Out of Time

Mindwarp #9

by Chris Archer

In a future world, six young people discover that UFOs are really time machines sent by future humans who are trying to prevent the invention of the genetically engineered soldiers that have taken over the planet. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Alex Joseph]

Oh… that’s a Mindwarp… that’s a Mindwarp that isn’t good. The penultimate episode of Mindwarp is a sharp decrease in quality from everything that came before, taking many liberties and odd writing decisions thaf I’m shocked Chris Archer went for THIS LATE in the game (the game being one of the most standout pieces of kids’ fiction I’ve read). The writing in itself is good as always and there’s plenty of fun to be had here, and I love the characters and their antics no less than ever here. Seriously great stuff. And there’s some intriguing revelations here that I’m excited to their following inquires wrapped up. The book’s got intense moments and great ties to earlier entries and seemingly unimportant established mythology from the universe, and was still a good time to be frank. But the quality dip is… yikes. The future setting of the past two books is dropped thirty pages into this one and feels like a flat crescendo for what should’ve been one of the biggest ones in Mindwarp. It’s far too early in the book and we don’t get proper close to characters like Whistler and that scientist dude, which isn’t tasteful. There’s also plenty of convenience with it too. And from there, the book just doesn’t feel like Mindwarp much anymore. We get a really meandering second act with not only straight filler scenes but also just poor pacing. The book became messy and I am honestly confident the finale isn’t gonna wrap up everything here, most notably the “stepped on butterflies.” And that’s another issue—Ethan and Toni feel unnecessarily foolish for their segment in act two. It’s out of character but more so just a questionable writing decision as, again, the “stepped on butterflies” are a rabbit hole I’m positive won’t be untangled, and even if it is, in a properly written manner. The ending of the book feels like a bit underwhelming too as it’s leading into the finale with the stakes more vague than ever, which goes against basic writing; I’m more confused than nervous for the characters and that’s not appropriate for the damn finale. And my biggest confusion is with the fact that the objective in this book is a limpid suicide mission. That’s not an issue, and the story even acknowledges that the kids’ plan is the same as their parents’, which will have the same life-ending results. But guess what? The kids’ (whilst knowing how it would’ve ended for their parents) NEVER regard the fact that they’re on track to erase themselves from existence. An acknowledgment and agreement that it’s the only way would’ve been nice or even just a solution or different story approach, but we never get that satisfaction. Overall, 5.5/10. Chris Archer… I’m severely disappointed. What a blemish on this series, and reading the blurb for the SERIES FUCKING FINALE, I’m fearing we’re about to have the most subpar conclusion this genre has ever seen.

[Joe Kessler]

A fun penultimate adventure for this middle-grade sci-fi series, and by this point, I'm positive that I never read this far into these books back in the 90s, so I'm excited to see how everything resolves. The six teenage heroes start this volume still stuck in the future dystopia, but they swiftly escape and embark on their mission to somehow rewrite history. The problem is they don't really know how to do that, but they split into pairs to work on the various possibilities, which creates an energetic rush as the plot bounces around among them and allows for some spotlight uses of everyone's special abilities.

One thread sends Ethan and Toni to the 1940s, where the girl's brush with racism is handled pretty tactfully for the intended audience, with the text establishing rude glances and name-calling without actually putting her in danger of violent bigotry or spelling out exactly what she's being called. Back in the present, Jack and Ashley wind up in a paranoid conspiracy thriller that fits well with the story's roots, while Todd and Elena… okay, mostly just research at the library. But at least we finally learn what his power is, and get to see the rippling timequakes that happen from their friends changing things in the past.

It's another quick read, especially with having to balance all those different developments, but it generally manages to juggle everything successfully, answer a few lingering questions, and set up the final installment rather nicely.

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