City of Time

The Navigator Bk. 2:
City of Time
by Eoin McNamee

CITY OF TIME by Eoin McNamee

Category: Fantasy

Age Recommendation: Grades 6+

Release Date: 6/24/08

Publisher: Wendy Lamb

Reviewed by:

Rating: 5 Stars

This second book in McNamee’s THE NAVIGATOR TRILOGY picks up a year after THE NAVIGATOR left

off. Life

has been easier for Owen since the defeat of the Harsh, but the Resisters’ disappearance once the disaster

was taken care

of leaves him lonely. His friend, Cati, left to hold the position of Watcher and remain awake while the

remainder of the

Resisters slumber, feels the same loneliness; she can see Owen, but he cannot see her where she

hides in the shadows of

time, and she is not allowed to contact him except in the case of a great emergency.

Of course, such an emergency quickly appears. While talking with a girl at school, Owen sees her face change for a

split

second into that of an old woman. Cati witnesses a flock of geese quickly age and turn to skeletons before

falling to the

ground as dust. Cati attempts to wake the sleeping Resisters, but they will not stir. She enlists Owen’s

help, and together

they are able to wake a small number of the resisters, including Dr. Diamond and the warrior,

Pieta. Dr. Diamond

determines that the strange happenings are a result of there being not enough time present in the

world; this lack of time is

interfering with the physical universe in strange and threatening ways, which will eventually

result in the distortion of gravity

and may cause the moon to come crashing down into the earth. Cati, Owen, and Dr.

Diamond set off in search of the

mysterious “city of time,” Hadima, where legend has it that time was once bought

and sold.

This book moves at a faster pace than the previous one in the series, and I enjoyed it more. It also makes use of

characters’ perspectives from the very beginning, allowing the reader to see the story through the eyes of most

of the main

characters. The ideas behind the story in this novel are richer and fuller; now that McNamee has

established the rules of his

world, he begins to play around with them, introducing new settings and characters while

elaborating upon old ones. It

would probably be difficult to get the full emotional impact if these books were not read

in order, but whether you read it on

its own or as part of the larger trilogy, CITY OF TIME delivers action,

adventure, and not just a little speculation about the

nature of time and our place in it.