The Emerald Atlas

By: John Stephens

Narrated by: Jim Dale

"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

Fan Fiction

I was shocked at how closely the writing style of John Stephens' Emerald Atlas imitated that of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books--including, despite her many talents, Rowling's penchant for excessive and repetitive detail. The characters and plot were all highly evocative of other great books in the genre: The Golden Compass, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, etc. However, the pitch perfect rendering of the tone of a Harry Potter story, plus the choice of Jim Dale as the narrator, was very distracting. Rowling's themes were not always highly original, and she leaned heavily on past authors as well, but the characters she created and the way she wove the story lines together felt fresh. The Emerald Atlas was too derivative. Clearly other people either didn't notice, didn't care, or just got past it, because the novel has wide acclaim. About half way through, I decided what the heck, I was mostly enjoying the story. It actually does take fair amount of talent to write like this, just as it takes a great painter to copy a masterpiece. I will go on to read the rest of the trilogy, but given Mr. Stephens abilities, it would be nice to hear his voice. And speaking of voices, Mr. Dale is honestly without peer. These books are not an easy read, especially when there is so much internal dialogue to deal with, and there are so many well-worn themes and characterizations. He is the best.

Fantastic

What an awesome book -- whole family (7 and 10 year old daughters, my wife and I) enjoyed thoroughly -- you know it a great book when after you've driven 5 hours and are at your destination - the girls say - awww can't we keep driving... :)

Eagerly await next book in the series.

Really good just good

It had good action it has great narration it is a great listen it is just great if anyone rates it lower they are crazy

great book!

Harry Potter is my all time favorite set of books but this one was right up there. Drew me in and I couldn't stop listening. Can't wait to start the next book!

Good book - bad narrator choice

This is a good book, read by the wrong narrator. Stephens wrote a good story with strong emotional appeal. The connections the characters have with each other are well thought out and accessible. However, I so strongly disliked his female voices, I had to stop the audiobook and buy the paper copy to scrub my mind of his annoying, airy, oh-so-bored intonation - ESPECIALLY his Kate-voice. And what's with the Brit accent throughout? And the Scottish dwarves? In Baltimore and Massachusetts? Using this narrator made the Potter/Tolkien derivations that much more pronounced.

So, overall, I liked the story (paper copy, not audiobook). Yes, it derived a lot of its themes from the overworked children's fantasy genre, but I enjoyed meeting a character who finds elves annoying and silly (yeah, Michael!)