Sam, who discovered in The Book of Time (2007) that his father traveled back in time and was imprisoned by Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), tries to transport himself back to fifteenth-century Wallachia. Unfortunately, time-travel snafus land him in ancient Greece and Depression-era America and Canada along the way. Though Sam has a full measure of courage, his quick wits and measured reflections prove just as essential to his mission. A crucial code depends upon knowledge of Roman numerals. From the exciting jacket art to the cliff-hanger ending, the second book in the Book of Time trilogy is a winner.

Sam's time-traveling adventures plunge on. His quest to find his father hurtles him, along with cousin Lily, from the age of Neanderthals to Depression-era Chicago to Pompeii, all the while tracked by forces both malevolent and benign. Action is Prevost's priority, but he offers enough character development and detail of setting to fully realize both the contemporary and historical scenes.

In The Book of Days (2007), readers met Sam Faulkner, a troubled teen who followed in his father's footsteps as a time traveler. This second installment in the series tracks Sam and his cousin Lily as they anxiously jump from time to time, country to country, searching for a way to rescue his father from the dungeons of Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula). Episodic and choppy in its momentum, the narrative provides glimmers of character development, but nothing truly substantial. The views into what could be fascinating periods of history are all too brief, with little construction of plot other than to move the characters from time to time and place to place. The concept for this series is solid, but the execution is sparse, rough, erratic and uneasily similar to the sensation of skating on thin ice...it could be exciting, but is it well-advised? A third installment is on the way, and one can only hope the writing begins to live up to the premise. (Science fiction. 10-14)