Book Review | The Shadow of the Shifting Sands (Shadows from the Past #18) #mmgm #booksky

The Shadow of the Shifting Sands comes after a slight hiatus in the fabulous Shadows from the Past series by Wendy Leighton-Porter. I’ve read them all, in order, and it’s worthwhile doing so, since the time travelling twins, their friend and cat, the superstar Max, start in pre-history and work their way forward. The underlying theme is the search for the twins’ parents, believed killed in a car crash.

The previous book to this one is the Shadow of the Great Fire, which placed us firmly in 1666. Wendy has suggested this plus two more to complete the set. These do not count the Adventures of Max, who turns up in novellas every now and then.

This is another post joining in Marvellous Middle Grade Mondays, run by Greg Pattridge at Always in the Middle. I usually post on the third Monday of the month.

The Shadow of the Shifting Sands (Shadows of the Past #18)

by Wendy Leighton-Porter

In this gripping time-travel adventure packed with mystery, danger, and ancient magic, twins Jemima and Joe Lancelot, their best friend Charlie, and remarkable cat Max, find themselves in the scorching Rub’ Al Khali desert also known as the Empty Quarter. Legends speak of a lost city buried beneath the sands, but it holds a dark secret.

Can the young explorers unlock the truth before it’s too late or will the desert’s secrets remain hidden forever? [goodreads]

My Review

Wendy Leighton-Porter and I started writing our epic fantasy novels suitable for MG (mine at a pinch, Wendy is spot on) at around the same time, and hung out together in the BookElves project. The fact that one of her characters is called Jemima is nothing to do with me. We both found it difficult to lose beloved pets, though. Just as Fred and George outlived themselves in my adventures, so does Max, Wendy’s beloved cat. Just a preamble…

Arabian legend

The Shifting Sands are full of Arabian legend. I was happy to be in Wendy’s hands as she has spent considerable time in these lands. The sights and sounds are delightfully created as a character in this setting, even though their walking by night and sleeping by day went a bit awry at one point. The travelling is exciting, the arrival even more so, as the mythical palace is full of mysterious secrets and dangers. Fortunately Max has the experience to get them out of here alive. I really appreciate the development of Max as a character, even if his side jaunts could be a bit confusing to a new reader.

One problem for the series, I think, is that there is little character development for Jemima, Joe and Charlie. The kids, over 18 books, have aged little more than a month, if that. Sometimes this can be really irritating, when they make the same stupid mistake of stepping back in time with anachronistic things about their persons. You’d think they’d learn… even over the course of a month, or one summer vacation, at any rate.

Another problem is that the series title seems to have changed to Shadows OF the Past, whereas it was Shadows FROM the Past. This means that on Goodreads (and presumably Amazon) the books end at book ten. Readers will be missing an awful lot of good stuff if they end there. It took me a while to work it out, and I understand these things! I recommend Wendy ask the Goodreads librarians to help sort this out.

But for a good middle grade reader, they are in for another exciting time travel adventure that is really so much better than the average MG time travel adventure.