Review by Booklist Review
In 1939, Nick McIver finds a sea chest washed up on the island in the English Channel where he lives. Soon after, he and his younger sister run afoul of the menacing pirate Billy Blood, who seems to have stepped right out of the eighteenth century, as well as a group of Nazis patrolling the waters in an experimental U-boat. Inside the chest is a time machine (built, naturally, by Leonardo da Vinci) and a cry for help from another Nick McIver, who was a captain in Lord Nelson's fleet. It's hard to imagine a more fail-safe recipe for a successful middle-grade adventure than pirates, Nazis, and time travel, but the ingredients never quite cohere. Pages are peppered with exclamation points in lieu of earned excitement, and readers may stumble through the nautical terminology as well as a few inevitable temporal anomalies. There is a wave of publicity in store for this, though, so expect considerable interest for this slightly overengineered but still engaging seafaring and time-skipping adventure. Sequels? Count on it.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-This is an immensely appealing book about 12-year-old Nick McIver, son of a lighthouse owner, who lives on Greybeard Island off the coast of Great Britain in 1939. Opening with a thrilling near-fatal sailboat excursion, the action kicks into high gear when Nick finds a sea chest containing a mysterious glowing globe. Hunted by pirates from the past who seek the globe, a time-travel device, Nick finds himself bouncing back and forth in time fighting exceedingly nasty pirates, Napoleon's naval forces in 1805, and Nazi spies in 1939. Nick is the pluckiest, most likable boy-hero since Robert Lewis Stevenson's David Balfour (Kidnapped). With great battle scenes; lots of nautical jargon; and themes of courage, integrity, and honor, this book will appeal to restless boys who can never find books written just for them. Three huzzahs and a great big 21-gun salute to Bell for his first novel for kids. Hopefully, it won't be his last.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Nick stumbles on an ancient sea chest wanted by a nefarious pirate from the past, then discovers his dad's a spy on the lookout for German submarines. Throw in a meeting with Nick's great-great-grandfather and a sea battle alongside his hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, then add his sister's captivity on a submarine. We've got cliffhangers, time travel, weapons galore, spying, and pure adventure. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The author of several Ian Fleming-style thrillers for adults reworks his lengthy self-published 2000 debut into a windy, labored and even longer doorstopper. On the eve of World War II, 12-year-old Nick receives an appeal for help from a Napoleonic-era ancestor about to get blown out of the water while trying to get vital information to Lord Nelson. The desperate message comes with a portable time machine, so off Nick hies to 1805, leaving his six-year-old sister paired with a hypercompetent inventor/British Intelligence Officer to capture an experimental Nazi supersubmarine. Linking the twin plotlines is Billy Blood, a vicious pirate with another time machine and a penchant for holding wealthy children from various eras for ransom--aboard, conveniently, the very French warship that is attacking Nick's ancestor. Needless to say, after extended sea battles Blood is foiled (but not killed, so look for sequels), the children rescued, the sub captured and the dispatches delivered, all amid many gaps in logic and massive contrivances. Bell should have left this one in his sea chest. (Fantasy. 11-13) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
