The Book of Time
by Guillaume Prevost
Published by Arthur A. Levine Books (September release)
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
The Book of Time is the first in a time-travel trilogy by French author Guillaume Prevost. The translation was done by William Rodarmor.
A teen-age boy, a statue, an unusual coin, and an antique book, all are part of The Book of Time. Fourteen-year-old Sam Faulkner’s father is missing and Sam is worried. Dad just hasn’t been the same since his wife died. They moved from their comfortable home and into the Faulkner Antiquarian Bookstore that Sam’s father bought, and now, because dad is becoming more and more unreliable, Sam’s living with his grandparents.
After a judo tournament was postponed, Sam goes home to look for clues to his father’s disappearance. In the basement he finds an unfamiliar room, a statue, a coin with a hole in the middle and an old book.
Realizing that the coin he found fits perfectly into the statue, Sam places it there. Suddenly there is a humming and an intense heat. The ground begins to vibrate and a terrible fire runs up Sam’s arm.
Thus begins Sam’s dangerous and exciting adventure where he visits Scotland and almost loses his life in a Viking battle; World War I where he finds an injured soldier; Dracula’s castle where he learns some interesting things about his father and other people he knows; and even ancient Egypt where his arrival was expected.
Sam had better hurry. If doesn’t figure things out, he just might lose his father—in time.
I’m looking forward to more Sam Faulkner adventures. The time-travel element is great fun, although the number of times/places that Sam visits in this installment is probably too many. There wasn’t time to slowly build the tension, suspense and danger before he was off to another time and place. And I hope Sam’s cousin Lily plays a greater role in the next book. That’s an angle that could be fun and give the plot another layer.
Armchair Interviews says: Recommended for ages 10-14, but older teens will enjoy it also