Max McCrane is a young inventor who built his own time machine. But Max’s life isn’t easy—he just wants to fit in and make friends at Victor Appleton Middle School. His time machine—a rusty orange Volkswagen he calls Timebender—is a photon-powered vehicle that leaps across the centuries with ease.
The Books
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Climb aboard with Max and his friends—Allie O’Dell, Grady Stubblefield, and Toby Brubaker—as they face dinosaurs, alien Emissaries, and mankind’s most ancient and terrifying Enemy, the Silver Dragon.
THE FOUR-BOOK TIMEBENDERS SERIES page on Amazon
Timebenders 1: BATTLE BEFORE TIME (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 2: DOORWAY TO DOOM (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 3: INVASION OF THE TIME TROOPERS (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 4: LOST IN CYDONIA (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Our Heroes
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Max McCrane is a young inventor and science wiz—but he has a lot to learn about making wise decisions.
Allie O’Dell is friendly, loyal, and outgoing, but she’s quietly facing some painful issues at home.
Grady Stubblefield is an intense and angry young man who is dealing with hurts and losses.
And then there’s Toby Brubaker. Okay, he’s not exactly a hero. In fact, Toby is selfish, cowardly, and irresponsible, and he keeps getting Max, Allie, and Grady into the worst kind of trouble!
Our Villains
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Lux the Silver Dragon is a fiendishly clever enemy who poses as a friend. We meet Lux in BATTLE BEFORE TIME, where he is a sly tempter and the enemy of all that is good.
Doctor Delyrius and King Wyvern are Max’s foes in DOORWAY TO DOOM—they pressure him to use his science knowledge and inventing skills to aid their evil plans, and they threaten Max’s friends to force him to cooperate.
INVASION OF THE TIME TROOPERS introduces us to the Time Troopers, who chase Max’s friends through time and space, while Max himself must face the villainous Madame Jacquelyn Hyde.
Our Time Machine: Timebender
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Here are four views of Timebender: First, Timebender floating in the air after Max added an antigravity device in LOST IN CYDONIA.
Next, Timebender being chased through time by the Time Troopers in INVASION OF THE TIME TROOPERS.
Next, Timebender sitting on the surface of Mars in LOST IN CYDONIA.
Finally, Timebender plunging through time and space in all four Timebenders adventures!
Past and Future Times
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First, from left to right, Toby, Allie, Max, and Grady confront Lux the Silver Dragon in a world before time began in BATTLE BEFORE TIME.
Next, a hungry Tyrannosaurus rex stomps toward Timebender in BATTLE BEFORE TIME.
Next, from DOORWAY TO DOOM, we see Castle Serpenfane, ruled by the wicked King Wyvern. In the highest tower of the castle, the alchemist Doctor Delyrius conducts his unholy experiments.
Next, from DOORWAY TO DOOM, Allie learns the art of sword-fighting from Lady Galatea.
Also from DOORWAY TO DOOM, we meet the evil Doctor Delyrius in his laboratory.
Next, we see a scene from INVASION OF THE TIME TROOPERS, in which Timebender arrives in a city of the far future.
The Emissaries
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Max and his friends are often guided and helped by Emissaries, angel-like beings who teach them how to choose wisely and act bravely. We meet the golden Emissary Gavriyel in BATTLE BEFORE TIME. We encounter the blue-skinned, golden-eyed Timeling named Zaykiel in LOST IN CYDONIA.
Note to Parents and Grandparents
THE TIMEBENDERS SERIES is Christian fiction for Middle Grade readers, ages 9 to 13. These books deal with themes of faith, courage, character, and spiritual warfare from a biblical Christian perspective. Young readers who enjoy the fiction of C. S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, and Bill Myers will enjoy the Timebenders Series.
(Note: The Timebenders books are chapter books without illustrations. The images on this website were produced for this website and do not appear in the books.)
THE FOUR-BOOK TIMEBENDERS SERIES page on Amazon
Timebenders 1: BATTLE BEFORE TIME (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 2: DOORWAY TO DOOM (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 3: INVASION OF THE TIME TROOPERS (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Timebenders 4: LOST IN CYDONIA (Paperback and Kindle Ebook)
Another book your young reader will enjoy: Revolutionary Heroes by Pat Williams with Jim Denney
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What does it take to be a hero? The heroes of the American Revolutionary War were ordinary people who rose to the challenge of violent times. Some of the heroes in this book became famous, but most are largely unknown. Some were very young, not even in their teens—yet they carried secret messages and took great risks. They not only helped shape the new nation called America, but they changed the world. This book tells their amazing stories—true stories of courage and character. Young people need these stories now more than ever, because the world needs real heroes today.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where people were free.” —President Ronald Reagan
The Author: Jim Denney
Author JIM DENNEY has written more than a hundred books, but the Timebenders series is his favorite. “Each Timebenders tale,” he says, “is a thrill-ride through time and space—and timeless truth.” Jim is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
All images on this website (except the book cover for Revolutionary Heroes) are copyright 2023 by Jim Denney.
The TImebenders Series 