Into the Fire

Book number four in the series of six—kinda reminds me of the “nine pieces of eight”—Dreamhouse Kings/Young Adult novels by Robert Liparulo has hit the scene and store bookshelves with the to be expected rush-and-never-let-up story titled Timescape.

In their continuing efforts to find and rescue Mom, Xander, the oldest son, runs at full speed on youth and adrenaline and doesn’t want to stop for sleep. David, his brother, has an arm in a cast and continues to get bruised and battered during every trip into the constant flux of the portals which takes them to other places and times in history. Following one scary escape from a desolate future time for Dad, Xander, and their new friend Keal, ex-Special Forces, now nurse to their old relative Jesse, the four of them tumble back into the house with a vicious visitor from that time.

During their absence, Toria, their younger sister, is left to defend her grandmother from the pull of the portals and the evil Taksidian who appears while she is trying to hold onto her grandmother.

When the creature from the future is pushed back into another portal, he grabs David and drags him into another time. Dad snatches items which he hopes will insure his return back to the present and dives after David into the terror of the sinking Titanic. While he’s trying to save David, Xander joins them in the dark freezing deep. The only way back home is under the black frigid waters.

Jesse is stabbed by Taksidian but provides clues drawn in his own blood on the floor where he lay until Keal discovers him after returning from a portal. He rushes the elderly Jesse to the hospital and when Keal is sure that Jesse is under a physician’s care, he sneaks back to the house before anyone at the hospital can ask for information.

Even though previous books in this series have offered little rest or relief from the portal experiences, the cunning efforts of the weird phenomena going on within this house, or the wicked pursuit by Taksidian, Timescape accelerates the happenings to the enth degree. We can feel the aches, the pains, the fears, the frustrations, the spent and unrelenting emotions, and the absolute exhaustion of the entire family in this story. More than ever it feels like they’re completely overmatched, until it begins to dawn on David that in spite of the abject horror in many of their experiences, they have somehow survived. When David examines the possible involvement of God in a talk with Xander, his brother dismisses his reasoning in spite of David’s references to things their mother has spoken.

I doubt many of the young readers of this book will take more than a day or two at the most to finish this one. Timescape zooms from page one to the final cliffhanger. Sorry, guys and gals, January seems like a long time to wait to solve this new and terrifying dilemma. When this series is finished, it will be a great gift for young (and old) readers to receive the collection of all six books at once.

Once again I’m telling you: Robert Liparulo is the Master of Pacing. No one does it better in the thriller genre. Even for kids.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/159554500X

Father, bless this man with the generous heart, the vivid imagination, the amazing writing skills, and the desire to work hard and fast. May he always honor you with the multiple talents you have given him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.