Storm at the Edge of Time

Three children, Arni, a Viking boy from the past, Jamie, a girl from the present, and Tyaak, a half-human boy from the distant future, search for three magical staffs

Grade 5-7-Service, a versatile science fiction writer, departs from the humor of her recent books to tackle a time-travel story. Middle-schooler Jamie Halcro resigns herself to a boring vacation on the Orkney Islands, where her parents are bird-watching. Much to Jamie's disappointment, their cottage doesn't even seem to have a resident ghost. Her feelings change when a visit to an ancient stone circle whisks her back into the past. She has been summoned, along with Arni, a boy from Viking times, and Tyaak, a half-alien boy from the 26th century, to search the past, present, and future for three broken sections of a magical wooden staff. Only when the staff becomes whole again will an uprising of evil powers be defeated. There is scarcely room in this brief novel for all three adventures, but Service pulls it together with a light touch. Readers will particularly enjoy the conversations among the characters as they struggle to understand one another's times and customs, and will be treated to a bit of authentic Scottish atmosphere along the way.
Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4-6. Urkar, the Neolithic mage who built a stone circle still standing in Scotland's Orkney Island, watches in alarm as a storm gathers force at the edge of time (in other words, the Dark is rising). To help him regain the power to fight back the forces of darkness, he recruits three of his descendants: Arni, a Viking lad; Jamie, a modern American girl; and Tyaak, a boy from the future. Together, the children travel to each of their three time periods, searching for Urkar's three lost staves of power. The story is told mainly from Jamie's point of view and starts off slowly, with Service switching from one time to another, sketching in each character's society, personality, and concerns. After Urkar unites the three children and dispatches them to fulfill their quest, the pace picks up rapidly, and the ending is as swift as it is inevitable. Although the second half of the novel is plot driven and less involving than the earlier chapters where characters are being introduced, this is still an entertaining time travel adventure combining elements of historical fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Carolyn Phelan