Book Review: Time Riders – Alex Scarrow

Brilliant! This is a well written time travel book and a must read for any time travel fan. Okay it is aimed at the younger reader, but don’t be fooled, it should also be read by any adult interested in the topic.

This is the first book of a series and me being me I had started with the second (oops), but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the first in the series when I did read it. It filled in a lot of questions I had and is a fine start to the story of the ‘Time Riders’.

I have quite a decent time travel book collection, so I’m a fairly good judge on this topic and what is a good read. Many authors allow themselves to get bogged down in the ‘mechanics’ of time travel, indeed some try and prove their writing talents by such a strong focus. Alex naturally has to explain the details, but this book is character driven.

The end result being it does not matter where the character is in time, you are focused on the story as a whole as all the characters are well written and the overall story balanced. Which means I was not impatient for a new chapter to arrive or eager to skip to a different era to continue that aspect of the story.

The different time travel aspects of the story nicely complimented each other as did the characters. Please bare in mind when reading this is aimed at the younger reader, so with that in mind and appreciated, you can enjoy this well written story.

The ‘Time Riders’ are essentially three youngsters, an A.I. and they are guided by a mentor. The three youngsters are all from different eras, for instance Liam is a young Irish chap from the early 19th century. All three originally were going to die, until a new opportunity opened up before them. Thrown together they not only do they have to adjust to displacement, but policing time so to speak. The A.I. aspect I will not divulge details, but is a great addition to the team and thus story.

The main story of the first book centres around the Nazi’s and if history had been changed during the second world war. With the past changed, the time stream is altered. Alex naturally could of led the story down multiple paths, but the storyline he created was top notch, fresh and original.

Whenever I enjoy a book I tend to read them quickly and I am always keen to read a page or two in a spare moment. This book I devoured quickly and naturally I am looking forward to book three (I’ve read book two already).

It is only a matter of time before I read another Alex Scarrow book.