Time Machine (novel series)
1980s children's novel series

Cover of the first book in the series, Secret of the Knights. Story by Jim Gasperini, illustrated by Richard Hescox; cover design and logo by Alex Jay.[1]

Time Machine is a series of children's novels published in the United States by Bantam Books from 1984 to 1989, similar to their more successful Choose Your Own Adventure line of "interactive" novels. Each book was written in the second person, with the reader choosing how the story should progress. They were designed by Byron Preiss Visual Publications.

Differences

The main difference between the Choose Your Own Adventure series and the Time Machine series was that Time Machine books featured only one ending, forcing the reader to try many different choices until they discovered it. Also, the series taught children basic history about many diverse subjects, from dinosaurs to World War II. Only the sixth book in the series, The Rings of Saturn, departed from actual history; it is set in the future, and features educational content about the Solar System. Some books gave the reader their choice from a small list of equipment at the beginning, and this choice would affect events later in the book (e.g. "If you brought the pen knife, turn to page 52, if not turn to page 45."[2]: 32 ).

Another main difference between the Time Machine novels and the Choose Your Own Adventure counterparts was hints offered at certain junctures, where the reader was advised to look at hints at the back of the book contained in a "Data File" section. An example was in Mission to World War II about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, where the reader was given the choice of starting the mission in the Jewish ghetto or the Aryan part of Warsaw; the "Data File" hint for Page 3 asks "Was Ringelblum an Aryan or a Jew?"[3]: 3, 126  suggesting the reader should begin in the Jewish section of the city, but not ordering it, or it was possible for the hint to be missed.

The line spawned a brief spin-off series for younger readers, the Time Traveler novels.

Books

Time Machine series
No. Title Date Author Illus. ISBN Summary
1 Secret of the Knights 1984 Jim Gasperini Richard Hescox 0-553-23601-6[1] It is the year 1340. You have traveled back to the age of knights, and must discover the secret of the Order of the Garter.
2 Search for Dinosaurs 1984 David Bischoff Doug Henderson
Alex Niño 		0-553-23602-4[4] It is the year 1 million B.C. You have traveled back to the age of dinosaurs, and must photograph an Archaeopteryx.
3 Sword of the Samurai 1984 Michael Reaves
Steve Perry		 Steve Leialoha 0-553-24052-8[5] It is the year 1615. You have traveled back to the age of samurai, and must recover the sword of Miyamoto Musashi.
4 Sail with Pirates 1984 Jim Gasperini John Pierard
Alex Niño 		0-553-23808-6[6] It is the year 1684. You have traveled back to the age of pirates, and must recover treasure from Our Lady of the Pure and Immaculate Conception [es].
5 Civil War Secret Agent 1984 Steve Perry Alex Niño 0-553-24183-4[7] It is the year 1860. You have traveled back to America in the days before the Civil War, and must assist Harriet Tubman with the Underground Railroad.
6 The Rings of Saturn 1985 Arthur Byron Cover Brian Humphrey
Marc Hempel 		0-553-24424-8[8] It is the year 2085. You have traveled forward to the age of interplanetary civilization, and must make first contact with an alien race.
7 Ice Age Explorer 1985 Dougal Dixon Doug Henderson
Alex Niño 		0-553-24722-0[9] It is the year 35000 B.C. You have traveled back to the age of prehistoric man, and must find the inspiration for a cave painting.
8 The Mystery of Atlantis 1985 Jim Gasperini Kenneth Smith 0-553-25073-6[10] It is the year 400 B.C. You have traveled back to the first Olympics, and must find the basis for the lost city of Atlantis.
9 Wild West Rider 1985 Stephen Overholser Steve Leialoha 0-553-25180-5[11] It is the year 1862. You have traveled back to the Wild West, and must learn why the Pony Express was so short-lived.
10 American Revolutionary 1985 Arthur Byron Cover Walter Martishius
Alex Niño 		0-553-25300-X[12] It is the year 1774. You have traveled back to the American Revolution, and must identify who fired the first shot.
11 Mission to World War II 1986 Susan Nanus
Marc Kornblatt		 John Pierard 0-553-25431-6[3] It is the year 1940. You have traveled back to Europe during World War II, and must find historical records kept by Emanuel Ringelblum.
12 Search for the Nile 1986 Robert W. Walker José Gonzalez Navaroo 0-553-25538-X[13] It is the year 1889. You have traveled back to the unexplored jungles of Africa, and must adventure with Henry M. Stanley to discover the source of the Nile River.
13 Secret of the Royal Treasure 1986 Carol Gaskin Ernie Colón 0-553-25729-3[14] It is the year 1599. You have traveled back to England in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, and must find out what happened to her ring.
14 Blade of the Guillotine 1986 Arthur Byron Cover Scott Hampton 0-553-26038-3[15] It is the year 1794. You have traveled back to France during the Reign of Terror, and must track down a diamond necklace.
15 Flame of the Inquisition 1986 Marc Kornblatt John Pierard 0-553-26160-6[16] It is the year 1487. You have traveled back to Spain during the Inquisition, and must learn why Queen Isabella I of Castile allowed it to happen.
16 Quest for the Cities of Gold 1987 Richard Glatzer José Gonzalez Navaroo 0-553-26295-5[17] It is the year 1513. You have traveled back to America during the Age of Spanish Exploration, and must discover the truth about the Seven Cities of Gold.
17 Scotland Yard Detective 1987 Seymour V. Reit Charles Vess 0-553-26421-4[18] It is the year 1905. You have traveled back to turn-of-the-century London, and must assist Scotland Yard rescue a captive prince.
18 Sword of Caesar 1987 Robin Stevenson
Bruce Stevenson		 Richard Hescox 0-553-26531-8[19] It is the year 44 B.C. You have traveled back to Rome in the time of Julius Caesar, and must learn what happened to his battle sword.
19 Death Mask of Pancho Villa 1987 Carol Gaskin
George Guthridge		 Kenneth Huey 0-553-26674-8[20] It is the year 1915. You have traveled back to Mexico during the revolution, and must find the death mask of Pancho Villa.
20 Bound for Australia 1987 Nancy Bailey Julek Heller 0-553-26793-0[21] It is the year 1787. You have traveled back to the time when Australia was a prison colony for English criminals, and must identify the first successful settler there.
21 Caravan to China 1987 Carol Gaskin José Gonzalez Navaroo 0-553-26906-2[22] It is the year 1272. You have traveled back to the empire of Kublai Khan, and must follow the route of Marco Polo.
22 Last of the Dinosaurs 1988 Peter Lerangis Doug Henderson 0-553-27007-9[23] It is the year 50 million B.C. You have traveled back to a time when dinosaurs rule the earth, and must witness the Great Extinction.
23 Quest for King Arthur 1988 Ruth Ashby Scott Caple 0-553-27126-1[24] It is the year 490. You have traveled back to Britain during the Dark Ages, and must find the truth behind the legends of King Arthur.
24 World War I Flying Ace 1988 Richard Mueller George Pratt 0-553-27231-4[2] It is the year 1917. You have traveled back to Germany during World War I, and must discover who shot down Manfred von Richthofen.
25 World War II Code Breaker 1989 Peter Lerangis Alex Niño 0-553-28157-7[25] It is the year 1941. You have traveled back to World War II, and must investigate the use of code breaking in both the Pacific and European theatres of war.

Time Traveler (spinoff)

Time Traveler series
No. Title Date Author Illus. ISBN Summary
1 Voyage with Columbus 1986 Seymour V. Reit José Gonzalez Navaroo 0-553-15431-1[26] In 1492, you will solve the mystery of Christopher Columbus's missing ship, the Santa María.
2 The Legend of Hiawatha 1986 Carol Gaskin José Ortiz 0-553-15450-8[27] In the 1500s, you will meet Hiawatha and witness him bringing peace to form the Iroquois Five Nations.
3 The First Settlers 1987 Carol Gaskin John Pierard
Alex Niño 		0-553-15483-4[28] In 1620, you will meet the Pilgrims and take part in the First Thanksgiving.
4 The Amazing Ben Franklin 1987 Peter Lerangis José Ortiz 0-553-15504-0[29] In the 1700s, you will meet Ben Franklin and witness his apocryphal key and kite lightning experiment.
5 Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party 1987 Marc Kornblatt Ernie Colón 0-553-15529-6[30] In 1773, you will meet Paul Revere and participate in the Boston Tea Party.
6 George Washington and the Constitution 1987 Ellen Frankel
Robin Stevenson		 Frédéric Lère
Alex Niño 		0-553-15543-1[31] In the 1780s, you will meet George Washington and witness the Constitutional Convention.

Reception

W. Peter Miller reviewed the Time Machine series for Different Worlds magazine and stated that "All in all these book adventures do exactly what they set out to do. They entertain while teaching you a little bit of history (in a painless way) and they work your brain, I enjoy this series a great deal. The physical production and graphics are first rate. There is not a lot of replay, but it usually takes over an hour to finish a book."[32]

See also

  • Time Machine book list and reviews (gamebooks.org)
  • Jay, Alex (May 6, 2013). "Anatomy of a Logo and Under Cover: Time Machine". Tenth Letter of the Alphabet (blog).

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Gasperini, Jim (February 1984). Secret of the Knights. Time Machine. Illustrated by Richard Hescox. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-23601-6.
  2. ^ a b Mueller, Richard (June 1988). World War I Flying Ace. Time Machine. Illustrated by George Pratt. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-27231-4.
  3. ^ a b Nanus, Susan; Kornblatt, Marc (March 1986). Mission to World War II. Time Machine. Illustrated by John Pierard. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25431-6.
  4. ^ Bischoff, David (February 1984). Search for Dinosaurs. Time Machine. Illustrated by Doug Henderson and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25399-9.
  5. ^ Reaves, Michael; Perry, Steve (July 1984). Sword of the Samurai. Time Machine. Illustrated by Steve Leialoha. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25619-X.
  6. ^ Gasperini, Jim (August 1984). Sail with Pirates. Time Machine. Illustrated by John Pierard and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-23808-6.
  7. ^ Perry, Steve (December 1984). Civil War Secret Agent. Time Machine. Illustrated by Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-24183-4.
  8. ^ Cover, Arthur Byron (March 1985). The Rings of Saturn. Time Machine. Illustrated by Brian Humphrey and Marc Hempel. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-24424-8.
  9. ^ Dixon, Dougal (June 1985). Ice Age Explorer. Time Machine. Illustrated by Doug Henderson and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-24722-0.
  10. ^ Gasperini, Jim (November 1985). The Mystery of Atlantis. Time Machine. Illustrated by Kenneth Smith. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25073-6.
  11. ^ Overholser, Stephen (October 1985). Wild West Rider. Time Machine. Illustrated by Steve Leialoha. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25180-5.
  12. ^ Cover, Arthur Byron (December 1985). American Revolutionary. Time Machine. Illustrated by Walter Martishius and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25300-X.
  13. ^ Walker, Robert W. (May 1986). Search for the Nile. Time Machine. Illustrated by José Gonzalez Navaroo. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25538-X.
  14. ^ Gaskin, Carol (August 1986). Secret of the Royal Treasure. Time Machine. Illustrated by Ernie Colón. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-25729-3.
  15. ^ Cover, Arthur Byron (October 1986). Blade of the Guillotine. Time Machine. Illustrated by Scott Hampton. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26038-3.
  16. ^ Kornblatt, Marc (December 1986). Flame of the Inquisition. Time Machine. Illustrated by John Pierard. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26160-6.
  17. ^ Glatzer, Richard (February 1987). Quest for the Cities of Gold. Time Machine. Illustrated by José Gonzalez Navaroo. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26295-5.
  18. ^ Reit, Seymour V. (April 1987). Scotland Yard Detective. Time Machine. Illustrated by Charles Vess. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26421-4.
  19. ^ Stevenson, Robin; Stevenson, Bruce (June 1987). Sword of Caesar. Time Machine. Illustrated by Richard Hescox. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26531-8.
  20. ^ Gaskin, Carol; Guthridge, George (August 1987). Death Mask of Pancho Villa. Time Machine. Illustrated by Kenneth Huey. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26674-8.
  21. ^ Bailey, Nancy (October 1987). Bound for Australia. Time Machine. Illustrated by Julek Heller. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26793-0.
  22. ^ Gaskin, Carol (December 1987). Caravan to China. Time Machine. Illustrated by José Gonzalez Navaroo. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-26906-2.
  23. ^ Lerangis, Peter (February 1988). Last of the Dinosaurs. Time Machine. Illustrated by Doug Henderson. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-27007-9.
  24. ^ Ashby, Ruth (April 1988). Quest for King Arthur. Time Machine. Illustrated by Scott Caple. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-27126-1.
  25. ^ Lerangis, Peter (September 1989). World War II Code Breaker. Time Machine. Illustrated by Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-28157-7.
  26. ^ Reit, Seymour V. (October 1986). Voyage with Columbus. Time Traveler. Illustrated by José Gonzalez Navaroo. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15431-1.
  27. ^ Gaskin, Carol (November 1986). The Legend of Hiawatha. Time Traveler. Illustrated by José Ortiz. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15450-8.
  28. ^ Gaskin, Carol (March 1987). The First Settlers. Time Traveler. Illustrated by John Pierard and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15483-4.
  29. ^ Lerangis, Peter (May 1987). The Amazing Ben Franklin. Time Traveler. Illustrated by José Ortiz. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15504-0.
  30. ^ Kornblatt, Marc (September 1987). Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party. Time Traveler. Illustrated by Ernie Colón. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15529-6.
  31. ^ Frankel, Ellen; Stevenson, Robin (November 1987). George Washington and the Constitution. Time Traveler. Illustrated by Frédéric Lère and Alex Niño. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-15543-1.
  32. ^ Miller, W. Peter (November–December 1986). "Book Reviews". Different Worlds. No. 44. pp. 6–7, 16.
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