The Black Reckoning

Books of Beginning

By: John Stephens

Narrated by: Jim Dale

The final book in the best-selling Books of Beginning trilogy that began with The Emerald Atlas, which the New York Times called "a new Narnia for the tween set."

The adventures of siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma come to a stunning conclusion when they must find the last Book of Beginning - the Book of Death - before the Dire Magnus does, for when all three books are united, their combined power will be unstoppable.

Soon Emma is on a journey to places both worldly and otherworldly, confronting terrifying monsters and ghosts, and what is darkest within herself. As the fabric of time begins to fray, she becomes the final piece of an extraordinary puzzle. Only if she can master the powers of this most dangerous book will she, Kate, and Michael be able to save the world from the dramatic, deadly final confrontation between magical and ordinary people that the Dire Magnus has in store.

©2015 John Stephens (P)2015 Listening Library

A solid listen for travel…

My whole family loved listening to the series and particularly anything read by Jim Dalle

great books

truly enjoyed the three books. recommend to all ages.happy reading to all who choose these.

worth a listen

great listen for those who loved jim dale narrating harry potter. likeable characters and Decent storyline. not as intricate as hp but enjoyable

Jim Dale did it again!

Where does The Black Reckoning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

What can I say I expected nothing less than a perfect performance from Jim Dale and he delivered (like always)!

Who was your favorite character and why?

What an awesome character to create for this story! Willy was a powerful tender giant!

Which scene was your favorite?

King Davie's city was pretty awesome to walk in to. I was so happy that the prophecy was true. There had been a great civilization of giants and the city still stood unoccupied.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The first two books always had Emma and Michael fighting but in this one they showed how they matured to work together.

GREAT ending

Where does The Black Reckoning rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great series with lessons about forgiveness, perceptions & connectivity, honor, responsibility to self and others, and love. I was hesitant to get this book because some reviews said there was a disconnect with the writing style and content. But I strongly disagree. I listened and read the 3 books consecutively and found the books to have distinctly different messages : forgiveness, honor and our connectivity to others, and love. There is a continuity and even pace throughout all 3 books. You will also find dwarfs, elves, dragons, giants, witches, wizards and really bad guys. There is mention (in 3rd book) of mermaids, but none show up as a character.

The one warning is that there is a dialog that takes place (in 3rd book) about there being no heaven or hell; and it feels like the author implies that there is no place for religion. There is also mention of reincarnation, but not with regard to karma.

Phenomenal Book Series

I have to say that this is the best series I've ever encountered. It has something for everyone and embraces the concept of life, death and most of all love without fear. Loved all the characters and have to say that my most favorite was Emma!!! Most likely will not listen to it again because I want to savor the experience of listening to it my first time!!!

Great series.

Listened to the series over a few weeks and was hard to stop. The imagination and creativity of these books was great. Would compare to a HP style of series of events and characters. Jim Dale is such a good reader of these books.

Great end to the series

I thoroughly enjoyed the series. This was a wonderful end with great highs and lows. I’m a little sad there are only 3 books! I would love to follow the family longer!

An amazing, heart warming, exciting series end!

My children (ages 10 through 14) and I listened to all three books in this series and we all agreed this book was our favorite! The series as a whole is extremely well done, and as always Jim Dale makes everything better! this book brings a well deserved and satisfying ending to the magical and dangerous adventure Kate, Michael, and Emma have been on. There is a little bit more realism to the physical pain in this book as compared to the others. At various points we all had tears in our eyes. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Superb!

Young or old you can’t not love this trilogy, this story, the powerful resolution... Emma’s amazing and novel experience with The Book of Reckoning. I laughed, I cried and I loved so many of these characters. I’m truly sad it’s over.