Rating: 
Summary: As good as the first two...
Review: Those who enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time and its sequel, A Wind in the Door, won't be disappointed by this third addition to the series! Something is seriously wrong with Charles Wallaces Mitochondria and Farandolai (don't ask, just read). Meg, Calvin, and some of their new un-earthly friends have to find the problem and help fix it before they lose Charles Wallace.
Rating:
Summary: Tripping Through Time
Review: Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe are now married and expecting their first child. Professor Murry, Meg's father, a physicist is called upon by the President of the United States because a South American dictator named Branzillo has made a nuclear threat against the United States.While the family is having Thanksgiving dinner Meg's mother in law gives Charles Wallace Patrick's Rune an old Irish incantation to help him in his quest. When used the elements respond to it but it is only to be used in emergency situations. Charles Wallace recites the rune at the star watching rock and calls Gaudior, the unicorn. Together they time travel into Earth's past to find a Might-Have-Been. Along the way, the Ecthroi try to distract them into projections possible realities the Ecthroi want to make real. Charles Wallace has to travel along the timeline within the lives of Branzillo's ancestors to learn what events finally brought the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust searching for a way to stop it. In order to do this Charles Wallace has to loose his corporeal form and go inside someone. He learns that the Echtroi, who are like fallen angels, originally came from the good but wanted all the glory for themselves, so they destroyed harmony. Other destroyers soon followed their example. His sister Meg kyths with him and experiences from her bed all that Charles Wallace does. Kything is a psychic connection that allows a person to be able to be with someone no matter how far away they might be. Gaudior informs Charles Wallace that an assignment to Earth is considered a hardship assignment but he soon discovers Earthlings aren't as bad as he was led to believe. A Swiftly Tilting Planet is a wonderful ramp through Biblical and mythological lore combined with elements of fantasy and science fiction. An engaging and enchanting read!
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Summary: The BEST Book In The Entire Time Trilogy!
Review: "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" is the best book! Charles Wallace and Meg, who is really just kything with Charles Wallace, rush against time to try and save the country from the nuclear bomb threats of Mad Dog Branzillo. With the help of his unicorn, Gaudior, Charles Wallace goes through the Might-Have-Beens to try and reset history and save the country. By the way, Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe, who we remember from "A Wrinkle In Time" are now married and expecting their first child. You should definitely read this book if you have any spare time at all!
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Message on Individual Responsibility
Review: Charles Wallace must travel back in time to make a few changes or in 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy the universe by declaring nuclear war. Is one person really suposed to be responsible enough to try and save the world? Can one person really save an entire world? Anything is possible, and that is what Ms. L'Engle is trying to show in this wonderfully colorful novel. This is a book that goes into a lot of detail and deals with many topics in its short 250 pages in a very profound manner, yet it remains throughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome Book
Review: I would say that Madeleine L'engle has [done herself proud] by writing A Swiftly Tilting Planet.I liked this book a lot because it has a great plot.Meg Murry is now married to Calvin (no surprise) and is pregnant.Mrs.O'Keefe(Calvin's mother) puts fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace to the test.She says Charles Wallace must stop Mad Dog Branzillo, dictator of South America Vespugia, who threatens to destroy the world with nuclear war!Riding on the back of the unicorn Gaudior, Charles will try to stop Branzillo by traveling back through time to see if he can alter the events of a "might have been" and then try to prevent nuclear war.Will young Charles be able to stop Branziilo? Find out in this exciting novel by Madeleine L'engle!
Rating:
Summary: Back to the brilliance of A Wrinkle In Time.
Review: "A Wind In The Door" was somewhat of a disappointment after "A Wrinkle In Time", but with volume 3 of the "Time Quintet" series, Madeleine L'Engle has returned to the brilliance with which she began the series. The title "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" refers to the shifting balance on planet earth, as a result of a titanic struggle between good and evil. As always, L'Engle employs the Biblical motifs of creation, fall and redemption, beginning with a description of a flawless created world: "And then a surge of joy. All senses alive and awake and filled with joy ... The morning stars sang together and the ancient harmonies were new and it was good." (p50) But evil enters this perfect world: "And then a dazzling star turned its back on the dark, and it swallowed the dark, and in swallowing the dark it became the dark, and there was something wrong with the dark, as there was something wrong with the light. And it was not good. The glory of the harmony was broken by screeching, by hissing, by laughter which held no merriment but was hideous, horrendous cacaphony." (p50) Ultimately the entrance of evil comes with the fall of the angel Satan and his followers: "a destroyer, almost since the beginning, has tried to break the ancient harmonies ... The Echthros wanted all the glory for itself, and when that happens the good becomes not good; and others have followed that first Echthros." (p55) The result brings horrifying consequences for the human race on planet earth: "If you are angry, that anger is added to all the hate with which the Echthroi would distort the melody and destroy the ancient harmonies. When you are loving, that lovingnness joins the music of the spheres." (p60) It is this poetic and religious conflict that forms the background of "A Swiftly Tilting Planet". The struggle between good and evil is present in families, and becomes an age-old struggle between brothers: "It's a primordial pattern, left us from Cain and Abel, a net we can't seem to break out of. And unless it is checked it will destroy us entirely." (p235) "Once upon a time and long ago, men did not quarrel in this way, when the morning stars sang together and the children of men shouted for joy." (p242) For the Murry family, first introduced in "A Wrinkle in Time", this struggle finds expression in the threat of Mad Dog Branzillo, dictator of South American Vespugia, who threatens the world with nuclear war. On the back of the unicorn Gaudior, fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry travels back through time, to see if he can alter events to a "Might-Have-Been" and so prevent nuclear war. "It would appear that you have been called. And the calling is never random, it is always according to the purpose." (p54) Meg Murry, now married to Calvin O'Keefe and an expectant mother, assists Charles Wallace by communicating thoughts through kything. The unicorn is unable to travel to different places (a Where), but only to a different time (a When) at the same location: the Murry's star-gazing rock. In these different times, Charles Wallace finds himself "Within" different individuals, first Harcels, then Madoc, then Brandon Llawcae, then Chuck Maddox, and finally Matthew Maddox. By influencing their actions, will he be able to alter the course of history by eliminating Mad Dog Branzillo and enable the arrival of the Messianic blue-eyed baby about whom was prophesied? ("You will do good for your people, El Zarco, little Blue Eyes" p90) And are they related to Meg's mother-in-law Mrs O'Keefe, and how will her mysterious rune play a role? There are a few weaknesses: L'Engle's theology on one point is questionable (p126). Meg's presence by kything is rather unnecessary and distracting. And the family names and connections are rather confusing and difficult to keep track of. But these minor points aside, "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" is a welcome return to the brilliance of "A Wrinkle In Time", with an exciting plot full of adventure and fantasy, as well as deep and enduring themes about the struggle between good and evil. This may be a children's book, but adults are sure to find a depth that is both entertaining and satisfying. Those who are no longer teens will probably even enjoy it more than the kiddies! Let's hope L'Engle keeps tilting her pen in this direction in the rest of the series!
Rating:
Summary: This Book Was Phenomenal
Review: I recently read the book A Swiftly Tilting Planet, written by Madeline L'engle. In this story, a boy and a unicorn set off to stop a terrorist from nuking the world. They must look through the past to find clues on how to stop him. They will meet many challenges and obstacles and it will not be easy. Just pick up A Swiftly Tilting Planet to enter the adventure.
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Summary: Always an Adventure
Review: "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" is my favorite of the "Time Quartet" series. In it, the Murry family (Meg is now an adult, married to Calvin O'Keefe and expecting their first child) finds out through a call from the President of the United States to her scientist father that a rogue South American dictator Mad Dog Branzillo has gotten a nuclear bomb and is expected to use it in the next 24 hours. Meg's mother-in-law is over for Thanksgiving dinner and mutters something about "Chuck" knowing what to do. Meg's precocious younger brother Charles Wallace goes out to the star-watching rock, says the rune that Meg's mother-in-law told him and a unicorn appears to take him to to different "whens" in the hope that Charles Wallace can go "within" different people from the past and change small things for the good that will make
the nuclear war threat nonexistent in their current time. Throughout the book, Charles Wallace passes back and forth in the same place, going within different men "then" who clearly have a connection with both the South American dictator and Mother O'Keefe. The really compelling thing about this book is the connection that is revealed through the family names that keep appearing at different eras of the family. To me, that was really evocative as I have recently learned a lot more about my own names and their importance in my family. Also, I think the book is very cleverly written without being "cute" or gimmicky, the climax is exciting. For instance, the rune of Mrs. O'Keefe structures the entire novel, each chapter is named for a line and the chapter reflects the spirit of the line. I've read it several times before, and I enjoy it every time.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: After having read A Wrinkle in Time and The Wind in the Door with my son, we looked forward to the third book in the series because we had enjoyed the other two so much. However, although Madeliene L'Engle's writing is wonderful, the story just didn't hold our attention, and we abandoned it about a third of the way through. I was plodding through it for my son's sake, but I finally asked him if he was enjoying it, and he said he wasn't either. In the end, neither of us much cared how--or whether--Charles Wallace was able to stop Mad Dog Branzillo from blowing up the planet, mainly because Charles Wallace as himself was so little involved in the action of the story (and Meg and the rest of the family were only peripherally involved as well). We were mainly being introduced to characters whose importance may have been revealed if we had finished the book, but it was confusing to an eight-year-old and not terribly interesting to his mom.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark and Disturbing
Review: I last read this book as a young girl and was surprised at how dark and disturbing the story was. Although the theme eventually turns out to be redemption, the twists and turns the story takes set "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" far apart from "A Wrinkle In Time" and "A Wind In The Door" in terms of seriousness of subject matter. I probably won't let my children read this until they are at least as old as Charles Wallace is in the book. Speaking of age, it was strange to see Charles Wallace as a young man instead of as a sweet, precocious little boy. Overall, however, a good and unforgettable book.
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