The Sands of Time

Michael Hoeye has created a charming, 1920s-ish world where rodents rule. At the center of these delicious tales is the meek Hermux Tantamoq. Hermux, who's half house mouse and half field mouse, is an expert watchmaker and mechanical wiz who happens to have a pet ladybug named Terfle. Each night before bed, Hermux takes the time to enter into his journal all the things for which he was thankful that day. Hoeye compliments his lead character with a clever supporting cast of characters and constructs stories that pay homage to old movies and invoke the feeing of perhaps an Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle tale. While there is something charmingly old-fashioned about the flavor of the books, Hoeye infuses his tales with wit, satire, and social commentaries that are spot-on for today's reader.While the publisher states that Michael Hoeye's playful adventure/ mysteries are young adult fiction, these books are excellent for both younger audiences and adults. They are good for younger audiences for two reasons. First, they make great bedtime stories for those who read to their children. Second, Hoeye's easy, uncomplicated style, gentle story lines, and short chapters make these books ideal for a child to transition from chapter books to novels. At the same, time the underlying wit and social commentary, mentioned above, gives the books an added layer to be enjoyed by the adult reader or the older child who returns to the books.These are books that should become generational family favorites, so the investment in hard cover editions is worth the expense.- KB Shaw, PublisherSPECTRUM Children's Book Clubwww.incwell.com

This book was soooo great! Along with other people, I wasn't too sure if the sequel to Time Stops For No Mouse would be as good as the first one. But it was. It had great suspense, and you really felt what the characters were feeling. It is a very refreshing change from the usual fantasy/spin on fairy tales that is popular. (Even though I like that stuff.) I don't really know what there is to not like about it; maybe just the fact that there are only two books about Hermux Tantamoq. I really like the fact that Michael Hoeye(anybody know how to pronounce his name?) added the "mythical CATS" to the story line. If you haven't read this book, you really SHOULD!!!!!!!!By the way, Time Stops For No Mouse is REALLY GREAT, too.

This stunning sequal to Time Stops for No Mouse, both by Michael Hoeye, is by far one of the greatest sequals I have ever read. It possesses a cunning plot, with a great story to accompany it. It has all the wonderful components for a wonderful read, let alone a literary accomplishment. Hoeye is an awesome writer, who creates beautiful ictures for the mind. Surely atisfactory for any reader.

I, too, was worried that the sequel wouldn't be as good as the amazing Time Stops for No Mouse, but it hit with the same, if not better, bang as before. There seems to be no lack of Michael Hoeye's gripping writing style in either of the two books. In this particular book, Hermux (the main mouse character) encounters a squirrel, Birch Tenintrotter, who claims to have evidence of a lost civilization of CATS. To be precise, it was a want-ad from a lost civilization of cats. The citizens of Pinchester (Hermux's city) are small animals, mostly rodents, so they don't appreciate cats very much. Intrigued, Hermux and Birch, along with another mouse, named Linka, set out to find the desert civilization of cats, but they find more than whirling sands to stop them in The Sands of Time.

I was hopeful but steeled for sequelitis when I first opened the second Hermux Tantamoq book. I was pleased that my fears were needless. Michael Hoeye has not lost his touch that was so evident in "Time Stops For No Mouse". (And I recently found out that these books are being republished in hardcover by Putnam -- congratulations, Mr. Hoeye!)The story is a sequel (but not slavishly so) to the first book of the series: Cats are a taboo item among the mice where Hermux Tantamoq lives, supposedly mythical creatures. So when his friend Mirrin displays cat paintings, people are -- to put it mildly -- upset about it; the mayor is even going to clamp down and ban it, and a large group of mice get together to prevent it from opening. Then a chipmunk named Birch Tentintrotter arrives. Years ago, Birch was chased away for ownership of a map leading to a city of cats -- and now he's back. Birch leads the heroic mice (including Linka Perflinger and Hermux) to find the tomb of Ka-Narsh-Pah -- but problems are following them, in the form of two very determined villains.Familiar faced abound in this book, from the previous one. Mirren, Linka, and Tucka are the most prevalent among them - it's great to see the artist, aviatrix love interest and cosmetics creep once again. Even so, it's not too necessary to read the first book to read the second (I advise it anyway, if nothing else because it's also delightful).And the originality of Hoeye's plotlines continues. The idea of mice seeing cats as mythical creatures is inspired, as is his subtle dealing with controversial art (and the elite wanting to see it); also great is the idea of a revisionist-history villain. Any person who hates the editing of history will be grinning at the portrayal of Hinkum Stepfitchler.His writing is as charming and descriptive (but not TOO descriptive) as it was in the first book. Hermux is endearing and humble as ever. Linka, Mirrin and Birch are all delightful as well. The dialogue is cute, but not TOO cute, and unlike many authors Mr. Hoeye seems to have no trouble keeping the separate personalities of the characters from running into each other.Fans of Redwall, Avi animal books, and the prior book in this series will eat this right up; those of you not into anthropomorphic fantasy may want to change your minds. Here's hoping for lots more of Hermux Tantamoq.