Time Piper

by Delia Huddy

A beautiful and remote village girl follows Luke when he leaves for London to work with the inventor of a revolutionary time machine.

This edition was published as #11 in the MagicQuest series by Ace Books, a reissuing of classic young adult fantasy novels.

Genres: Fantasy, Time Travel, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Delia Huddy worked as an editor in children’s publishing in a long career that included many happy years at Julia MacRae Books in London, after which she became editorial director at Random House UK. She was also an author of novels, picture books, and younger fiction. At the end of her life, in 2005, Delia Huddy was working on the text for The Christmas Eve Tree.

Reviews

[John Huddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful romantic science fiction tale - ahead of its time as a story for both adults and children, being what we now call 'cross-over fiction'. This book is not only original and inventive, but exciting to its last mysterious page - I particularly love the eccentric Professor von Humboldt, who stars again in the gripping sequel 'The Humboldt Effect'.

[Ken Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in "Modern Day" (1976) rural England and London, this book is a haunting explanation of the children that disappeared dancing to a Piper's tune from the town of Hamelin in the Medieval Ages.

Luke is bored with waiting around in the country and more than eager to begin studies at the University. On an outing with his dog he spots a young girl being chased by the local village bullies. Loath to get involved, he finally comes to the girl's rescue. Her name is Hare and the villagers believe her to be at worst a witch, at least fey and otherworldly. Her appearance and manners do nothing to belie their beliefs, though today she might be deemed autistic. She quickly escapes her benefactor but Luke is already smitten. Soon he will become obsessed with the strange Hare.

Answering an ad in the paper, Luke is chosen for his mathematical abilities to work on a famous scientist's efforts to warp time. In London Luke discovers that Hare has followed him and taken up with a group of other young people like herself, people similarly detached from human relationships. They live in abandoned houses and sheds and are drawn to the building where the time experiments are due to take place.

The answer to their otherworldliness will be explained but not before Luke tries to unravel the mystery of the wraith-like Hare and her new companions.

The 70's was a gold mine of quirky fantasies such as MR MOON'S LAST CASE by poet Brian Patten and Nina Beachcroft's ILL MET BY WITCHLIGHT. TIMEPIPER was published first by Greenwillow (no slouch in children's literature cf Diana Wynne Jones) and was later deemed worthy of Tempo Books' MAGIC QUEST series. Sadly this book is unlike anything being published today and is worthy of Philip Pullman!

[Noël]

hardcover