From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up—Jeapes fills this science-fiction tale of time-travel malfeasance with enough plot twists to satisfy the most avid mystery buff. The book begins with an unidentified person falling to his death. Readers then meet other characters in rapid succession, including an unnamed Correspondent in AD 1029; Field Ops Garron and Zo; Acting Commissioner Marje Orendal and her assistant, Hossein Asaldra; journeymen Jontan Baiget and Sarai Killin; and patrician Phenuel Scott. Among these and other characters, Garron emerges as the hero. He feels certain that Commissioner Daiho did not simply fall but was murdered. It's all very convoluted, and Jeapes will keep readers turning the pages to figure out who exactly is trying to do what. Teens will certainly enjoy the story, which could just as easily sit on the adult shelves. To further confuse things, the cover's pastel artwork looks more like something for elementary students than for middle or upper graders. This was originally published in Great Britain as Winged Chariot (Scholastic, Ltd, 1999).—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
This complex genre-bender brings elements of mystery, historical, and political fiction to an action-packed, intrigue-rich, and multicast science-fiction story. When Commissioner Daiho, political leader of the College that maintains the Home Time (a place that controls transfer to other time periods and to which time correspondents bring information to entertain the masses), is found dead, Ricco Garron believes that the first murder in the 400-year history of the Home Time has been committed. As a mere Field Operative, a sort of hired gun who escorts Home Time residents seeking adventure to earth’s many time periods, Garron risks status and livelihood to prove his hunch in a rigidly controlled society that has labeled Daiho’s death a suicide. In doing so, he discovers a complicated web of people and plans designed to break the College’s control over time travel. Only two characters appear in this book, which might have been successfully marketed to adults. Nonetheless, this is a meaty, original work that will appeal to sophisticated genre readers who enjoy a good challenge. Grades 10-12. --Holly Koelling
