The Emerald Atlas: Books of Beginning

Kate, Michael, and Emma are three siblings whose parents disappeared a long time ago, leading them to move from orphanage to orphanage for many years. One day though they are driven to a totally new kind of orphanage, in a sad and unusual location, and this is where the adventure begins. They discover a book which they can use to move through time, and in the process they find themselves involved in a story they wish they had nothing to do with. But their fate is nothing less than to save the world, and like any good heroes, they embrace it. They meet dwarves and monsters in the process, make friends and enemies, and discover what happened to their parents. The Emerald Atlas is a young adult fantasy book. John Stephens writes well and the reading is therefore smooth and enjoyable. The story is not very innovative; in fact, at times you find yourself thinking, `I've read this before.' But it works. I especially liked his characterisation, in particular young Emma, who is feisty but adorable, and her brother Michael, who is fascinated by dwarves. Kate's character lacks a little depth but is okay. The villains are not bad either. The only real flaw in the book for me is that its plot is partly based on time travel, and like many other time-travel based stories, books and movies alike, it presents difficulties. A book that makes you think is a good book, but you shouldn't have to stop and ponder about what you've read for too long to understand it. This is unfortunately too often the case for time travel. This book is no different. I read it, but I'd find it hard to explain in detail what happened at which time and how it has affected the past, the present and the future. And the proof is that towards the end of the story, one of the children (who, I should add, spend the book moving through time!) feels the need to ask Dr Pym (a wizard and some kind of mentor) what really happened as far as time and time-linked changes are concerned... It says it all. To finish on this topic, I also find that time travel is an easy device to pull heroes out of trouble. For example, they are going to die, there are hundreds of monsters pursuing them, they are under water with no air etc (you get my gist) but with a change somewhere in the past, poof!, they escape the inevitable and are sound and safe. In spite of this small flaw, The Emerald Atlas is a very pleasant read. It is the first installment in a trilogy called The Books of Beginning.

I wanted to read The Emerald Atlas before I started to hear all the buzz about it, the buzz only moved it closer to the top of my list. Though the comparison to Harry Potter made by some reviewers is a little ostentatious, I found this to be a fabulous fantasy book for Middle Grade on up.While some young readers may be turned off by the filler after the prologue that establishes the characters and serves as plot exposition, if they know where this is headed, they will hang in there. I was reminded a little of C.S. Lewis, but I found John Stephens writing style far more approachable and inviting. The world he's created is original and fascinating. It includes dwarves, elves, witches, wizards and a few creations of his own, like Screechers, which are deliciously scary. It combines a lot of my favorite themes magic and prophesies -and perhaps the best damned explanation of time travel I've ever read.John Stephens' characters, though slightly archetypal in nature, are warm and interesting. It is obvious the children are strongly bonded and self-reliant. It's heart breaking that Kate, the oldest sister, has become a mother figure to her siblings. You can just feel the girls' frustration with their dwarf obsessed brother, Michael, and the stress caused by Emma's thirst to prove, to herself and everyone else, that she can take care of herself, even if she is the youngest. Though there may occasionally be some dissention in the ranks they marshal around her and keep close. They may not have had an easy life, being bounced from orphanage to orphanage, but it seems to have prepared them for what lies ahead. I love the way these characters are written.It is obvious that Mr. Stephens writes for television; his story plays out in scenes and the reader often doesn't get to connect deeply with the character, especially when points of view shift. However, connections are forged anyway because the characters are so strong -you know them. As the series progresses, it would be wonderful to see him develop a relationship with his characters.John Stephens' The Emerald Atlas doesn't disappoint. Though sufficient closure was reached, there are still many questions left unanswered and I can't wait to read the rest of this series to find out more. I bought and read this as an e-book and have already ordered my hard cover copy because this one is a definite keeper.[...]

I was browsing for books at a local library when I picked this up to read. I started it that evening and could NOT put it down! I had to get it for my kindle.The prologue was mysterious and chilling, the children's characters instantly likeable, and the whole story suspenseful. For his first attempt, John Stevens did a phenomenal job. His writing style is perfectly balanced and he thought through his plot and its mechanics very well. I'm not sure what the age recommendation is on this book...it doesn't really need one. I'm 18, but I stil check the children's section for decent (if sometimes light) reading. This was much better than the stuff they publish as YA literature.The best way I can describe The Emerald Atlas is to compare it to the Narnia series and The Lord of the Rings - but not that Stevens is merely rehashing what has been done before...Atlas is completely original, while having the same elements that make Narnia and LOTR so popular. If you are a fan of good fantasy books, Atlas is perfect for you. Atlas is full of humor, donuts, adventure, time travel, friendship, and horror (although not too much, just enough to give you chills every once in a while).The beginning may start a little slowly for some readers, but once you are past the first five chapters - and arrive at Prof. Pym's "orphanage" - you are comepletely with the story. By the time Gabriel enters, you can't put the book down, not that you would want to. By the end, you have no idea what will happen, and the last chapter is probably the best of all...Hurray for Kate, Michael, and Emma! Hurray for Professor Pym and the dwarves! And, of course, hurray for donuts!

Amazon boldly asserts this is "The first thrilling book in the most exciting children's fantasy series since Harry Potter."Well it is not that. Harry Potter was largely spurned until kids voted with their feet and made the publishing world sit up and take notice. Books that claim to be the new Potter, Tolkien or whatever invariably fall short, because those words are written by someone who cares more about sales than stories.Ten years after being taken from their families and made "orphans", Kate, Harry ..err I mean Michael and Emma have lived a life of misery. They are brought to Cambridge Falls where one of them spies Hogwarts Castle... er I mean ahouse no one else can seeSome exploration leads to a magical mishap and they hurl hadlong (or is that footlong) back into the past and a terrifying and amazing adventure battling dementors - or something that seem like dementors at least and fighting (in vain) to uncover the mystery behind their being the chosen ones.Take a little bit of CS Lewis, a dash of J K Rowling and a good mixture of every other fantasy book you can bring to mind, mix it all together and then slow the story down a bit and you have this story. It has some promise, but I did not feel it delivered and it took me a long time to finish it.That being said, the fact I was bored by this book (for being less than original and rather slow) might indicate my 10 year old daughter would like it. If you have not read all the other fantasy fiction around, the unoriginality of the story won't hurt you.But then again, my daughter will not want to read this because she dislikes books with bad language in them, and so the unnecessary scene with the swearing in it will prevent me suggesting she reads this until she is old enough not to mind about that - by which point she will be too old to enjoy it I suspect.For younger readers who do not mind reading bad language, this book may well be just right. For everyone else, there are much better fantasy stories around.

It was a very befitting gift for a boy I teach. He loved the hard cover and the fact it was green like in the books and went straight in to read 3 chapters. He'd only had the 2nd book, so I bought him this first one and the third in the series.

Gift happy person

The rating was chosen because the book was so excellent from start to finish. Each adventure for the children was as scary as the next. Loved it all, please let me know when the 3rd book is out, I am desperate to know what this adventure will be about. Really Great, all who like goblins, elves and magicians need to read these books.

And that says it all really . What you want is a story that grips you from the start , characters you can identify with and when you come to the end of the book it leaves you wanting more .Ideal for 13 upwards . a really good story .