School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 5-8-Peter and Kate, 12, have literally stumbled from the 21st century back to 1763, and even though they are still in England, many things have changed. Their time travel must be connected to the antigravity machine Kate's father has been working on, but since it has been stolen by a vicious criminal called The Tar Man, they really have no choice but to trust Gideon, the stranger whose offer of help seems genuine enough, even if he is known as a cutpurse. Buckley-Archer may very well give J. K. Rowling a run for her money. This wonderfully rich and complex novel, written in lyrical and vivid language, is destined to be a classic. History interweaves with science, social issues in both centuries are thrown in; yet what readers will remember most is a fast-paced plot with a cliff-hanger ending and multidimensional characters who continue to inhabit their thoughts long after the book is closed. With appeal for reluctant and advanced readers, this novel is a rare gem.-Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Twenty-first-century twelve-year-olds, Peter and Kate, are flung from their middle-class lives into 1763, landing hard on the same Derbyshire ground as that from which they were accidentally launched by a NASA-funded anti-gravity machine. Confused, near panic, and ignorant of the fact that their arrival has been witnessed by the ne'er-do-well Tar Man, they stumble around until falling asleep, finding themselves the next day in the protective care of Gideon, a character resembling a younger version of Eleanor Updale's Montmorency of Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman (Scholastic, 2003/VOYA June 2004). Buckley-Archer's tale spinning, however, is not derivative of either Updale or the time traveling in Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza series, although readers of those series will love this book. The England of 1763 is fully fleshed-and odiferous-while parents, investigating police, and NASA scientists back in the future (after all, Peter and Kate have apparently disappeared) are emotional and distrusting of any alliance they should form. Gideon takes the children to his new employer, a gentlewoman with her own children and troubles, and the bulk of the tale involves a long and dangerous eighteenth-century road trip that Peter, Kate, Gideon, a sanctimonious parson, and a few others make from Derbyshire to London. Historical detail here is both excellent and engagingly intertwined with what would be adventure in any era: highwaymen, royalty, prison, and a corrupt judiciary. As the first in The Gideon Trilogy, this tale ends on just the right note of suspense-if you're not Peter, who finds himself still suspended in the long-gone past.-Francisca Goldsmith.

Kirkus Reviews

A breathlessly paced adventure takes two modern kids back in time to England, 1763, where they must cope with such varied difficulties as 18th-century clothing and a host of implacable evildoers. When Peter and Kate, thrown together by chance, pop out of thin air in 1763 along with the anti-gravity machine that brought them there, they are lucky to do so in front of Gideon. Less luckily, the anti-gravity machine is immediately stolen by the Tar Man, king of London's cutthroats, and Gideon's erstwhile colleague. Readers may feel let down when they meet the title character, who, far from being the promised villain, has reformed his wicked ways and vows to help Peter and Kate get home. Buckley-Archer spins a rip-roaring tale replete with the raw details of life in the 18th century, including those of highwaymen, chamber pots and ghastly food like tripe. While the kids' adjustment to their new time, if reluctant, is well-nigh miraculous in its ease, the story compensates with nonstop action, appealing secondary characters and healthy dollops of humor, all of which will have readers panting for the sequel. (Fiction. 10-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Two 21st-century British children visiting a science lab disappear into thin air and turn up in the English countryside in 1763, where they are befriended by the title character, a reformed thief. The """"anti-gravity machine"""" that inexplicably facilitates Kate and Peter's time travel is immediately stolen by a villainous character known as the """"Tar Man,"""" and a rather leisurely chase to retrieve it ensues. The narrative alternates between Gideon and the kids' 18th-century journey to London, which features numerous scrapes with murderous footpads and highwaymen, and present-day events involving much parental hand-wringing, a police investigation and a media frenzy. Debut author Buckley-Archer brings the England of King George III to life with ample (and often gruesome) period detail. (Served a slab of Stilton at a chop house, Peter notices """"half a dozen weevils which shared the plate."""") The characters, however, seem curiously flat. Kate is defined by her glossy red hair and, constrained by her period garb and convention, never gets to do much; Peter is even less distinct. The author constructs their relationship as antagonistic (they have only just met when the story opens), making for lots of petty bickering of the kind heard on a long car ride with squabbling siblings. Readers may find Gideon, having lost nine of 10 family members to scarlet fever, a sympathetic figure, but he is somewhat idealized. After a rather lengthy run-up, this first volume in a planned trilogy ends in a dramatic cliff-hanger. Ages 10-up. (July)

Horn Book

An antigravity machine accident sends Peter and Kate to the eighteenth century, where an honest steward, Gideon, helps them assimilate. But Gideon's wicked former master learns of their plans to return home and seeks to exploit them. Slow pacing and melodramatic narration disrupt the action, but readers may be intrigued by the time travel conceit and historical details.

ALA Booklist

To display this first novel, which sports an impressive die-cut peephole in the embossed case cover, will be to see it circulate. Despite the unusual packaging, though, the plot of book one in the planned Gideon Trilogy will strike many as familiar fare: 12-year-old acquaintances Kate and Peter are whisked back in time to the England of 1763 by an antigravity machine. Transcending the threadbare framework is the role of compassionate Gideon, a reformed cutpurse whose efforts to help the children bring him dangerously close to his ignoble past. As in Eleanor Updale's Montmorency series, the criminal seeking redemption makes a compelling character, and Buckley-Archer's inclusion of present-day scenes, mostly focused on Kate's and Peter's distraught parents, provides a realistic, suspenseful counterpoint to the fantasy. Running gags culled from the time-and-culture differential and de rigueur cameos by historical figures seem contrived, but the pistol-waving encounters with highwaymen and chases through London's underbelly will bring readers back for more.