The History Keepers by Damian Dibben
Dec. 1st, 2011 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
It’s time for a new hero …
Imagine if you lost your parents – not just in place but in time.
Jake Djones’s folks have gone missing and they could be anywhere in the world – at any time in history. For the Djones family have an astonishing secret. They belong to THE HISTORY KEEPERS; a secret society which travels through the centuries to prevent evil enemies from meddling with history itself.
The past is in danger; only Jake Djones can save it …
Jake’s parents run a failing bathroom store and go to trade conferences, leaving him in the care of his strange aunt Rose. One day he’s kidnapped by Jupitus Cole and Norland who tell him that his parents and aunt were History Keepers, agents dedicated to preventing people from changing history for their own ends. Now his parents have disappeared while away on a mission in 1506 Venice. Soon Jake finds himself in Renaissance Venice with fellow teens Topaz (a beautiful, French agent), Nathan (a dashing, foppish American) and Charlie (a technological wizard) where they must face the evil Schlitz family and stop their plan to destroy history as we know it.
Damien Dibben’s novel, the first in a new series, is a disappointing take on the old idea of people having to protect history from those seeking to change it for their own ends.
The book’s predominantly set-up, with Dibben explaining everything in large chunks of expositional dialogue, e.g. the mechanism for time travel is a complicated mix of innate ability, geography and the consumption of a rare liquid. These explanations get in the way of the story, which wouldn’t be so bad if the plot itself was more interesting. Dibben throws so many obstacles for Jake to overcome on his journey, e.g. the kidnapping, the decision not to include him in the team to rescue his parents so forcing him to stow away anyway that I just wanted him to cut to the point.
Jake is so good and so determined to do the right thing that I was desperate for him to show some kind of fault or at least a sense of humour. It’s interesting that he’s more interested in saving Topaz than his brother who’s in a similar predicament at the end of the book but I never bought his feelings for Topaz, which seemed contrived. Of the other characters Nathan was interesting with his vanity, eye for fashion and sense of derring do and Jupitus Cole is built up as having a dark history but I didn’t care enough about him to want to know more. The Schlitz family are walking clichés of evil, which left me bored rather than tense.
All in all, unfortunately I just found the book dull, which is a shame because the idea is great when it’s told with a bit more zip. I don’t think I’ll be reading on.
The Verdict:
Damien Dibben’s middle-grade novel (the first in a series) was, for me, an exposition-heavy, overly convoluted and ultimately dull take on the idea of a secret society protecting history from those who seek to exploit or destroy it. I didn’t gel with any of the characters, the pacing was weighed down by the explanations and the villains evil clichés. To be honest, Timeriders by Alex Scarrow is a more enjoyable take on the same idea and as such, I don’t think I’ll be reading on.
THE HISTORY KEEPERS was released in the UK on 1st September 2011. Thanks to Doubleday for the ARC of this book.
Imagine if you lost your parents – not just in place but in time.
Jake Djones’s folks have gone missing and they could be anywhere in the world – at any time in history. For the Djones family have an astonishing secret. They belong to THE HISTORY KEEPERS; a secret society which travels through the centuries to prevent evil enemies from meddling with history itself.
The past is in danger; only Jake Djones can save it …
Jake’s parents run a failing bathroom store and go to trade conferences, leaving him in the care of his strange aunt Rose. One day he’s kidnapped by Jupitus Cole and Norland who tell him that his parents and aunt were History Keepers, agents dedicated to preventing people from changing history for their own ends. Now his parents have disappeared while away on a mission in 1506 Venice. Soon Jake finds himself in Renaissance Venice with fellow teens Topaz (a beautiful, French agent), Nathan (a dashing, foppish American) and Charlie (a technological wizard) where they must face the evil Schlitz family and stop their plan to destroy history as we know it.
Damien Dibben’s novel, the first in a new series, is a disappointing take on the old idea of people having to protect history from those seeking to change it for their own ends.
The book’s predominantly set-up, with Dibben explaining everything in large chunks of expositional dialogue, e.g. the mechanism for time travel is a complicated mix of innate ability, geography and the consumption of a rare liquid. These explanations get in the way of the story, which wouldn’t be so bad if the plot itself was more interesting. Dibben throws so many obstacles for Jake to overcome on his journey, e.g. the kidnapping, the decision not to include him in the team to rescue his parents so forcing him to stow away anyway that I just wanted him to cut to the point.
Jake is so good and so determined to do the right thing that I was desperate for him to show some kind of fault or at least a sense of humour. It’s interesting that he’s more interested in saving Topaz than his brother who’s in a similar predicament at the end of the book but I never bought his feelings for Topaz, which seemed contrived. Of the other characters Nathan was interesting with his vanity, eye for fashion and sense of derring do and Jupitus Cole is built up as having a dark history but I didn’t care enough about him to want to know more. The Schlitz family are walking clichés of evil, which left me bored rather than tense.
All in all, unfortunately I just found the book dull, which is a shame because the idea is great when it’s told with a bit more zip. I don’t think I’ll be reading on.
The Verdict:
Damien Dibben’s middle-grade novel (the first in a series) was, for me, an exposition-heavy, overly convoluted and ultimately dull take on the idea of a secret society protecting history from those who seek to exploit or destroy it. I didn’t gel with any of the characters, the pacing was weighed down by the explanations and the villains evil clichés. To be honest, Timeriders by Alex Scarrow is a more enjoyable take on the same idea and as such, I don’t think I’ll be reading on.
THE HISTORY KEEPERS was released in the UK on 1st September 2011. Thanks to Doubleday for the ARC of this book.
