TimeRiders
| Company type | Book series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | February 4, 2010 |
| Founder | Alex Scarrow |
| Products | Young adult science fiction novels |
TimeRiders is a collection of nine young adult science fiction novels authored by Alex Scarrow and released through Puffin Books.
Summary
The storyline revolves around three teenagers who are recruited moments before their imminent deaths by an organization known as 'The Agency.' This group, established by Roald Waldstein, is dedicated to safeguarding history and correcting disturbances within the timeline. Their operations are based in a field office located beneath the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, existing within a two-day 'Time Bubble' spanning September 10–11, 2001. Throughout each novel, they tackle significant historical alterations. The team receives assistance from cyborg 'support units' capable of human imitation and later moves their base to a second location beneath London's Holborn Viaduct.
Characters
The narrative focuses on five main characters:
- – Serving as the field operative, Liam was an Irish steward aboard the Titanic in 1912 and was rescued just before the ship sank. Selected for his quick decision-making abilities, he maintains strong relationships with support units Bob and Becks. In TimeRiders: Day of the Predator, it is disclosed that Liam is the younger incarnation of the former leader Foster. Subsequent volumes reveal he is a genetically engineered entity modeled after Gabriel Waldstein, Roald Waldstein's son and the inventor of the first time machine.
- – The leader of the group, Maddy was saved prior to a terrorist attack on a commercial airplane in 2010. A computer game designer for Electronic Arts, she was chosen for her intelligence. Maddy shares connections with Foster and Becks and develops a romantic involvement with Adam Lewis. She is uncovered as a genetically engineered support unit based on Waldstein's late wife Eleanor.
- – The youngest recruit, Sal was saved from a skyscraper collapse in 2026. Renowned for her strategic acumen and ability to sense temporal contamination, she is later revealed to be a support unit and a genetically engineered clone created by Waldstein after the original was killed by mutants. In The Mayan Prophecy, she merges with Lester Cartwright.
- – A support unit designed originally as physical and mental muscle, Bob was grown from a test tube as a "meat robot." After sustaining fatal injuries fighting Nazis, his AI was transferred into the team's central computer ("Computer Bob"). A new body was subsequently grown with uploaded memories, resulting in two versions of Bob. He develops close ties with Liam and Becks and accompanies them on missions.
- – Initially created accidentally as a female support unit to assist Liam during Bob’s repairs, Becks began sharing Bob’s memories but gradually developed her own identity and romantic feelings toward Liam. After multiple body changes and AI transfers, she eventually inhabits Faith’s body—one among units dispatched by Waldstein to eliminate the TimeRiders.
Additional key figures include:
- – A former field agent and leader who represents an older version of Liam aged through time travel. He mentors the current team before retiring peacefully but is ultimately killed by support units sent by Waldstein. Foster is also genetically engineered based on Waldstein’s son.
- – A companion from 1888 who later emerges as the future writer H. G. Wells.
- – A technician originating from 2070 who participates in reconstructing time travel technology. Recruited for his knowledge of future events, he assists in establishing a new field office in Victorian London but succumbs to the Kosong-ni virus during a mission.
- – Rashim’s genetically engineered lab assistant modeled after SpongeBob SquarePants, functioning as the team’s base aide.
- – The inventor of the original time machine and founder of the TimeRiders agency. After witnessing a transformative event in 2044, he destroys his research but forms the agency to prevent timeline interference. While overseeing the team, he encounters internal strife and eventually creates support units intended to eliminate them when they question his authority. In The Infinity Cage, he reveals to Maddy that an alien species called "the Caretakers" warned him about preserving spacetime or risking humanity's extinction.
- – One of the founding members responsible for developing Maddy, Liam, and Sal along with their implanted memories. He manipulates Sal’s memory to expose their true nature but dies after venturing into peril through time travel.
- – A minor character twice recruited; a British student who deciphers part of the Voynich Manuscript and later works at the World Trade Center before dying in the 9/11 attacks. He forms a romantic bond with Maddy and sacrifices himself to save her.
- – A combat unit dispatched by Waldstein to assassinate the TimeRiders; after losing her body, her digital consciousness is overwritten by Becks’ AI.
- – Another combat unit sent to eliminate the TimeRiders; she is killed by security forces following her murder of Foster.
Overview
Legend for Indicators
- Cells shaded in dark grey signify that the character was either absent or not yet revealed for that installment.
- Main denotes a lead role.
- Recurring represents appearances in two or more episodes.
- Guest marks a one-time appearance.
| Character | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TimeRiders | TimeRiders: Day of the Predator |
TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code |
TimeRiders: The Eternal War |
TimeRiders: Gates of Rome |
TimeRiders: City of Shadows |
TimeRiders: The Pirate Kings |
TimeRiders: The Mayan Prophecy |
TimeRiders: The Infinity Cage |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | ||||
| Primary Characters | ||||||||
| Liam O'Connor | colspan="9" Template:CMain | |||||||
| Madeline "Maddy" Carter | colspan="9" Template:CMain | |||||||
| Saleena "Sal" Vikram | colspan="8" Template:CMain | Template:CRecurring | ||||||
| Robert "Bob" | colspan="9" Template:CMain | |||||||
| Rebecca "Becks" | Template:CEmpty | colspan="8" Template:CMain | ||||||
| Foster | Template:CMain | colspan="4" Template:CGuest | Template:CRecurring | — | ||||
| Adam Lewis | colspan="2" Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain | — | Template:CMain | — | |||
| Rashim Anwar | colspan="4" Template:CEmpty | Template:CRecurring | colspan="4" Template:CMain | |||||
| Spongebubba | colspan="4" Template:CEmpty | Template:CGuest | Template:CMain | colspan="3" Template:CRecurring | ||||
| Villains | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Paul Kramer | Template:CMain | colspan="8" Template:CEmpty | |||||||
| Lester Cartwright | Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain | colspan="7" Template:CEmpty | ||||||
| Broken Claw | Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain | colspan="7" Template:CEmpty | ||||||
| The Hood | colspan="2" Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain | colspan="6" Template:CEmpty | ||||||
| The Almost-Men | colspan="3" Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain | colspan="5" Template:CEmpty | ||||||
| Caligula | colspan="4" Template:CEmpty | Template:CMain |
data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | — |
colspan=3 Template:CEmpty | |||||
| Faith |
colspan=5 Template:CEmpty |
colspan=2 data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | — | |||||||
| Abel |
colspan=5 Template:CEmpty |
data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-na" | — |
colspan=2 Template:CEmpty | ||||||
TimeRiders
The debut novel, TimeRiders, was published on February 4, 2010.
The story introduces Liam, Maddy, and Sal as a freshly assembled team tasked with stopping Paul Kramer, a future physicist intent on altering history by ensuring Nazi Germany’s triumph and the creation of a global Reich. To prevent this, Liam and the AI companion Bob journey back in time to confront Kramer. Meanwhile, Maddy and Sal witness a drastically changed present—a nuclear-ravaged New York resulting from Kramer's deranged actions. The final showdown unfolds at Obersalzberg, where Bob eliminates Kramer but sustains fatal injuries. Liam salvages Bob’s AI and returns to 2001, restoring the original timeline.
TimeRiders: Day of the Predator
TimeRiders: Day of the Predator launched on August 5, 2010.
While safeguarding Edward Chan at a zero point energy reactor, Liam, Becks, and several college students are unexpectedly transported sixty-five million years into the past through a temporal breach. Stranded in a prehistoric world inhabited by deadly predators, they establish a camp and attempt to contact the present day. Simultaneously, Maddy and Sal collaborate with Bob’s AI to track down and rescue the stranded group.
TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code
Released on February 3, 2011, TimeRiders: The Doomsday Code follows British hacker Adam Lewis as he deciphers an ancient code hidden within the Voynich manuscript. Upon contacting the TimeRiders, they travel back to Sherwood Forest in 1194 to investigate the code’s source. There, they uncover a quest involving the Holy Grail and must outpace a mysterious cloaked adversary seeking its key.
TimeRiders: The Eternal War
Published on July 14, 2011, TimeRiders: The Eternal War deals with a temporal disturbance affecting the American Civil War era. Abraham Lincoln inadvertently follows Liam into the modern world, leaving history in an uncertain state. The TimeRiders must return Lincoln to his time to halt an unending conflict. Meanwhile, Maddy works to broker a tenuous ceasefire between rival colonels to protect future stability.
TimeRiders: Gates of Rome
TimeRiders: Gates of Rome, released on February 2, 2012, centers on Project Exodus—a plan to relocate 300 Americans from 2070 to 54 AD to topple the Roman Empire. However, half of them arrive seventeen years prematurely during Caligula’s reign. Liam investigates these events while Maddy and Sal evade an assassination squad targeting their field office. Stuck in ancient Rome facing a more formidable Caligula armed with future insights, the team must secure their field office and find a way back to 2001 to correct history.
TimeRiders: City of Shadows
The August 2, 2012 release TimeRiders: City of Shadows finds the TimeRiders fleeing New York from futuristic cyborg assassins. They seek shelter in Victorian London amidst the perilous streets haunted by Jack the Ripper. Before establishing their new headquarters, they uncover a revelation that will significantly alter their mission’s trajectory.
TimeRiders: The Pirate Kings
Published on February 7, 2013, TimeRiders: The Pirate Kings transports readers to Victorian London and back further to 1666 during the Great Fire of London. Amidst widespread destruction, Liam and newcomer Rashim become trapped between the advancing flames and the Thames River. Their escape aboard a riverboat leads them into conflict with a merciless captain obsessed with maritime treasure.
TimeRiders: The Mayan Prophecy
Released on August 1, 2013, TimeRiders: The Mayan Prophecy follows the team as Maddy reveals hidden truths Becks has kept secret. While navigating through different eras, they encounter a Mayan community connected to an ancient artifact that bridges history and the future. Tensions escalate within the group when a member threatens to derail their objective in pursuit of vengeance.
TimeRiders: The Infinity Cage
Published on November 6, 2014, TimeRiders: The Infinity Cage depicts Liam and Maddy traveling to the year 2070 to face Waldstein and uncover his true intentions amidst the looming cessation of time travel. Their journey culminates in a critical mission set during Biblical times aimed at preserving humanity’s future. The story ends with Liam being enlisted by the caretakers, while Maddy’s choice—whether to accompany him or return to 1994 alongside Adam—remains unresolved.