The Time Thief

By Linda Buckley-Archer

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Wow! This second book in the Gideon Trilogy is a fantastic blend of science fiction, historical fiction and adventure. The last book, Gideon the Cutpurse, ended when Kate, her father and the villain the Tar Man all ended up returning to present day London with the anti-gravity machine and Peter was accidentally left behind in 1763 with Gideon. As this story begins, Kate is horrified to discover Dr. Piretti and her parents are actually considering destroying the anti-gravity machines and leaving Peter behind permanently due to the possible risks of time travel. So she recruits Peter's father and the pair return to the past. Unfortunately the machine was on the wrong setting, so they appear 30 years later than planned, and when the grown up Peter does find them, he decides to hide his identity. One plot thread follows this group as they attempt to repair the now damaged anti-gravity machine, an endeavour which takes them into the turmoil of the French Revolution. Meanwhile, Kate's father goes into the past to rescue all of them. The Tar Man is at first at a loss in this new world, but soon he marshals his resources, recruiting contacts and learning the skill of blurring back to the past that Kate had practiced in the previous book. Soon he accrues power and wealth and aspires to being more than just a thief. But to do that, he'll need an anti-gravity machine of his own. All of these plots move forward but are well layered with details and character development. Pains are taken to talk about time travel and the possible effects it would have if actually possible by a variety of characters. Over all, this is deeply involving story which readers will be drawn into. Reading the first book is necessary to make this story understood to the fullest extent. Fans will look forward to the next book in the trilogy, Lord Luxon, due out in February 2009.