken by The Tar Man, a monstrous-looking villain with a tragic past.
The children are befriended by a young gentleman named Gideon Seymour --- a reformed cutpurse who is looking for a new start in life --- and are taken on a dramatic, dangerous and at times quite humorous adventure that seems to leap from the pages of a history book. Along the way they meet some famous people and experience life in 18th-century London. Meanwhile, in the 21st century, two families and a cunning detective inspector try to figure out what has happened to the two 12-year-olds as they piece together clues resulting from a strange series of phenomena.
THE TIME TRAVELERS is the first book in a trilogy that promises to be an epic adventure seeped in history. Although intended for children ages 10 and up, I think it would be especially enjoyable to older readers who have had a chance to study some of their World History. Linda Buckley-Archer's debut novel is a must-read!
--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great historical fiction, June 19, 2009
This review is from: The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)
My 10-year old and I first listened to this story on Audiobook, then read the book, as we so thoroughly enjoyed the audio version. I must say this is a much better written story than much of what I've read in kid lit these days.
One beef, though it was more apparent in the audiobook than in print. Peter, one of the two child protagonists, enters the story as a fairly unsympathetic character - whiny, spoiled, and tending to jump to (often wrong) conclusions. From the reader's viewpoint, much of what Peter "doesn't get" is fairly transparent. Though his character does develop somewhat over time, he remains somewhat petulant, which gets old, after a while.
For the rest, I thought the historical settings, and sketches of life in London in the 1760's, were really grand. I disagree with the reviewer who felt that descriptions of the historical impact on the children were lacking. I thought Buckley-Archer did a very good job at showing how even the smallest day-to-day details (from weevils in the cakes to the way young ladies were expected to behave) were in marked contrast to the children's 21st century lives. I thought the side stories about meeting Samuel Johnson and King George / Queen Charlotte added verisimilitude, and really helped anchor the story in its time and place. I liked how she wove the parents' search "back home" in the 21st century into the plot. And I almost screamed with frustration at the end.
That ending prompted me to read the second book, which was also a treat - there was something of Funke in it, in terms of the anachronistic villain enjoying his "new time." I also look forward to reading the third book, whenever that might appear.
FWIW, I much preferred the original titles "Gideon the Cutpurse" and "The Tar Man" -- I felt they gave potential readers a better idea of what might lie inside than "the Time Travelers" and "The Time Thief" -- both of which seem to be aimed clearly at either Harry Potter or Inkheart fans, and neither of which are really "that type of book" (i.e., the Buckley-Archer books really are historical fiction with a teensy bit of "speculative sf" thrown in - no magic, no fantastical creatures, just a really good read). From the reviews I've read I'd say this retitling was a mistake.
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