• The Emerald Atlas

  • Books of Beginning
  • By: John Stephens
  • Narrated by: Jim Dale
  • Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,821 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Emerald Atlas  By  cover art

The Emerald Atlas

By: John Stephens
Narrated by: Jim Dale
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.60

Buy for $21.60

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

The Emerald Atlas author John Stephens has a Hollywood background, so it’s not surprising that his debut novel feels like a movie in the making, with elements that recall the Harry Potter series and other kid-friendly fantasy epics. It’s to Stephens’ credit, though, that Atlas never comes off like a cash-in or a cheap imitation: It has its own fully realized world and compelling characters, and the familiar aspects of the story serve mainly to place it in an honorable tradition.

The set-up is easily relatable and recognizable: A trio of siblings (Kate, Michael, and Emma) have been left to the fates after the disappearance of their parents, bounced from one comically horrific orphanage to the next. Their latest home, however, is somewhat different: It’s a mystical town that hides some magical secrets, and soon the kids have discovered a mysterious book that transports them back in time. There they face down an evil witch who is holding the town’s residents hostage. Wizards, dwarves, and ancient prophecies all come into play in a story that takes advantage of plenty of well-worn genre tropes.

Narrator Jim Dale handles it all masterfully, with a warm and inviting tone and some highly entertaining voices for the colorful supporting characters. Some of it might be a little too colorful, though, as Dale’s animated voice acting can become a little distracting. Still, he neatly delineates the various players in Stephens’ grand tapestry, and enhances the suspense of the various moments of peril. The book ends, naturally, with the set-up for the next installment of a planned trilogy, but it’s a satisfying enough story on its own. We can only hope for the same for the inevitable movie version. Josh Bell

Publisher's summary

"A strong . . . trilogy, invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way."—Realms of Fantasy

Siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.

Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.

Until now.

Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world . . . a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is true—what they do can change history, and it's up to them to set things right.

"A new Narnia for the tween set."—The New York Times

"[A] fast-paced, fully imagined fantasy."—Publishers Weekly

"Echoes of other popular fantasy series, from "Harry Potter" to the "Narnia" books, are easily found, but debut author Stephens has created a new and appealing read . . ."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

©2011 John Stephens (P)2011 Listening Library

What listeners say about The Emerald Atlas

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,109
  • 4 Stars
    474
  • 3 Stars
    174
  • 2 Stars
    33
  • 1 Stars
    31
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,307
  • 4 Stars
    200
  • 3 Stars
    60
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    15
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    922
  • 4 Stars
    446
  • 3 Stars
    174
  • 2 Stars
    36
  • 1 Stars
    24

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Fun

A great story with the best audio book reader of all time. This story reminds me of Harry Potter, the Hobbit and Fablehaven with its own intrigue and twists.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun Adventure In Time

Overall loved the story and the character development. I'm a 52 yrs old fart and was still able to enjoy the story. Just goes to show you, with the right attitude we all can all stay young at heart!!! I will listen to the next two books too!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very cute first book to an enjoyable series

Any additional comments?

My favorite part of this trilogy is the narration and the cleverness of the writing. There are lots of "jibs" and "jabs" back and forth between characters and I really appreciate the underlying sense of humor. This is a great Trilogy for kids and adults. It's roughly "Harry Potter" level material without quite as much dark evil. I really enjoyed this series and the first book was particularly cute.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Did Not Hold My Attention

Any additional comments?

This story did not hold my attention. Lots of action but I did not really care for the voices. First book I've listened to narrated by Jim Dale and I was not all that impressed. His accents are fine but the children were so whiny and overly dramatic that I had a hard time listening. Sorry, Jim Dale fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Would be an excellent movie!

Loved these books, so imaginative and other worldly. Suspenseful, entertaining fantasy trilogy. The whole family loved it. I even have the cast picked out for when they make the movie! Just enchanting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this. Reminds me of HP

Jim Dale is a national treasure. What great fun and very similar to all of the adventure in the magical world of Harry Potter. Highly recommended for anyone who loved the JK Rowling books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome

Loved this book. I have the hard back and wanted something to listen to while I was working. audible even better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good first in a series

Enjoyable listen, not the best ever written but well done and worth the credit. I am a big Jim Dale fan since the Harry Potter books and the only thing I found unusual was that some of the character voices were very similar to the Potter voices:

Dr Pym = Dumbledor, Cavendish = Peeves, Gabriel = Madeye Moody, The Countess = Belatrix and a few more.

I look forward to the next books in the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story! Less thrilled about the the narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure! It was a great story! I don't mind the obvious influences... at all, actually.
I thought it was a gripping and engaging and (sometimes even a little bit of a) scary story and in it's own right too, in spite of being obviously inspired by works of Tolkien, Lewis and Rowling among (I am sure) many others. Honestly It's rather difficult to find fantasy-lit that does not exhibit common traits with, if not the above-mentioned authors then, other authors in the category.
I am looking very much forward to reading/listening to the next two books in the trilogy! :)

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I am sure that opinion on Mr. Jim Dale as narrator will be much diverse, but for me he just didn’t fit quite right... For one thing the story is set in America and I was therefore a little distracted by the various British dialects (some almost caricature-ish)... And although he was good at doing the adult voices such as the dwarfs and Dr. Pym, I didn’t feel he got the teenage/kid-dialog... I sensed how a kid might say it and – for me – it was just off...
I am sure Mr Dale would be fantastic at reading Tolkien though!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could I probably would have.. alas, life had to be dealt with as well ;)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I mostly liked the dwarves

( im not micheal)

jim dale womderful as always will listen to the next two books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!