Time Thieves (Omega Squad)

 Time Thieves (Omega Squad) by Charlie Carter (Pan Macmillan Australia)

PB RRP $12.99

ISBN: 978-1-7426-1093-1

Reviewed by Wendy McLean

Get Reading! is a nationwide campaign focused on inspiring more Australians to discover or rediscover the pleasure of reading. Time Thieves, Charlie Carter’s newest offering, has been included in this year’s Get Reading’s selection of ‘50 Books You Can’t Put Down’ for good reason. It’s a dramatic and thrilling series that will engage even the most reluctant reader.

Time Thieves is the first book in Charlie Carter’s Omega Squad series, which follows on from the very successful Battle Boy series. In the newest offering, Napoleon Augustus Smythe (aka Battle Boy 005) has been promoted to Battle Agent 005. In the Battle Boy series Battle Boy 005 was a sole agent travelling back through time, under the guidance of Professor Perdu, to spy on the past and solve famous historical mysteries. But now he is Battle Agent 005, part of an elite team of Time Troopers. He must work together with his other Omega Squad team members, Winston Garibaldi (aka Battle Agent 004) and Amazon Diana (aka Battle Agent 009), to undertake Operation Battle Book.

Operation Battle Book is run by the mission controller, Professor Perdu. The Battle Agents must enter Professor Perdu’s Battle Books (super-strong metal caskets containing compressed energy of past battles) and collect important data for her research. But working as a team with the super smart BA004, the girl with attitude BA009 and super soldier TEX, proves a real difficulty for Battle Agent 005. And not only do the three Battle Agents struggle to operate as a team, they also become the target of sabotage as clandestine forces seek to destroy Professor Perdu and her Operation Battle Book. The three Battle Agents must overcome their differences to work as a team and find out who is stealing time and energy in an attempt to destroy Professor Perdu’s Operation Battle Book.

The Omega Squad series is compelling and action-packed and will appeal to both those who are familiar or new to the Battle Boy and Battle Agent series. Readers will be taken on a journey through time to discover who is stealing time and energy bundles from the Battle Books. Charlie Carter (aka the famous Australian author John Heffernan) has cleverly reinvented the history lesson in action-packed and relevant ways that will appeal to boys and girls aged 6-10 years.

Readers can check out the other Battle Boy books at: http://www.battleboy.com.au/. The next installment in the Battle Agent series History Hackers will be released in December 2012.

Battle Boy

Battle Boy: Bloodaxe (ISBN 978-033042520-9)

Battle Boy: Aztec Attack (ISBN 978-033042558-2)

Battle Boy: Battle Bust-up (ISBN 978-033042559-9)

by Charlie Carter (Pan Macmillan)

PB RRP $9.99

Reviewed by Kathryn Duncan

If you are looking for a Christmas present for the reluctant reader, then it is worth looking at the Battle Boy series.

Battle Boy: Bloodaxe - Napoleon again finds himself sent back in time, this time to England in 954 - The Dark Ages, where he meets the feared Viking, Bloodaxe, and again finds himself in the middle of a battle. Napoleon befriends Bloodaxe’s son, Haeric, and although they have to fight each other, the boys learn lessons about leadership and war.  Again, supported by Skin, Napoleon navigates the intricacies of being in another time and despite Professor Perdu’s belief that the mission has failed, Napoleon has learned something about himself.

Battle Boy: Aztec Attack - The year is 1519 and this time Napoleon has found himself in Mexico facing the Aztecs and Spanish Conquistadors. This time, the mission might not be as clear as in the past - is Battle Boy really after the DNA sample from Cortez, or is there something more to the mission that Professor Perdu is not telling him?  Battle Boy 005 finds himself face to face with BB004 and the hope that they will meet again sometime in the future, rather than in the past.

Battle Boy: Battle Bust-up - After five eventful, but successful missions, Napoleon, better known as Battle Boy 005, finds himself in a tangled tale as two battles, The Battle of Issus in 333BC and the Battle of Kursk in 1943, are mixed up in the same book. His job this time is to find the contaminated parts and return them to their rightful book.  This is a nice change from the formulaic stories of previous five books and an astute reader will keenly pick up the differences in the types of battles used in such different times. As always, Napoleon returns home safely, even if a little battle weary, having restored the battle books to their correct states.

  

The Battle Boy series offer adventure and fun for readers and cleverly incorporates historical events into a genre that young readers, and in particular young boys, will love.  They combine history and technology with adventure and provide just enough facts to keep the reader intrigued about the topic. Hopefully, the stories will lead young readers to the non-fiction shelves of their local libraries, in the hope that they might come across their own historical adventure.

The series is supported by a website with information about the equipment and a quiz about each book - and it’s a Battle Boy secret how many this reviewer got right! http://www.battleboy.com.au/