Overview
Ethan is a member of the Named, sworn to fight the Order of Chaos, an evil group determined to permanently change the course of history. But he is also a normal high school student trying desperately to keep up with his homework and fit in. When he is assigned to mentor Isabel, a cute classmate and future member of the Named, the line between his two lives begins to blur. So begins an epic quest as Ethan, Isabel, and others travel through time to battle dark forces and protect the future.
Ethan, one of the Named, fights the Order of Chaos and its destruction in the present by traveling through time.
Synopsis
Ethan lives a secret life as a Guardian of the Named. Under the guidance of Arkarian, his mentor, and with the help of Isabel, his unlikely but highly capable apprentice, Ethan has become a valued member of this other-worldly corps. As the only defense against the evil Order of Chaos, the Named travel through time to prevent the Order from altering history and thereby gaining power in the present and the future.
As the threat from the Order intensifies, secrets of the past are revealed and villains and heroes are exposed. This gripping fantasy is set in modern times, but is infused with intrigue from the past, super-natural characters and surprising plot twists. Curley has written a winner through to the end.
Publishers Weekly
Magic blooms in Angel Falls, the setting of this promising launch to Curley's (Old Magic) time travel trilogy. At the edge of a national forest, where two worlds co-exist, 16-year-old Ethan Roberts guards time or, more specifically, history ("My job is to make sure it all happens the way it's supposed to, the way it already did"). As one of the Named, a Guardian of Time, he has been doing this since age four, not long after his 10-year-old sister, Sera, was killed. Her murderer, an evil half-faced monster, Marduke, is an Order of Chaos minion who wishes to alter the past in order to change the future-and to avenge his own losses. As the novel opens, Ethan is given an Apprentice to train, 15-year-old Isabel Becket, younger sister of his ex-best friend. With the help of Arkarian, a 600-year-old Guardian who lives deep inside the mountain, Isabel quickly takes to the apprenticeship, and her power to heal strengthens. But the forces of good and evil are headed for a Final Conflict foreseen by the Prophecy found in Veridian, the ancient city hidden deep under Angel Falls. No machine is required for time travel here; a strange "sleep" is the conduit between worlds past and present. Told in convincing alternating chapters by Isabel and Ethan, the novel reveals a mystery, the clues to which unfold via the duo's trip back in time to John of Gaunt (during the reign of Richard II) and details of Sera's death. Readers will likely be swept up by the ever-growing complications and want to return for the series' next installments. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Magic blooms in Angel Falls, the setting of this promising launch to Curley's (Old Magic) time travel trilogy. At the edge of a national forest, where two worlds co-exist, 16-year-old Ethan Roberts guards time or, more specifically, history ("My job is to make sure it all happens the way it's supposed to, the way it already did"). As one of the Named, a Guardian of Time, he has been doing this since age four, not long after his 10-year-old sister, Sera, was killed. Her murderer, an evil half-faced monster, Marduke, is an Order of Chaos minion who wishes to alter the past in order to change the future-and to avenge his own losses. As the novel opens, Ethan is given an Apprentice to train, 15-year-old Isabel Becket, younger sister of his ex-best friend. With the help of Arkarian, a 600-year-old Guardian who lives deep inside the mountain, Isabel quickly takes to the apprenticeship, and her power to heal strengthens. But the forces of good and evil are headed for a Final Conflict foreseen by the Prophecy found in Veridian, the ancient city hidden deep under Angel Falls. No machine is required for time travel here; a strange "sleep" is the conduit between worlds past and present. Told in convincing alternating chapters by Isabel and Ethan, the novel reveals a mystery, the clues to which unfold via the duo's trip back in time to John of Gaunt (during the reign of Richard II) and details of Sera's death. Readers will likely be swept up by the ever-growing complications and want to return for the series' next installments. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.VOYA
Twelve years ago, Ethan's older sister died under mysterious circumstances. Since then, he has tried to lead a normal life, despite the fact that his parents have never recovered from the deep depression caused by her death. Making it even harder for Ethan to be normal is the fact that he is also one of the Named, a Guardian of Time and part of an ancient organization sworn to fight the evil Order of Chaos. Guided by his Trainer, the powerful but reclusive Arkarian, Ethan is assigned dangerous missions in the past, where he fights to keep members of the Order from changing history in ways that will increase the evil in the world. Now, however, Ethan himself has been named a Trainer. His joy at this promotion turns to dismay when he discovers that his new apprentice, Isabel, is the younger sister of his former best friend Matt, who has become, for reasons unknown, his sworn enemy. Lurking in the background, with murderous intent, is Marduke, a hulking monster of a man with a hideously disfigured face and only one eye. In this first novel, Curley develops two solid protagonists, although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish their narrative voices. Also serviceable, although not particularly original, is her concept of time-traveling heroes and villains, although her historical scenes are rather thin. The plot occasionally seems both contrived and clumsy, beset with too many coincidences and dependent on more than one deus ex machina. There is potential here, however, and later books in the series should improve. VOYA CODES: 2Q 3P J S (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined asgrades 10 to 12). 2002, Bloomsbury, 332p,— Michael Levy