Timebenders #1: Battle Before Time - Softcover

Jim Denney has written more than a hundred books, but the Timebenders science-fantasy series is his favorite. “Each Timebenders tale,” he says, “is a thrill-ride through time and space—and timeless truth.” Speaking of thrill rides, Jim’s latest nonfiction book, WALT'S DISNEYLAND, is a tribute to Walt Disney’s original theme park in Anaheim, California. Jim has also written books with Orlando Magic founder Pat Williams, Star Trek actress Grace Lee Whitney, and Super Bowl legends Bob Griese and Reggie White. Jim is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). He lives in southern California.

Reviewed with Jim Denney's Doorway to Doom.

Gr. 3-6. The first two installments in the Timebenders series use fantasy to get at Christian truths. In Battle before Time , young inventor Max McCrane has transformed an old Volkswagen Beetle into a computerized time machine. His first adventure takes him and three friends to prehistoric times, where, bedazzled by the sights, they nearly become lunch for a famished T. rex . In their mad dash home, they are caught in an intergalactic battle. Gavriyel, emissary of the Most High, explains that the forces of evil are rebelling against the forces of good and warns them about Lightbringer, the fallen emissary. When the young travelers are tested, all but one resists Lightbringer's ploys. In Doorway , Max and his friends are stranded in a medieval world where, once again, each traveler faces evil characters--among them, a cruel king and his evil alchemist, who try to enlist the kids for their own deceitful ends. The characters have little emotional depth and the series' premise is cliched, but there is sufficient action to keep the pages turning, and the idea of moral testing has distinct appeal for some young readers. Shelley Townsend-Hudson
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