The Emerald Atlas

Books of Beginning

By: John Stephens

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

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

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.

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.

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!)

Jim Dale does another terrific job.

What did you love best about The Emerald Atlas?

I thought the story could of been a bit stronger. The book made you want more so I hope they add more details in the next one. Could of done without the first 2 or 3 chapters.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The christmas party was the most interesting part. The very beginning of the book was least

Have you listened to any of Jim Dale’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I can listen to anything Jim Dale I believe. But his performance with Harry Potter is the best.

Fantastic

Story was action packed and Jim Dale narrates beautifully. Harry Potter meets The lion, the witch and the wardrobe

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.

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 ;)

Enjoyable

I mostly liked the dwarves

( im not micheal)

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