The Black Tempest

by Ryan Dalton

Overview

It's summer in Emmett's Bluff, and the ice is spreading. Six months after confronting an enemy from the future, Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert have returned to their normal teenage lives. Or, they've tried to. During the battle to save their town, a mysterious force awoke inside the twins. Time calls to them, and it's growing too strong to be ignored.
When warriors from a mysterious ancient kingdom appear, they bring warnings of an unstoppable foe—one whose control of the ice is powered by Time itself. But ice is far more than the Black Tempest's signature. As the twins uncover the truth behind it, they realize their town is only the beginning. If the Black Tempest is not stopped here, his corruption will threaten the very course of history.
As cold advances and doom draws near, the twins' only hope lies in learning to wield Time itself, and in trusting their strange new friends—even if those friends have secrets of their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631631061
Publisher:	North Star Editions
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Series:	Time Shift Trilogy Series
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Ryan Dalton is a freelance writer and a writer for the board game Exile Sun. He is the author of The Year of Lightning. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

"This is an easy sell for adventure fans." —VOYA

From the Publisher

Six months after vanquishing a time-traveling super villain, Malcolm, Valentine, and their friends face a new threat in Emmett’s Bluff. Their new enemy is a Chronauri warlord called the Black Tempest from the Everwatch dimension. The Black Tempest is a time wizard who wields extraordinary power. Asha and her brother, Tyrathorn, are also Chronauri, and members of the Ember Guard, an elite team of fighting warriors from Everwatch who want to stop the Black Tempest. They have come to warn the people of Emmett’s Bluff about the coming chaos and provide training to defeat the warlord. Meanwhile, twins Malcolm and Valentine discover that they have superpowers and are also Chronauri. In order to save the town, the twins must learn from their new allies how to harness and use their powers. The Black Tempest not only wields unmatchable powers, but he also has the means to destroy all of time itself. Although it is a sequel, The Black Tempest is a fine standalone. While the first book was slow to build suspense, the sequel has solidified its voice and picked up the pace. There is much more action and more primary character development—though most characters are clearly archetypes and predictable in their reactions. The gadgets the characters develop—time manipulation bombs, a voice-activated persuasion tool, a cloaking mechanism—flush out some of the science behind how time travelling and the Chronauri’s powers work. This is an easy sell for adventure fans. Reviewer: Jane Gov; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, April 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 1) - Jane Gov

The Black Tempest builds on the excitement of The Year Of Lightning (Jolly Fish, 2016/Voya February 2016), bringing more protagonists and interesting villains. The science jargon becomes more understandable to average readers as the book progresses, though it may scare away unmotivated readers. Perfect for thinkers looking to the past as well as the future, The Black Tempest is a step up from the first installment with improved plot, character development, and daring manipulation of time. 3Q, 3P. Reviewer: Hadley Willman, Teen Reviewer; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, April 2017 (Vol. 40, No. 1) - Hadley Willman

05/01/2017
Gr 7–10—Twins Valentine and Malcolm Gilbert return in this follow-up to The Year of Lightning. Val, Mal, and their friends are enjoying a quieter end to their freshman year as things have (mostly) returned to normal after their narrow escape from time traveler Lucius Carmichael. The peace does not last long. While the group are paying tribute to a fallen friend, two young adults appear through a portal, and with them come a new host of troubles. Tyrathorn and Ashandara, warriors from a far-off kingdom named Everwatch, are trying to stop a man known as the Black Tempest. His power, and that of his second-in-command, the Frost Hammer, is unlike any that the twins have ever faced. They train with siblings Thorn and Asha to try to overcome this new threat to their town and, possibly, the world and time itself. The plot reveals a few surprises, all of which fit the story line well. Characterizations remain strong, and even the newest characters have distinct personalities. The scientific explanations of how the twins manipulate time are adequate, and more background is given about their powers, which helps readers understand just how extraordinary their abilities are. The last chapter is an excellent cliff-hanger that will leave teens wanting more. VERDICT A must-purchase for collections where science fiction is in demand.—Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

School Library Journal

2017-02-04
After defeating a supervillain from the future in the first book of the Time Shift trilogy, The Year of Lightning (2016), the time travelers from Emmett's Bluff feel they've just barely recovered when they now encounter a new threat from the Time continuum. The action starts when white teenage twins Malcolm and Valentine, along with their diverse, intergenerational team of friends, discover fair-complexioned Asha and her olive-skinned brother, Tyrathorn, time-traveling warriors who emerge suddenly from another time. The unexpected visitors are children of royalty from the ancient kingdom of Everwatch who have suffered an ambush at the hands of evil Chronauri forces. It appears that a war playing out in Everwatch will come to Emmett's Bluff, and chaos will spread in the universe if Time is not protected from the evil forces of the Black Tempest. It is at this fateful meeting that Malcolm and Valentine discover the root of their powers, as Asha informs them that they are also Chronauri, and they must learn how to control them in order to save the universe. Dalton orients readers quickly to the back story from Book 1 before plunging into this chapter of the trilogy. He struggles with his depictions of diversity, utilizing a stereotyped version of African-American vernacular for his black characters' dialogue. This flaw aside, the book's down-to-earth teenagers, bonded by adventure, will have readers rooting for the allies to prevail. (Science fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews