August 9, 2012

Back in Hystory • A Mutiny in Time

A Mutiny in Time book cover
A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner
Series: The Infinity Ring #1
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date:  September 28, 2012
Source: BEA 2012 || ARC
[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the contents of my review.]

When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel -- a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring -- they're swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.Now it's up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak's missing parents while they're at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

(This book is one of the books up for grabs as part of my birthday & Travel Tales giveaway!)



Remember about a month ago when I professed my undying love for The 39 Clues series? Well, there's a serious contender for its place in my heart - a fantastic new multi-platform series from Scholastic entitled The Infinity Ring. I finished the first book in the series, A MUTINY IN TIME, written by James Dashner, and I'm already psyched to read more of the books!

The premise of the series is that two kids, Dak Smyth and Sera Froste, are the only two people who can work the Infinity Ring - a device that allows for time travel. This device is much needed by a group of people known as the Hystorians, who are trying to set out and right the "breaks" that have been made in history and caused the current world to be as it is (which is basically chaos and mayhem). This first adventure takes Dak and Sera all the way back to the time of Christopher Columbus, along with their friend Riq, to stop a mutiny.

Dak, Sera and Riq each possess a special talent. Dak is brilliant when it comes to history; he's fascinated by the past and has the awkward tendency to spout random facts in random situations. Sera, on the other hand, is a science geek who knows her way around a lab. Riq's specialty is languages; thanks to a device his family created, most languages can be understood and spoken by anyone who possesses a device. These skills are all they have, along with one SQuare device and the Infinity Ring, and they must use them to save the world!

This book is definitely geared towards a younger audience, but I still enjoyed reading it. The part that appealed most to me was the inclusion of various historical facts, and that's mostly because I'm fascinated with history (though not as much as Dak). For the intended audience, however, I'm sure it's the multi-platform interactivity that will make the book more appealing.

A MUTINY IN TIME is an exciting start to a brand new interactive series from Scholastic, rivaling The 39 Clues for my affection. I would highly recommend it for younger readers, and those who are young at heart. It's a lot of fun, easy to read and if you're a history geek, you may just enjoy the little tidbits included in the story! With authors like Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann and Matthew Kirby penning books in the series, I'm sure that it'll take readers on an amazing adventure.

4 Comments:

  1. The plot reminds me of another book... but I can't think of which ones, it's the use of the time travel rings! Anyway, this sounds good and it would make a nice change from all the contemp I read!

    ReplyDelete
  2. this sounds gr8 but i'll think about it
    gr8 review

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hadn't heard of this one before but it sounds really cute for a younger/mg novel. I don't read them often but sometimes I feel like a less intense book so I'll dive into an MG, I'll keep this one in mind. Great review, Alexa!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds a little bit like the Carmen Sandiago computer game where you have to go to a bunch of different time periods to fix whatever Carmen broke. lol. I was obsessed with that game.

    These sound so much fun! I've been meaning to give 39 Clues a read too. I've heard great things about them from booksellers I know. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment! I love seeing what you have to say, and will try to reply (here or on Twitter) as soon as I can :)