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In the previous three volumes of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet tales of the Murry family, the focus has been on the siblings Meg and Charles Wallace. The twins in the middle, Sandy and Dennys, are kind of off to the side. That all changes in Many Waters, when they are front-and-center.

Though written fourth, in the internal story chronology, this fits in between A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Fifteen year olds Sandy and Dennys accidentally trigger one of their father's inventions and wind up in a desert. They find people here who seem to top off around four feet tall; the twins, already at six feet, appear to be giants. An effort to get them to shelter does not work out as well as expected, and both wind up almost killed by sunburn and sunstroke.

Sandy winds up in the tent home of Lamech, an elderly man. Dennys, even more severely ill, is taken care by the family of Lamech's son, Noah. Yes, that Noah: the two have been transported to early Biblical times, before the Flood. This is a land of strange creatures, including mammoths, manticores and griffins, and humans are not the only races. There are also the seraphim, essentially angels, and the nephilim, who are seraphim who have tied themselves to the Earth and mate with the local women.

Sandy and Dennys get entangled in the intrigues of the various people in Lamech and Noah's oasis. Both the patriarchs hear from El, the god (or God) who warns of an upcoming disaster. The twins know what's coming and know who will survive: Noah, his three sons and their wives. Noah's daughter, Yalith, who the brothers have both fallen for, is not slated to be saved. And, of course, there is no record of the two of them surviving the Flood either; are they doomed, or will they be able to get home?

The fact that they are around in A Swiftly Tilting Planet seems to bode well for Sandy and Dennys, but there is still suspense, particularly regarding Yalith and the rather nasty nephilim. While Wrinkle in Time may get the most acknowledgement, I actually found this to be my favorite book of the four I've read. While the three previous books are all fine, they tend to focus more on mind-bending concepts; Many Waters has a more straightforward story with deeper characterization. If you have enjoyed the previous books, you will find this one to be distinctly different but still a pleasure to read.

This is one of the 5 books in the set and it is fantastic!!
I highly recommend the entire set to readers of all ages!!!

I was excited to find this book, after enjoying the L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series as a child. However, this book does not live up the expectations I had. The characters are flat and boring. I kept having to page back in the book to even keep track of which twin was Sandy and which was Dennys. L'Engle starts to frame conflict and interest between the Nephilim and Seraphim but then never follows through with any meaningful development of those two groups. There is a strange love triangle between Sandy, Dennys, and Yalith. I refer to it as strange because while Yalith appears to be a teenager, she is actually over 100 years old. Like the rest of the plot, this love interest is not particularly well developed. And parents be aware: there are some overt sexual references in this book, not at all in character with other L'Engle books I have read. The author tries to build suspense about how Yalith will be saved from the flood but even that falls flat. Overall, a disappointing book, especially coming from such a gifted writer.

This is a great book that mixes a biblical story with time travel and mythological beasts. Madeleine L'Engle has a way of writing that keeps you interested and makes your mind work. Being a Christian, I appreciate her twist of the story to add a little more life to it for her characters, Dennys and Sandy. I highly recommend this book. This book made me WANT to read books.