The Emerald Atlas:The Books of Beginning 1

Dark magic aplenty

Fiona Noble, The Bookseller

A magical, roller-coaster of a read

Vanessa Lewis, The Bookseller

Ambitious, entertaining, magical and whimsical, this marks a strong beginning to a new trilogy, invoking just a little Harry Potter and Series of Unfortunate Events along the way

Realms of Fantasy magazine, USA

The writing is perfectly judged . . . John Stephens knows how to make things visual, and it's accessible but not too simplistic. Junior fantasy fans are going to love this book

Jill Murphy, TheBookbag.co.uk

With exceptional skill, Mr. Stephens weaves the resulting pathos into the children's characters and into their sibling relationship

Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal

The Emerald Atlas kind of encompasses all my firm favourites, His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia and of course Harry Potter. It was a thrill to read

Askew's Library Service

Stephens spins a tightly paced, engaging yarn

The New York Times

The Emerald Atlas is a fantastic start of a series. Plenty of questions are yet to be answered and I look forward to the sequel

My Favourite Books

The book is reminiscent in some ways of C S Lewis and J R Rowling and the excitement and gripping writing will ensure readers are immersed in the story. The book leaves issues undecided and the reader wanting more

Parents in Touch

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

Overflowing Library

Stephens' top-notch time-travel thriller has a quirky mixed bag of heroes and villains, a clever and compelling plotline and graphic action sequences that just cry out for the big screen treatment

Pam Norfolk, Lytham St Annes Express

A wonderful story you can easily lose yourself in

Notes of Life

It's bright and energetic and has some exciting set pieces

Patrick Ness, Guardian

First-rate fantasy

Armadillo