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City of Shadows (TimeRiders #6)

by Alex Scarrow (Goodreads Author)

4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 · rating details · 229 ratings · 27 reviews

Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But all three have been given a second chance—to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history . . .

Hunted by cyborg assassins from the future, the TimeRiders must abandon New York...more

Paperback, 418 pages

Published August 2nd 2012 by Puffin

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The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis by Sharon Ledwith

YA + MG Time Travel

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Mar 09, 2013 Christine Blachford rated it 5 of 5 stars

It’s been a while since I read the previous book in this young adult time travelling extravaganza, so I was worried I wouldn’t remember anything that had happened before. Thankfully, there are plenty of nudges and reminders throughout the book – it’s a complex business this time travel stuff, we need to relive odd bits and pieces here and there to keep track!

What I do remember is that last time I was frustrated at the story – where I wanted answers about what was going on behind the scenes, inst...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I have to ask myself how this series has not been picked up by someone for making into a TV series or even better a series of full length movies.
With every book Alex Scarrow has teased, tantalised and thrilled. He quite clearly has had the whole story arc (for the series) in his head from day one. This has allowed him to write and play with the plot and characters in such a way that he has pulled the audience into other worlds, other times other realities.
His imagination as an author is staggeri...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bought-from-amazon, favourite-authors, fiction, historical-fiction, books-read-2012, favorites, children-young-adult

After a small dip with The Eternal War, this is back on track. City Of Shadows, the sixth book of the proposed nine in the series, is fantastic.

As usual, all my other books get ignored. This is the series for me at the moment, despite it being aimed primarily at young adults (although I do think it can be read by adults too), and I can't wait for EVERYTHING to be revealed.

If you haven't read the previous five books, I really don't know what you're doing reading this book. Yes, each book is a st...more After a small dip with The Eternal War, this is back on track. City Of Shadows, the sixth book of the proposed nine in the series, is fantastic.

As usual, all my other books get ignored. This is the series for me at the moment, despite it being aimed primarily at young adults (although I do think it can be read by adults too), and I can't wait for EVERYTHING to be revealed.

If you haven't read the previous five books, I really don't know what you're doing reading this book. Yes, each book is a standalone book, but there's so much backstory included, that you do need to have read the previous books, in order. I have read them since the first book and eagerly devoured them since. I did not like The Eternal War, book number 4 in the series, but it's very obvious that Alex has a huge plot all mapped out in his head. And every series has their weak points - hello The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon.

Book number five left us with a cliffhanger, and this book picks up straight away from that point, with a slightly irritating prologue but that's over within a couple of pages. And it does all make sense the further on in the book you get. Maddy, Liam, Sal, Foster, Bob and Becks are still there, but they face big revelations in this book. Revelations so big I was nearly bouncing on my seat and squealing. Quite embarrassing when you're on a bus full of people. Revelations SO big that I didn't see it coming, but everything makes sense now. Kind of. These are the kind of revelations that make you realise every little thing you read has been a lie (maybe?) but still leaves you panting eagerly for more.

There are still a few tweaks here and there I would make, if I was the author, but I'm not. There's nothing major. Just let me have the next three books NOW. You know, that kind of tweak. (Next one is due to be released February 2013 woohoo!) There isn't that much time travelling in this book, but when they did, I was turning pages so frantically, I nearly set the book on fire. I still feel Sal is majorly a background character - but now I'm thinking that was the point all along. I still don't understand what the word "hexadecimal" is in doing in a YA book! I had to ask my Dad to tell me what it meant - and then tell me what it meant a second time, as I still didn't understand it. I'm even more confuddled now than when I asked him! Is this what they're teaching kids in school nowadays - I must have missed that lesson!

There's also a couple of nods to his last non TimeRiders release, The Candle Man, which I found quite interesting, but dare I say, a cop out at the same time? Not to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't read this book, or read The Candle Man (a book I was disappointed in and no longer own), but he could have done something different. I believe there is some reasoning behind his writing, so we'll leave it at that.

What I am looking forward to is when book nine is released, I'm going to go back to the very start, and read them all again - and try and like The Eternal War this time for all the haters of my review out there. And then hopefully everything will become very clear. There's still a lot of loose ends that I think need to be tied up before the end of book nine. How, where, what and why did this happen, that happen and the cow jump over the moon happen? (Ha.) Things are starting to make a little more sense now. I just need all three books to finish the series in my hands and looking gorgeous on my shelf.(less)

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Jul 31, 2012 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites-read-in-2012

There is no other series like it... I couldn't read TimeRiders 6 fast enough. There are shocks by the bucketload as the threads that we've followed through the preceding five novels begin to knit together. Maddy, Liam, Sal and Bob are back, they're on the run and everything is in flux. A possible refuge exists in 1888 but the Whitechapel streets of London are not the safest.

TimeRiders must be read in sequence and so do start at the beginning and when you reach the 6th, City of Shadows, then you...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Rebecca Cartwright rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review
I did enjoy this book and I really like the series but I think that this was probably my least favourite. I’m not sure if it’s because the concept is getting a bit old after 6 books and it doesn’t seem to have progressed very much or just that the threat and goal in this book weren’t as clear cut as in the others.
(view spoiler)...more

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Nov 06, 2012 тнoмaѕ gσ ρяσ ∂яαgση !! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure

I did pretty enjoyed this book. I have been reading 6 books of this series in a quick sucsession.
the two cyborgs left from gates of rome is still following 'the agency'. Maddy, sal, liam, bob,'new' becks and new member rashim anwar has to abandon newyork. They are in a run. The FBI is also in the scene for the 'time travellers'. Abel got killed by a police assualt And faith continue tracking timeriders with the help of agent cooper.
timeriders goes to victorian london. But they don't know afte...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Darren Hartwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, time-travel, adventure

Are you a fan of Alex Scarrow's TimeRiders series? If the answer is yes and you have not yet got your hands on a copy of the sixth book in the series, City of Shadows, then you must do so immediately. And if you have not yet read any of the books in this series then go out and get the first TimeRiders books as you have one hell of an exciting ride ahead of you.

Over the course of the first five books in this series Alex Scarrow has gradually woven an incredibly intricate plot, creating a multitud...more Are you a fan of Alex Scarrow's TimeRiders series? If the answer is yes and you have not yet got your hands on a copy of the sixth book in the series, City of Shadows, then you must do so immediately. And if you have not yet read any of the books in this series then go out and get the first TimeRiders books as you have one hell of an exciting ride ahead of you.

Over the course of the first five books in this series Alex Scarrow has gradually woven an incredibly intricate plot, creating a multitude of seemingly unrelated threads. This does at times make reading each new book something of a challenge when six months have passed since the publication of the previous book, as the plots are so complex that remembering everything that has gone before is not always easy. For those five books we have been very much like Scarrow's trio of teen protagonists, very much in the dark as to the real nature of their task and finding things out as the story progresses. For those of you desperate to find answers to some of the questions that have been bugging you for so long then prepare to stunned. And shocked. And amazed. City of Shadows is the game changer for the whole series.

The significance of Sal's teddy bear?
The man who gets merged with a horse in The Eternal War?
Who sent the team of assassins after the TimerRider team in Gates of Rome?
Foster's story?

By alternating the story between a variety of different periods in time, and especially the future where we meet Waldstein properly, in this book Alex Scarrow provides answers to all of these questions, although staying true to form, he then goes on and creates even more questions for his readers. In fact, just like the characters we continue to be led to believe one thing, and then suddenly discover that we may have been wrong all along. Yep, this book will seriously mess with your head.

I feel it is only fair to add a small extra comment on this book for those fans who, like me, were looking forward to a story set predominantly in Victorian London, featuring Jack the Ripper. In actual fact, less than a third of the story is set in this era, with most of the narrative being devoted to 2001, and the actions the team have to take immediately following on from the end of Gates of Rome. This books is less about rectifying contamination events in time, and much more about how the characters survive as they have to cut themselves loose from their Brooklyn base. However, I don't think you will be disappointed with the story - I certainly wasn't.

I remember when the first TimeRiders book was published, another author told me that she had wanted to call one of the books in her series Time Riders, but her publisher had asked her to choose an alternative title as they felt that books with the word 'time' or 'time travel' in the title didn't sell. I don't know why they believed this - perhaps they had market research findings that suggested, despite the popularity of Doctor Who on TV, that children and young adults did not find time travel stories particularly cool or exciting? If that was the case then Alex Scarrow has single-handedly injected both of these elements into the genre and made it a very hot property indeed.(less)

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Dec 12, 2012 GSGS rated it 5 of 5 stars

TimeRiders satisfies again!

I like how their little group is extending, moving, growing up. It's cute.

ANYWAY. Big plot twist, right? I have to admit, I didn't see that coming. I don't really know how to feel about the whole thing. Personally, it doesn't change my views much of the three main charries. I still love them just as much. But still (view spoiler)...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Tej rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: time-travel, young-adult-fiction

Science Fiction and time travel at its most entertaining, enthralling and thought provoking best in this knock-out game changing instalment.

This is the 6th instalment of a planned 9 book scifi time travel epic. Whilst each book has a near standalone "adventure of the week" storyline there is an intriguing and mystifying grand story arc that underlines all 9 books.

This instalment however, changes that structural pattern and texture, instead taking us full whack into the main story arc from start...more Science Fiction and time travel at its most entertaining, enthralling and thought provoking best in this knock-out game changing instalment.

This is the 6th instalment of a planned 9 book scifi time travel epic. Whilst each book has a near standalone "adventure of the week" storyline there is an intriguing and mystifying grand story arc that underlines all 9 books.

This instalment however, changes that structural pattern and texture, instead taking us full whack into the main story arc from start to finish, effectively making this the most stunning and exhilarating entry yet. There are revelations here that would knock you out unconscious. With book 5 ending with a cliffhanger, book 6 wastes no time resuming where it left off, after a customary sidestepping prologue.

In every previous book, the author, Alex Scarrow, has always exhibited a truly masterful talent for storytelling. He constantly drives the narrative at an entertainingly fast pace, exuding heart pumping thrills and a delightfully grounded, logical sense of imagination when depicting alternate realities, past, present and future, depending on the nature of time travelling tamperings. Every bit of science fiction from technology to social/society behaviour to time travelling are given realistic air of possibilities with logical (sometimes head spinning!) explanations. Scarrow maintains those quality ingredients in this novel but then excels further by sweeping us into the grand story arc, flooring us with the radical plot turns (which have clearly been planned meticulously well from the beginning), and infusing our minds with intelligent thought provoking philosophies on life, society and humanity, through the eyes of our much much loved protagonists, Maddy, Liam and Sal.

But for all the mind blowing narrative wizardry, the heart and soul of the book always lie with the journey of 3 lonely teen-aged characters burdened with the simple task of saving the world with the most limited of external guidance, and a surmountable load of murderous obstacles. As much as Harry Potter fans have grown attached to Harry, Ron and Hermione, we Timeriders fans have by now become as equally attached to the fates of these superbly crafted characters and to their support unit sidekicks. The revelations in this book binds us even more towards them than ever. This book is their story all the way.

There are other heavily written important elements in the story, characters and locations in time and space that will delight and instil fear in equal measure but I shall not mention any of them, as part of the fun is their reveal and integration with our protagonists' journey. I don't want to spoil any of that for you.

There isnt as much action set-pieces and thrills as in previous books but that is compensated for the pure dynamite storytelling and I assure all Timeriders fans, you will be turning those pages no less frequent than the previous books, if anything you will be turning them quicker (I finished the book myself in 3 days). I actually thought book 5 was the pivotal point of the series and prematurely claimed that entry to be the equivalent of The Empire Strikes Back. I take that back, this is the TRUE Empire Strikes Back of the series. This is the game changer. This is magnificent science fiction.

If you are new to the Timeriders series than this book may not make any sense, or have any impact if you jump straight to this. It is the least standalone book of the series. I simply recommend, without hesitation, for you to start with Book 1. I shall then envy you as you experience Alex Scarrows' remarkable science fiction chronicles for the first time.

But as for you fellows Timeriders fans, ah Jay'zuz, wait til' ye get a load o' this one!

Note: Dont be anxious about the last 3 books yet to be written and published. These books have been released at an astonishing frequency, at least 2 instalments a year. At this rate of Alex's incredible, almost android like, frequency of publications, those last 3 books may be all released by the end of 2013 and indeed, the next one is already scheduled for February 2013 release date.
(less)

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Aug 16, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Chris by: Michelle

Shelves: not-mine

Another cracking adventure in the Time Riders series. There is no let-up, no flagging as the series moves on, just incredible page-turning thrills. Not so much time travelling in this episode, but the revelations about the characters - jaw dropping, but such a clever twist. Although aimed at young adults this series of books are a superb read (I am way beyond young adult!) and a lot of adult thriller writers would do well to read these books and find out how to write a great story!

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Sep 16, 2012 Elli rated it 5 of 5 stars

This series has been one of the best reads ever. Excellent depth and dimension to the subject - Scarrow really blends historical facts, mega trends into a scarily plausible timeline. The only negative thing that I can say about this is, bloody hell...now I have to wait till Q3 next year for the next book!

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Jan 09, 2013 Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 11, 2012 Karen added it

Another excellent Time Riders story. So many twists and turns and lots to keep you interested. Lots more of the back story filled in but still got lots to learn. Next stop, Pirates in Feb 2013!

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Dec 07, 2012 Luke rated it 4 of 5 stars

City of Shadows picks up pretty much straight on from the events of the previous book. The TimeRiders are under attack and need to find a new base of operations

This book differs in style a little from the others, there's less time-travel than the rest, but it's loses nothing for that.

Here in this book, all the loose threads from previous books; the bear in the shop window, the mysterious time traveler who ended up fused with a horse, the mysterious message in the drop-point, and the assassins...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Shaun rated it 4 of 5 stars

An amazing twist for the Timeriders. Not wanting to give away anything but this is one of the best in the series. Love the bit with 'delboy'.

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Aug 26, 2012 Nicoletta Mura rated it 4 of 5 stars

This might be YA fiction but the writer is able to surprise me at every twist and turn!

Looking forward to next book of the series!

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Jan 09, 2013 Charley Maxwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent pivotal book in the series and really ties all the others together!

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Sep 30, 2012 Anne Barwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, wish-list

Another brilliant addition to the Time Riders series. Loved the big twist, didn't see that one coming at all, but it makes sense in hindsight, as all good plot twists should.

Enjoying the addition of Rashim and Spongebubba to the team and looking forward to pirates next year.

Am wondering though, in light of this though, how the cameo in The CandleMan works (not saying who as that would be spoilers)? Or is there still more plot twists to come? Apart from whatever/whoever Waldstein is referring to...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Muhd Izzuddin rated it 4 of 5 stars

the secrets have been spilled out, leading to more mysteries. this is one of the series that keep u glued on the story till the end :)

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Aug 30, 2012 Rachael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, science-fiction

Fun, if easily gobbled up.

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Aug 15, 2012 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shocks and revelations a-plenty. The TimeRiders world is turned upside down. Page turning excitement from start to finish.

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Sep 19, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another good installment in the TimeRiders series. It did take a while to get into the usual groove of visiting another time, but there is good reason for that! A lot of questions have been answered, and the TimeRiders have had to take a different view of their situation.
This book is slightly different to the previous five books and I look forward to book seven, as I feel that this different direction could prove to be interesting!

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Dec 26, 2012 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Holy shite. Give me the next one already! I feel as though there are only a few more...omg Pandora??? Omg waldstein!!! Omg everyone!!!

There was so much about the development of the major arc plot in this. It was awesome. Unbelievable. It makes me want the next one even more. And it makes me wonder even more how many books are still to come.

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Aug 14, 2012 edifanob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, my-books

Definitely as good as the first book in the series.
There are so many things going on. So many revelations in one book!
And there are still open questions which hopefully will be answered in
the seventh and final book.

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Feb 11, 2013 Harrison Davies rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shocking revelations and a wonderful portrayal of Victorian London.

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Sep 22, 2012 Flint rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, ya

Scarrow has produced another gem and in his usual record time. In this installment we learn even more about the team and the secrets of pandora!

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Aug 14, 2012 Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: timeriders

A brilliant book filled with fantastical revelations about the plot of the series as well as the main characters themselves.

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May 21, 2013 Han marked it as to-read

May 20, 2013 Abdulahi marked it as to-read

May 19, 2013 Sarah marked it as to-read

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About Alex Scarrow

I live a nomadic existence with my wife Frances, and son Jacob. For now we're living in Norwich. I spent the first 10 years out of college in the music business chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games business as a graphic artist and eventually a games designer. For those of you who like their computer games, here's some of the titles I've worked on:
Waterworld, Evolva, The...more

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City of Shadows (TimeRiders #6)

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