Skip to main content

Review: The Emerald Atlas by John Stevens

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Published by RHCB
Challenge: DAC
Source: Review copy (UK proof)


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 to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem.  And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.
The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.
***
The Emerald Atlas is one of those books that you are going to hear about for the time for the next few years. It is a fantastical adventure that will appeal to those people who loved Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the Rings, with an epic tale, lovable characters and an engaging and fast paced storyline.

The story begins with the three main characters being left by their parents in an orphanage on Christmas Eve in the middle of the night. From the very outset it leaves you with loads of questions about why the children have been left there and it continues throwing more into the mix as the story progresses.

The story jumps ahead 10 years and you meet Kate, Michael and Emma. I loved them as characters (especially Emma) and their relationship with one another. You really empathise with their situation of being pushed from pillar to post all their lives not quite knowing why they have been abandoned their parent or where they are going to end up next.

The story itself starts off quite slowly as you are introduced to the world of the siblings and start to follow them on their journey to discover to they are and their place in a fantastical world where magic, dwarves and time travel exists. The premise behind whole world set up around them is really intriguing and draws you in as you follow their story.

I won't go into too much detail about the story itself because I don't want to spoil it for you and because I don't think I can do such a multi faceted story justice in a few words but I will say this. the whole host characters you meet throughout the story are awesome. I loved Dr Pym the mysterious wizard, hated the evil Countess and fell in love with Emma's hero Gabriel. The dialogue was really funny and well written. The story itself had loads of twists and turns which kept me engaged and set up a potentially awesome overarching story line for the series.

All in all if you love children's fantasy novels this book is definitely for you and is certainly as strong as other well loved novels in its genre.


Comments

Unknown said…
I think I am going to love this one. Thank goodness I have a copy. I may be reading it sooner than I thought. You make it sound like it was written for me.
I am not overly fond of fantasy prefering to watch the movies than read the books in this instance lol
Unknown said…
I'm glad this one's good, I've have to check it out. It's on my Debut Author Challenge to-read list.
I think I've been sort of teetering on the fence about this one, but I think I might give it a go. I quite like fantasy, though I'm not sure I'm in the mood for it right NOW I can at least have this to look forward to..
Ms. Yingling said…
Thanks for the positive review. I included a link to this from my blog because I had trouble getting into this one, but can see how you would have liked it.