The Emerald Atlas

Books of Beginning

De: John Stephens

Narrado por: 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

©2011 John Stephens (P)2011 Listening Library

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.

fantastically fiction

If you could sum up The Emerald Atlas in three words, what would they be?

Like harry potter

Who was your favorite character and why?

The three children were very likable.

What does Jim Dale bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

We got this book because we missed hearing Jim dale. he is one of the best readers we have ever had the pleasure of listening to.

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

The book keeps the reader wanting to keep going.

Any additional comments?

Great book for 10 YEAR OLDS AND UP

Wonderful

A wonderful book full of detail i am getting the rest of the series to enjoy

Jim Dale brings alive a wonderful fantasy world.

I re-listen to this over and over, falling in love with the characters Dale brings to life, every time.

predictable YA story

Storyline​ pretty predictable. Kept wanting to ditch but made it through. Jim Dale did a good job with the performance - very similar to his Harry Potter narrations.

Emerald atlas

Great to listen to, easy to follow and entertaining. I could pick up the story line every time I came back to this book all in all an enjoyable performance. Thrilling but not scary.

Add a star if this is your first YA fantasy

A suspenseful, quest to find maybe dead parents and save the world. Depending on your reading background it may seem new (add a star) or familiar (hence just 3 stars). Orphans, the "found book" and the resulting quest is a comfortably familiar storyline. So also (later in the series) is the accusation that Mentor character may actually be grooming the children to die in order to save the world. On the lighter side, I did enjoy the comedic elements in visual descriptions and the repartee supplied by the cook and the dwarfs.

Sadly, good orphan caregivers are overshadowed by systemic failure. As a result, these 3 children get to ignore, distrust, disobey or lie to adults who are trying to care for them. In turn, as in the real world, adults tell lies as opposed to having different opinions.

I wonder why the family orphan-causing disaster is moved from Halloween to Christmas Eve - is this some kind of anti-Potter move? In retrospect based on reading the full series twice, it feels like a story that JKR might have written had she not spent years developing her plot.

Great listen!

Listened over a few weeks which made it hard for the kids to follow but my husband and I thought it was a great story. Jim Dale never disappoints.