Viking Attack

When the boys keep through the branches, they see a thickset man swaggering toward the beach. Black hair dangled below an iron helmet. He wears baggy pants and chain mail. A sword hangs at his belt, and his right hand clutches a spear. Bethany, draped over his shoulder, struggles and pounds his back.

“Is that… is that a Viking?” Spencer asks.

Rachel nods grimly. “A Northlander,” she agrees.

“What incredible timing,” Spencer says in an awed voice. “Rachel, is today June 8?”

“I think so,” she snaps. “What difference – ”

“The date of the first Viking attack in Europe,” Spencer tells his friends.

Book: Time Crashers: Viking Attack by Michael Brewer, Legacy Press, 2014

Genre: Adventure

Target Audience: Boys 12-16

Subjects: Power of God, Love, Friendship

Summary: A time machine – that works! Ethan should be thrilled, but he’s not. Because of the reason he knows it worked. It caused his dad to vanish. Now it’s up to Ethan and his two friends to travel through time and find his dad. The boys prepare, the machine is set and… they vanish… and arrive in Northumbria in 793! Finding Ethan’s dad isn’t the only challenge they face. First they are mistaken for witches, then they have to fight off a crew of Vikings who have come to attack the local monastery, then they have to find a way to get back to the exact point they appeared. Oh yeah, and maybe fight off an angry mother wild boar and a pack of wolves on the way. All in only 30 minutes from the moment they arrived, or Ethan’s dad won’t be the only one stuck in time!

Notes: Viking Attack is the first in the Time Crashers series, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series. The idea of the series is that Ethan and his two friends will travel to different places and times in history looking for Ethan’s dad who is stuck somewhere in time. The book also contains numerous illustrations – simple grayscale pencil drawings, but lots of them. The spiritual elements are definitely prevalent in the story. The characters put their trust in Jesus to help them through their difficult situations. Ethan looks to the Bible for insight on what decisions to make. When they are accused of being witches, their choice to sing hymns is what convinces their jailer they are Christians. When their enemies seek treasure, Ethan tells them of the Bible – the greatest map to be found. In multiple scenarios, they boys witness to the Vikings. It is a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book so it’s harder to weave a strong spiritual thread throughout the course of the book, but the author does a good job putting in quite a bit. The book also contains little activities and puzzles after each chapter. They have the reader looking up Bible verses to solve the puzzles. I would highly recommend this book to Choose-Your-Own-Adventure fans.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.