Book Review: A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner

Title: A Mutiny in Time

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Scholastic

Release Date: August 28^th 2012

Series: Infinity Ring #1

Source: Hardcover

Number of Pages: 190

Letter Size: Medium

Synopsis:

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!

Review

Dak Smyth and Sera Froste are best friends in 5th grade. Both of them are geeks, Dak randomly spurts out information from history, and Sera is a genius about science. The world they live in is controlled by a mysterious group called SQ who control every level of government. Even the president takes orders from them. The number of natural disasters are increasing, but the SQ reassures everyone that they have the situation under control. No one believes them though.  People also experience a sensation called Remnants. One day when Dak's parents are out of town, he and Sera sneak into his parent's lab. There they discover a device his parents are working on called The Infinity Ring. Sera works throughout the night trying to figure out the formula to make the ring work.  The next morning Sera reveals that not only does the ring work, but it is actually a time travel device. Now Dak and Sera have to travel through time and fix the moments where history has veered off course. The SQ is determined to stop them no matter the cost. 

The Infinity Ring is the first book in a planned, seven book series aimed at middle schoolers. At times the book is easy to follow but at others times it can be difficult to follow. The beginning especially can be hard to follow since the novel jumps right into how messed up the future is. There are only forty-eight states, the nation's capital is located in Philadelphia, and George McClellan became president and his face is on Mount Rushmore. Unless you are well versed in history some of the changes might fly over your head.  We are also introduced to two organizations The Hystorians and The SQ. The book eventually gives you more of a descriptions about The Hystorians but doesn't go into much detail about the SQ. We know that the SQ is the bad guy and that they have benefited from the breaks in history. I felt that the book would have benefited from explaining more about the SQ. There are suppose to be seven books in this series and it does feel like the author is deliberately withholding details for the other books. This comes off to me as a not so subtle money grab to entice readers into reading the other books in the series.

What saved the book for me was the history. I have always loved reading about history, and the concept that if an event went differently it would affect the future fascinates me. Even though the book was shorter than I would have liked, it works because it's the perfect length for middle school kids who are reluctant to read. The book shines in its ability to describe complex historical events and clothing in a way that is easy for a middle schooler to understand. Even a kid with the most basic understanding of how Christopher Columbus found the New World will have no trouble following the events in The Infinity Ring. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars