Time Chasers

Area 51 Interns #3

by James S. Murray, Carsen Smith

From the mind of Murr from the Impractical Jokers and comedian Carsen Smith comes the third book in the hilarious and action-packed series about a world of bizarre creatures, wacky gadgets, and four kid interns at the most interesting place on Area 51!

After the shocking revelation about her long-lost father, Viv, Elijah, Charlotte, and Ray are determined to save him at any cost. So it's a no-brainer for them to sneak into one of Area 51's finicky time machines to try to bring him back. What could go wrong? Well, how about not being able to track Viv's father through time, almost getting destroyed by the same meteor that killed the dinosaurs, and being chased by strange beings that preserve the proper flow of time? And with her father's life—and their own histories— at stake, Viv and her friends may be running out of time to set things right...

This third book in the debut middle-grade series from Murr of the Impractical Jokers and co-author Carsen Smith, Area 51 Interns is filled with enough high-tech hijinks, strange creatures and technology, and laugh-out-loud humor (plus an extra color insert full of gadgets) to make even Area 51 skeptics hooked for more!

Genres: Science Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2023

About the author

James S. Murray is a writer, executive producer, and actor, best known as “Murr” on the hit television show Impractical Jokers on truTV and for his comedy troupe, the Tenderloins. He also served as the senior vice president of development for NorthSouth Productions for over a decade and is owner of Impractical Productions, Inc. Originally from Staten Island, he now lives in Manhattan. Awakened is his first novel.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Area 51 Interns, Book 3: Time Chasers is the 3rd and final book in James S. Murray and Carsen Smith's Area 51 Interns series. It picks right back up after the cliffhanger ending of the 2nd book, Area 51 Interns, Book 2: Zoned Out. I thought it was satisfying conclusion to a really cool series.

[Lauren Yorks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 3 hours, a personal best for me and a personal best for Murray and Smith. I loved every page. It was exciting, I was laughing, smiling, crying- oh my God that resolution is the best I've read in a while. The breakneck speed suited what it was going for. I didn't find it off-putting that we just jumping jumping jumping, I can see that being a problem, but I thought it worked in the context of Viv and her pals both chasing her dad and being chased themselves. I found the story refreshing that it wasn't mainly the don't screw with time/the past lesson, which is 90% of all-time stories, good or bad. This was more than what I wanted, priority 1- chaotic fun to a solid enough story, priority 2- heartwarming- I dare not spoil the resolution. 2 months left on the clock as I write this, but this is in the top 5 novels I read this year out of maybe 30 books- adult and kids-, #2 specifically. Murr, Carsen, I tip my hat, You've topped yourselves.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viv has rarely heard her mom talk about her dad, but after he showed up for a blip at the end of the last book, he's the main topic of conversation. Her mom goes charging off to open up a wing of Area 51 that was closed down since Ernest Becker disappeared. It's a section full of time machines that Ernest developed. Director Harlow quickly gets one working with the help of other parents/scientists and goes off in time to try and rescue Ernest. Viv can't stand the thought of losing both parents, so she decides to get in another time machine and help. Of course, Elijah, Charlotte, and Ray aren't going to let Viv have an adventure without them. But can they actually catch up with the trail Ernest has left, and who are the freaky guys in robes following them?

I happened to be reading this at the same time as an adult time travel book, and the two different takes on time travel started to mix in my mind. Note to self: don't read 2 time travel books at the same time again! The challenge of keeping the two time travel principles straight aside, this was a fun romp through time with an added suspense factor with the guys in robes. The kids get to travel to a wide range of time periods both past and future, and meet Beethoven, Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Wright brothers. They also get to run into their future selves and not create some kind of time catastrophe (which is unusual in time travel). And Viv gets to travel to Meekee's home planet and learn a touch more about her alien powers. The end of the book sets things up for another adventure, so I hope that means there's a 4th book on the way. This series is one of my favorite that explores classic scifi tropes (aliens, time travel, futuristic gadgets, cryptozoology, etc.) for middle grades right now.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: Thoughts about liking someone, but nothing more than the crush thoughts.
Violence: The robe guys can dissolve people and things into sand and do so in front of the kids. There's danger from natural disasters and snakes and some other things in various time periods.
Ethnic diversity: Viv is Black, Charlotte is White, Ray is Latino, and Elijah I think is White.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Ernest has been caught going from time period to time period every few minutes for 12 years (which is a pretty horrifying and exhausting concept).