The Time Thief

An accident with an antigravity machine catapulted Peter Schock and Kate Dyer back to 1763. A bungled rescue attempt leaves Peter stranded in the eighteenth century while a terrifying villain, the Tar Man, takes his place and explodes onto twenty-first-century London. Concerned about the potentially catastrophic effects of time travel, the NASA scientists responsible for the situation question whether it is right to rescue Peter. Kate decides to take matters into her own hands, but things don't go as planned. Soon the physical effects of time travel begin to have a disturbing effect on her. Meanwhile, in our century, the Tar Man wreaks havoc in a city whose police force is powerless to stop him.Set against a backdrop of contemporary show more London and revolutionary France, The Time Thief is the sequel to the acclaimed The Time Travelers. show less

Second in a series. Although this novel about two modern-day British children who travel back to the 18th-century is aimed toward and appropriate for young adults, it offers much for adults to enjoy, as well. Much more than a time-travel romp, it depicts three-dimensional characters and nuanced relationships. Even the villain is a complex character, his motivations apparent even as his actions remain dastardly.

So far, I have really enjoyed this trilogy. Linda Buckley-Archer does an excellent job of combining the science fiction aspects of the book with historical facts about the 18th century as well as developing believable characters. I feel that with the vivid, descriptive writing, Buckley-Archer has developed a series that is easily comparable with Harry Potter. I would recommend listening to the books on CD; the narrator does an excellent job which makes this great story even better.

I wish they’d stuck with cover art that resembled the first novel when it was still Gideon: The Cutpurse, but that’s really not the point of this review. This is the continuing story of Kate Dyer and Peter Schock who were catapulted back in time to 1763 in the first novel. As their story continues, the concept of multiple universes and time fraying are introduced, and it looks like the situation could be quite dangerous.

I really like this series, and feel that it’s written in a way that adults can enjoy just as much as children. There is excellent use of language, and the story itself has a wonderful feel. If you like novels about time travel, I definitely recommend this series.

At first I didn't think I would like it because of the whole Peter thing but I was very very very surprised! This turned out to be one of my most favorite books! The characters are still wonderful and many parts of this nearly made me cry.

The second book in the Gideon trilogy - Peter remained in 18th century England while Kate and her father and the Tar man made it back to modern day England. The Tar man continues his life of crime in the modern day and Kate and peter's father go back to rescue Peter. Unfortunately someone has tampered with the manchine and they return 29 years later. A good entry in the series - a bit too long and of course the ending is another cliff hanger.

I thought that the first book was better then this one, but it wasn't to horrible. It was good enough to keep reading, but I thought there were some dry parts.