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By Ian Hunter
Publication Date: 3rd August 2018
Book Review
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At first glance this feels like a straight time-travel adventure, but it doesn’t stay in that lane for long. Instead of grand speeches or easy heroics, you’re dropped into the story alongside four young people who are confused, out of place, and trying to work out the rules as they go. That slightly off-balance feeling never quite goes away, and it makes every discovery feel personal rather than spectacular.
What surprised me most is how much the story is about belonging. Each of them starts off alone in some way, cut off from their own time, people, or sense of purpose. Trust doesn’t come quickly, and that slow, awkward process of learning to rely on one another is where the book really finds its heart. It’s messy in a believable way, full of doubt, mistakes, and second thoughts, which makes the growing connection between them feel earned.
The contrast between worlds is handled quietly and thoughtfully. Modern life is familiar but distant, while the past is harsher yet deeply rooted in land and community. Neither is painted as perfect. Instead, the story lets you feel what might be lost and what might be gained by stepping into a different age. That tension gives the adventure a reflective edge without slowing it down.
The Time Stones themselves are fascinating not because of flashy power, but because of the responsibility they demand. Using them is never simple or safe, and the presence of the ageing shaman adds a sense of tradition and moral weight to every choice. Power here is unsettling rather than glamorous, and that makes the moments of courage stand out all the more.
Although there is danger and conflict, it is handled in a way that makes the book very suitable for a young adult audience, and it will especially appeal to teenagers. The characters are close enough to that age to feel relatable, and their struggles with identity, loyalty and purpose ring true without becoming overwhelming.
By the end, what stays with you isn’t just the adventure but the feeling of having watched something fragile and important take shape between these unlikely companions. It’s a thoughtful, emotionally grounded story about courage, heritage and finding where you belong, even when history itself is shifting under your feet.
Ian Hunter
Books have been an important part of my life as long as I can remember, and at 54 years old, that’s a lot of books. My earliest memories of reading are CS Lewis’, “The Horse and His Boy” – by far the best of the Narnia books, the Adventures series by Willard Price, and “Goalkeepers are Different” by sports journalist Brian Glanville. An eclectic mix. My first English teacher was surprised to hear that I was reading, Le Carré, Ken Follett, Nevil Shute and “All the Presidents’ Men” by Woodward and Bernstein at the age of 12. I was simply picking up the books my father had finished.
School syllabus threw up the usual suspects – Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Hardy, “To Kill a Mockingbird” – which I have reread often, and others I don’t immediately recall. By “A” level study, my then English teachers were pulling their hair out at my “perverse waste of talent” – I still have the report card! But I did manage a pass.
During a 35 year career, briefly in Banking and then in IT, I managed to find time, with unfailing family support, to study another lifelong passion, graduating with an Open University Bachelors’ degree in History in 2002. This fascination with all things historical inspired me to begin the Time Stones series. There is so much to our human past, and so many differing views on what is the greatest, and often the saddest, most tragic story. I decided I wanted to write about it; to shine a small light on those, sometimes pivotal stories, which are less frequently mentioned.
In 1995, my wife, Michelle, and I moved from England to southern Germany, where we still live, with our two children, one cat, and, when she pays us a visit, one chocolate labrador. I have been fortunate that I could satisfy another wish, to travel as widely as possible and see as much of our world as I can. Destinations usually include places of historic and archaeological interest, mixed with a large helping of sun, sea and sand for my wife’s peace of mind.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://ianhunterwrites.com
Twitter / X: https://x.com/IanHunterAuthor
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07KPKWG1C
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20335698.Ian_Hunter
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Thank you so much for your beautiful review of Quillan Creek and the Little War:Time Stones Book I. Thank you also for hosting today's tour stop.
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