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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Roll for Danger
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BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 387
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Jacksonville, FL; married.
EDUCATION:University of Florida, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Worked previously as a children’s book editor.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
School Library Journal, October, 2017, Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, review of The Adventurers Guild, p. 89.
Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2017, review of The Adventurers Guild, p. 68.
ONLINE
Adams Literary website, http://www.adamsliterary.com/ (June 16, 2022), author profile.*
Nick Eliopulos
Genres: Children's Fiction
New and upcoming books
July 2025
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The Cursed Catacombs
(Roll for Danger)November 2025
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Shadowglass
(Doomsday Archives, book 3)
Series
Adventurers Guild (with Zack Loran Clark)
1. The Adventurers Guild (2017)
2. Twilight of the Elves (2018)
3. Night of Dangers (2019)
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Minecraft Woodsword Chronicles
1. Into the Game (2019)
2. Night of the Bats (2019)
3. Deep Dive! (2019)
4. Ghast in the Machine! (2020)
5. Dungeon Crawl! (2020)
6. Last Block Standing! (2021)
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Minecraft Stonesword Saga
1. Crack in the Code! (2021)
2. Mobs Rule! (2022)
3. New Pets on the Block (2022)
4. To Bee, Or Not to Bee! (2023)
5. The Golem's Game! (2023)
6. The End of the Overworld! (2024)
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Doomsday Archives (with Zack Loran Clark)
1. The Wandering Hour (2024)
2. The Heart-Stealer Mask (2024)
3. Shadowglass (2025)
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Roll for Danger
The Cursed Catacombs (2025)
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Series contributed to
Spirit Animals: The Book of Shane
1. Venom (2014)
2. Vendetta (2015)
3. Vengeance (2015)
4. Venture (2015)
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Spirit Animals: Special Edition
2. The Book of Shane (2015)
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Minecraft
Zombies! (2022)
Zombies Return! (2023)
Zombies Unleashed! (2024)
Nick Eliopulos is a professional writer, editor, game designer, and teacher. (He likes to keep busy.) He is the author of two officially licensed Minecraft chapter book series, the Woodsword Chronicles, and the Stonesword Saga, as well as the co-author of the Adventurers Guild trilogy. Nick was born in Florida, lives in Brooklyn, and spends most of his free time in the Nether.
Nick Eliopulos was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up on a steady diet of super-hero comics and “non-fiction” books about alien abductions, psychic phenomena, and Sasquatch. He was fortunate to have parents and teachers who encouraged his off-beat reading habits, which ultimately led him to pursue a degree in cultural studies at the University of Florida.
Shortly after graduating, Nick moved to New York to work in publishing. In the course of his thirteen-year career as a children’s book editor, he had the opportunity to write for a number of licensed properties, from Thomas the Tank Engine to DC Super Friends and Scholastic’s New York Times bestselling multiplatform series Spirit Animals. His original comics work has appeared in anthologies Stuck in the Middle and First Kiss (Then Tell).
Nick’s debut novel, The Adventurers Guild, will be published by Hyperion in October 2017. Co-authored with his best friend Zack Loran Clark, the book is heavily inspired by the duo’s collaborative storytelling experiences with tabletop role-playing games; they’ve been in the same weekly gaming group for nearly a decade.
Nick lives in Brooklyn with his husband, a fellow editor, author, and Southern transplant. He’s currently employed as a narrative designer for an indie video game studio. He still reads super-hero comics and harbors an ever-dwindling hope that Sasquatch might be out there.
Author Interview: Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos, Authors of “The Adventurers Guild”
We absolutely adored The Adventurers Guild series, by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos, and now that the final book has been published, we caught up with the authors to find out more about their work.
Clark and Eliopulos’s series was inspired by their time playing Dungeons & Dragons, and the interview dives into their love of the game and how it influenced their writing. If you’re a D&D newbie, don’t worry! The books are set in a fantasy world and absolutely accessible for those who have never played the game.
For this interview, you just need to know that DM stands for Dungeon Master, who is the person creating and running the game of D&D. Also, a D&D player usually starts by designing the character they will play, choosing the character’s race (human, elf, etc.), class (rogue, wizard, etc.), alignment (chaotic evil, lawful good, etc.), and other stats.
How did you plot the series? Did you design it the way a DM would design a campaign?
ZC: We kind of both started as players, honestly. Zed and Brock are our favorite D&D character–types distilled. I love scruffy mages, and Nick’s a sucker for wisecracking rogues. I did a fair amount of worldbuilding up front where Freestone was concerned – figuring out the guilds, the history of the Champions, and some of the magic system – but the narrative and the wider world were mysteries even to us when we began.
NE: We did have to pause once or twice per book to make sure we were both writing toward the same ending. But for the most part, we played it fast and loose with the plotting.
This helped capture some of the improvisational spirit of a game like D&D – I didn’t know where Zack would go next, but whatever he came up with, I would have to go along with it and advance the story a bit from there. There’s no writing challenge quite like having to solve someone else’s cliffhanger!
What’s your writing process like? Do you each write for a specific POV (one of you for Brock, one of you for Zed), or is it not that cut and dry?
NE: It’s exactly that cut and dry, actually! Zack wrote the Zed chapters, and I wrote Brock’s.
ZC: That said, we both had to write each other’s characters as well, just from different viewpoints. And all the other characters were shared creations. Part of what made cowriting such a blast was that Nick would surprise me with new traits for Zed, stuff I’d have never thought of. I think it made everyone feel a little richer.
How do you come up with your Dangers? Do you reference a Monster Manual?
ZC: We were definitely inspired by the MM, though we tried not to stray too far into proprietary waters. So many of the monsters in D&D are diluted versions of actual mythological creatures, and some are tropes that appear in tons of fantasy games. We used these to make sure the world felt familiar to fans of the genre but also created some new ones of our own.
Each Danger also has a place in one of Terryn’s otherworldly “planes,” which are nods to popular fantasy concepts like the undead or fairy or the Cthulhu mythos. Once we figured that out, we could invent monsters to fill in the gaps.
Nick also had his own personal method…
NE: Yeah, there were a lot of moments where I needed a quick monster, and what I found myself doing almost instinctively was mashing two animals together. I love watching nature documentaries (I even tend to have them on while I write), and wow, Mother Nature has a wilder imagination than anybody. But animals tend to “stay in their lanes” in nature, so if you put aquatic adaptations on a flying animal or insectoid features on a mammal, it reads instantly as monstrous.
That’s obviously not a new trick. Animal hybrids are all over various mythologies. But I’ve got a new appreciation for the process after writing Book 3, where we needed a lot of monsters. Like, a lot.
Does one of you DM more than the other? How does being a DM affect your writing, if one of you does DM?
ZC: Great question! I think we have a fellow D&D player here. 🙂 The DM, or Dungeon Master, basically tells the story of the game. They control every character and event that isn’t the players themselves. I co-DM our current game with our buddy Teri, taking turns every few weeks so we all get to play. It’s a blast, but it can also be a lot of work, especially when I have a deadline due. But co-DMing is a great way to take some of the pressure off during a busy period.
(Fun fact: Our adventuring team is the Grand Order of Noble Soldiers – or the GOoNS. Don’t know why I’m sharing this, beyond that it still makes me laugh.)
NE: I’m happy to just roll up to the table and play without doing all that prep work. On the rare occasion that I’ve DMed, it’s been for curious first-time players, and that’s definitely fun! For Christmas this year, I’m giving my nephews a D&D Essentials Kit, and I’m hoping to have time to run their first session. They’re sure to keep me on my toes. (Uh, and I hope they aren’t reading this before Christmas. Otherwise, that won’t be much of a surprise!)
Do you plan to put out character sheets for Brock, Zed, Liza, Jett, etc. so people can play D&D as your characters?
NE: As a matter of fact, character sheets for these characters should be newly available on our website this month! (The site is DayofDangers.com.) If we see demand for it, we might add some of the wider cast in the future. But honestly, who wouldn’t want to just play as Liza forever?
ZC: Not enough magic!
What are your D&D characters like? What Hogwarts House are you both, and which Houses are your characters?
ZC: I don’t think I’ve ever played a non-mage character in over ten years of gaming, ha. I love all the spellcasting classes, like wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers. But our current game’s characters are both direct self-inserts. They’re sort of an exercise in “What if I’d been born in a fantasy world (…and were crazy/lucky enough to be an adventurer)?”
Mine’s a half-elf wild magic sorcerer, and he and I are both Gryffindors.
NE: I love rogues and always return to them, but right now I’m playing the new artificer class and having a blast with it. My character is a halfling alchemist with a goat-shaped homunculus, and nothing in that sentence would surprise anyone who knows me even a little bit. Like me, my character is a Hufflepuff through and through!
It honestly took me years to embrace my identity as a Hufflepuff. In hindsight, I can’t believe I ever thought otherwise. That Sorting Hat knows what it’s doing!
Do you plan to write more novels together?
NE: Absolutely! While we have our solo projects, there’s a joy in working together that just can’t be replicated on our own. My solo projects feel like work, whereas writing with Zack feels like a game.
ZC: Couldn’t have said it better.
***
You can find the authors on Twitter at @ZackLoranClark and @NickEliopulos. The Adventurers Guild series is out now wherever books are sold. Thank you to the authors for this wonderful interview and for sharing their story with us readers!
Post date
December 17, 2019
Interview with Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos
September 29, 2017 Author Interviews
By CrystalWizard
Clark Eliopulos interviewWhat inspired you the most to write The Adventurers Guild?
Nick: We were most directly inspired by our experiences playing Dungeons & Dragons. We only started playing about a decade ago, but we were instantly obsessed with it, going so far as to write elaborate back-stories and detailed recaps of each session from our respective characters’ viewpoints. Our first campaign went on for years, and when we later decided to write a book together, we found ourselves using elements of that campaign and those characters as a springboard.
Zack: TAG is set in a world that’s akin to those games we played together, except in this story we imagined that our characters ultimately failed. Generations ago, a band of friends and adventurers failed to prevent one of their own from summoning hordes of monsters to their realm. Our two young protagonists are the inheritors of that mistake–a world fallen to monsters.
Which do you prefer: editing or writing and being edited?
Zack: It depends on the day, and the project. When the writing is really working–when I’m excited about what I’m doing–there’s no other feeling like it. But that’s definitely not the experience every time. Editing, likewise, can be wonderful; helping authors to hone their stories is a privileged career.
But my favorite activity is napping. Preferably with my dog.
Nick: Napping is an important part of the process! My dirty secret is that I never really enjoy writing. The joy, for me, is in rewriting. Revising. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my first drafts are a super messy, slightly mortifying but necessary part of the process. I need to have that mess that I can reshape.
But I nap alone!
If you had to switch places with one of your characters, which would it be and why?
Nick: Honestly, I would want to be Liza. She’s a character who surprised me–I didn’t really know who she was until we started writing her. She ended up being deeply moral, confident . . . not fearless, but capable of facing the things she’s afraid of. And she’s not wasting time pretending to be less awesome than she is just to spare anyone’s feelings. I think Liza might end up ruling the whole realm one day. (Assuming she survives the horrors we have in store for our cast.)
Zack: Nick took my answer so I guess I’m going to be boring and say Zed, my viewpoint character. I just love magic so much. My favorite stories all include an element of mysticism. I keep waiting for the day my own powers will manifest, but in the meantime I get to write Zed, who has a natural knack for the stuff. I could do without the aforementioned horrors, though.
Most writers suffer from writer’s block at times. Do you?
Zack: Oh, for sure. Writer’s block, crises of confidence, plotting myself into a corner. Check, check, check. I’ll tell you what, though, having a writing partner to talk these things through when they happen has been pretty great. Sometimes just a quick chat with Nick is all I need to untangle a knot.
Nick: Knowing that Zack is impatiently awaiting my next chapter usually does the trick for me. That’s my cure for writer’s block: Fear of my writing partner and those mystical powers he’s always trying to manifest.
Zack: Ha! There’s a crude little doll with your name on it that’s just waiting for my magic to arrive. I’ll force it to sit at a tiny laptop.
What one place in the real world would you personally like to go for an adventure? Why?
Nick: It’s not a specific place, exactly, but I’d love to spend some time on a boat in the open ocean. I’m afraid of the water, but also love it, and so many of my favorite books have scenes on a ship. I’ve traveled a fair amount, but spending time on a boat would feel unlike anything else. And it would carry with it that little thrill of danger, the sense of being up against the elements.
Zack: I’d love to get out there and visit some of the spectacular ruins of the world: Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, or the ruins of Delphi. There’s something about seeing a once great structure slowly reclaimed by nature–it’s beautiful and bewildering, and also a little melancholy. I think that’s in spirit with our book.
If you couldn’t write for some reason, what else would you do to be creative?
Zack: Is napping creative? Well, I went to a performing arts high school and so was blessed with a range of creative opportunities as a teen. I shot and edited videos in the film program, sang in musicals, and directed the theater kids. If writing suddenly disappeared from my life, I’d probably try and take up one of those. My favorite creative endeavors usually involve a narrative, though. I’m a storyteller at heart.
Nick: I’ve got two little nephews who are obsessed with monsters and we’ve been making cheesy home movies lately. We’ve got a Wolfboy one and a Frankenstein one, and plans for the Mummy. These movies are… not very good, but they’re fun to do. I can imagine teaching kids how to make their own short films would be pretty fun.
My nephews and I sometimes clash creatively, though. I’m always pushing for more subtle psychological horror, but they just want to include more fight scenes. But that’s five year olds for you, right? I’m glad my writing partner is marginally more sophisticated…
What advice do you have for your readers that might want to follow in your footsteps?
Nick: That’s an easy one: Bring a friend! Writing is a pretty solitary activity and can be isolating. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Zack: It might not be for everybody, but cooperative storytelling can also have incredibly surprising and exciting results, especially if you’re working with a kindred nerd.
Nick: It’s possible to geek out alone, but it’s never going to be as fun.
The clever, action-packed launch of a thrilling new series
The Adventurers Guild cover imageThe Adventurers Guild
by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos
“Full of suspense and twists and turns, with characters I’ll never forget.” –James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
“A dazzling adventure sure to become a classic, if not a movie.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
Fablehaven meets Artemis Fowl in THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD (Disney-Hyperion; On Sale October 3, 2017) by debut authors Zach Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos. The launch of this epic new series follows best friends Zed Kagai and Brock Dunderfel who get conscripted into the dangerous Adventurers Guild, and must defend what’s left of humanity against terrible monsters in this riveting, funny, and suspenseful fantasy.
In one of the last cities standing after the world fell to monsters, inseparable Zed and Brock have high hopes for the future. Zed desperately wishes to join the ranks of the Mages Guild, where his status as Freestone’s only half elf might finally be an asset. Brock, the roguishly handsome son of merchants, is confident he’ll be welcomed into the ranks of the Merchants Guild. But just as it seems the boys’ dreams have come true, their lives take a startling turn… and they find themselves members of the perilous Adventurers Guild.
Led by the fearsome Alabasel Frond, the guild acts as the last line of defense against the Dangers–hungry, unnatural beasts from otherworldly planes. And when the boys uncover a conspiracy that threatens all of Freestone, Zed, Brock, and their new allies–Liza, a fierce noble, and Jett, a brave dwarf–must prove their worth once and for all. The initiates are a ragtag gang of misfits that must to trust each other and themselves if they hope to survive.
With devastating sacrifices and close friendships hanging in the balance, THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD is sure to be a hit with readers who like their fantasy clever and fast-paced, with tons of humor and heart.
ZACK LORAN CLARK and NICK ELIOPULOS grew up in Florida and now live in New York. Best friends, they get together to play Dungeons & Dragons every week. Zack fervently hopes that magic is real; Nick desperately hopes that monsters are not. The Adventurers Guild is their first novel. Visit them on twitter at @zackloranclark and @NickEliopulos.
THE ADVENTURERS GUILD
by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos | Disney-Hyperion | On Sale October 3, 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 9781484788011 | $16.99 US | $17.99 Can. | 320 pages | Ages 8-12 |
Ebook ISBN: 9781484798546
Editor Interview: Nick Eliopulos of Random House Children’s
An interview with Nick Eliopulos, editor for Random House Children’s Books.
Chuck Sambuchino
Published Sep 13, 2007 4:54 PM EDT
The GLA Blog has a special treat this week—an interview with Nick Eliopulos, editor for Random House Children's Books. He fits right in with our recent focus on agents and editors for children's writing, which includes picture books, young adult and middle grade works.
Associate Editor at Random House Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Random House Children's Books), Nick Eliopulos started out at the University Press of Florida, where a college internship led to a full-time job as an acquisitions assistant. Eventually, he moved to New York and subsisted on freelance for a few months before landing at Random House.
Two of Nick's projects will be published in 2007: Squirrelly Gray, a picture book by indie-comics superstar James Kochalka, and The Hound of Rowan, first in a middle-grade fantasy trilogy by newcomer Henry H. Neff. His comics work appears in the anthologies Stuck in the Middle (Viking, 2007) and First Kiss (Then Tell) (Bloomsbury, 2008). He has survived three consecutive winters in Manhattan.
Nick Eliopulos
GLA: What are some subjects or some styles that you don't see tackled often, and wonder why more writers are not tackling such a subject/style?
NE: Thoughtful, literary novels with boy appeal. Newbery-caliber stuff. These books are few and far between. And if we're worried that boys don't read enough, not making books for them won't help the problem.
GLA: Do you ever turn down work because it's too "smart"—meaning either the concept is too complex or the language is too advanced?
NE: I recently read The Golden Compass, and you know what? It's way too smart. The language, the premise, the roaming POV ... but it's such a wonderful book and it's obviously found an audience.
I hope I'm never in a position where I have to turn down a submission because it's smart or challenging. I can imagine, as an editor, asking for edits to broaden the appeal: Can this concept be clearer? Does the language seem like too much here? Does the work benefit from limiting the POV? But never in the interest of talking down to the audience.
(I'm thinking mainly of novels here, of course. If you're working with an established format, like the Random House Stepping Stones line, then it's essential that the language fit the guidelines of that format. And I think picture books have limits, as well, though mostly in terms of content.)
GLA: What is the most common reasons you and your fellow board of editors turn down a project (manuscript)?
NE: We have to think in terms of our list—where our strengths lie. But it's a fine line. We want something that is somewhat familiar, but that offers something new.
That's really the best way to find a publisher--look at who's publishing work similar to your own. If my group is having success with fantasy novels and you submit a teen cookbook, chances are we won't have the resources to make your book a hit.
GLA: When you sit down to read a manuscript, what do you want to see (or "feel") in the first 10-20 pages?
NE: A strong sense of character—through action and dialogue as opposed to narration.
Much of what I read is slow to get to the actual plot. That's OK in a draft; it (will help) if there's some kind of synopsis so that I know what to expect. But voice and character should be front and center from the start.
GLA: Many YA books follow a similar formula. With that in mind, is a big part in the concept? Like writing the standard "Girl feels awkward in high school and likes boy" except "Girl turns into a werewolf at night"? Does it need a hook like that, or can you still write a good story that no big hook?
NE: Hooks help—a lot. Even once I've signed on a book, I have to pitch it to sales and marketing, who have to pitch it to retailers and librarians. If you've got a unique and memorable spin, that's half the battle won.
But different books come with different expectations. If you've written a story about an awkward girl with not a werewolf in sight, but with a strong and believable voice—well, there's likely an audience for that book. Notice that a lot of the award-winners are quiet tales that you can't do justice in a one-line pitch.
GLA: What advice would you like to give concerning a topic we haven't addressed yet?
NE: Read! Read a lot. And not just children's books. It definitely helps to know what's out there for your target age group—but if you're up on current events or quantum physics or the cultural history of deodorant, then you have a better chance of bringing something altogether new to the table.
GLA: Does Random House Children's ever take unagented submissions?
NE: Officially we don't, but it's certainly happened before. Chances are that a blind submission will eventually be seen by somebody—but having an agent is really the way to go. For one thing, it guarantees your submission will be read. For another, it truly pays off to work with someone who knows the ins and outs of the business (and who can give you objective feedback before your work lands on an editor's desk).
GLA: Will you be at any upcoming conferences where writers can meet you?
NE: Yes—the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature in October 2007.
Eliopulos, Nick ROLL FOR DANGER Disney-Hyperion (Children's None) $13.99 7, 22 ISBN: 9781368083898
In this series opener, the last surviving apprentice of a powerful wizard embarks on a perilous errand to find a rare reagent, but readers' choices and rolls of the dice will determine his fate.
Sethoreths, the Snake-Blooded Sorcerer, awakens before dawn to the shouts of Bristleboor, his irritable and eccentric wizard mentor. Bristleboor may have once been a great adventurer, but he's a terrible teacher. Apart from Seth, all of his other apprentices have died. At Bristleboor's command, Seth has a new task ahead of him: traversing a tunnel from their tower's basement to the forbidden catacombs beneath the cemetery to collect gravebloom. In order to find the flower, he needs the help of an imp, a devious fifth-dimensional creature that Bristleboor has bound inside a glass orb. Before the story begins, readers set the strength of Seth's three skills--Constitution, Cleverness, and Charisma--which in turn determine his Health Points, Mana Points, and Luck Points. The story's progression makes consistent and satisfying use of the game mechanics. Unfortunately, while this element shines, every girl or woman character mentioned in the book is already dead or defeated, including aspiring paladin Roe, whom the illustrations depict as a dark-skinned girl with Afro-textured hair, and a sobbing nameless elven ghost, who appears to have been a white woman. Seth and Bristleboor both present white.
A promising and engaging core concept weakened by uneven representation.(Fantasy. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Eliopulos, Nick: ROLL FOR DANGER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A837325549/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8917407e. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
CLARK, Zack Loran & Nick Eliopulos. The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour. 224p. (The Doomsday Archives: Bk. 1). Zando. Jan. 2024. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781638930303.
Gr 3-7--The coauthors of "The Adventures Guild" trilogy have written a fantastical horror set in New Rotterdam, a small seaside town teeming with urban legends and mysterious disappearances. Eighth grader Brian Skupp encounters an hourglass-like object on his school bench. As he's studying it, he notices everyone is frozen in time. Keys don't fall. People don't move. The only person who seems to see him is a moving ghostlike woman with fangs. The ominous phrase, "He was never heard from again" segues into one (of many to come) wiki articles about mysterious happenings in the area. The book starts again with three present-day friends, Emrys, Hazel, and Serena, and their story of how they found the Doomsday Archives. The hourglass makes a comeback, as do a variety of life-threatening monsters who like to swallow things, and weird occurrences, such as the Midtown Mummy, an ember bishop, and a wandering hour. This would be a good read-aloud for a middle school class for the month of October, especially if paired with their town's local urban myths. VERDICT A story about kids helping keep their town and neighbors safe will speak to those who love to sink themselves into a different realm and play armchair detective/hero, this is a great choice for middle grade shelves. --Tanya Boudreau
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Boudreau, Tanya. "CLARK, Zack Loran & Nick Eliopulos. The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour." School Library Journal, vol. 70, no. 1, Jan. 2024, p. 56. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A778646562/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b6786727. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
The Wandering Hour (Doomsday Archives #1)
Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos, illus. by Chris Shehan. Zando, $17.99 (224p) ISBN 978-1-63893-030-3
A terrifying local legend tests the mettle of a resolute trio of sixth graders in the first installment of this grisly horror series by Loran Clark (The Lock-Eater) and Eliopulos (the Minecraft Stonesword Saga). Emrys is excited to move to New Rotterdam despite the town's gloomy atmosphere; after all, it's a "hot spot for urban legends," and the home of his best friend Hazel, a fellow creepypasta fanatic and cataloger of New Rotterdam lore on the town's active wiki. Though he feels like a third wheel around Hazel's childhood friend and cryptid skeptic Serena, Emrys champions teamwork when a power outage prompts the middle schoolers to investigate a shadowy neighbor's ruined apartment, from which they're hurled into another dimension embroiled in a conflict between two opposing magical organizations. Guided by a deadpan talking spell book, the friends confront a demonic hourglass named The Wandering Hour that spells gruesome doom for anyone who gazes upon it. This dark plot-driven adventure, sprinkled with insightful New Rotterdam wiki entries, winking humor, and heaps of horror sensibilities, is unsettlingly creepy. Emrys and Hazel are white, and Serena is Black. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: (for Loran Clark) Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary; (far Eliopulos) Josh Adams. Adams Literary. (Jan.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"The Wandering Hour (Doomsday Archives #1)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 43, 23 Oct. 2023, p. 48. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A772537251/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=78d31248. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
ELIOPULOS, Nick. The Sky's the Limit!: Minecraft. illus. by Alan Batson. 32p. (Step into Reading). Random. Jan. 2023. Tr $14.99. ISBN 9780593483053; pap. $5.99. ISBN 9780593483046.
Gr 3-4--Emmy and Birch jump on their beds as they consider their next Minecraft adventure. As Birch wants to jump higher, Emmy has an idea. Why not gather slime blocks and make a trampoline? However, Birch wants to jump even higher. In fact, he wants to fly. In her Minecraft resource chest, Emmy stores a pair of wings called elytra. But before she can warn Birch that the wings are old, he takes off, and then falls. "Emmy knew how to fix the wings. They would need to find a phantom and stay awake for three days!" Encountering mobs, creepers, and slimes on their adventure, Emmy and Birch must work together to fight their phantom, fix the wings, and soar. This Minecraft reader successfully moves from game to story. With text and illustrations that realistically portray Minecraft's virtual world, this book has a positive theme about working together to obtain collective goals. Not only must Emmy and Birch stay awake to fight the phantom for wings, but they also need to put their heads together to create new adventures. Although this book does not necessarily present a traditional plot structure, the language and illustrations work in tandem to transition early readers from reading basic sentences to decoding and comprehending more complex text. This is the perfect read for video gamers transitioning to independent reading and to appreciating stories. VERDICT A sure pick for Minecraft enthusiasts who may need a way in to reading practice and peer connections.--Jennifer Strattman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Strattman, Jennifer. "ELIOPULOS, Nick. The Sky's the Limit!: Minecraft." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 2, Feb. 2023, p. 65. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735604993/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=02fdbbb3. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
CLARK, Zack Loran & Nick Eliopulos. The Adventurers Guild. 320p. Disney-Hyperion. Oct. 2017. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781484788011.
Gr 5-8--Ever since the Day of Dangers, when the land of Ferryn was attacked by monsters, the city of Freestone has been protected by wards of the Adventurers Guild. Zed and his friend Brock are anxious for the Guildculling, when those who have come of age will be assigned to one of the Guilds. Zed, who is an elf-blooded boy, hopes to be chosen as a Mage. Brock, whose parents are members of the Merchants Guild, expects to become a Merchant as well. Neither of them wants to be a Knight or a Healer--and certainly not an Adventurer, the most dangerous job of all. But both find themselves chosen by the Adventurers Guild; Zed snatched from the Mages, and Brock pressed into spying for the Merchants. Along with Jett and Liza, their fellow apprentices, they face a daunting initiation: they must survive the night outside the protected city walls. The initiation turns dangerous when monsters attack and Jett is paralyzed, while Zed discovers he possesses an innate ability to sense and use magic--and forbidden magic, at that. As the Adventurers' wards begin to fail, the apprentices must uncover the traitor and save their city. This first installment in a new series offers a solidly constructed world, endearing characters, and lots of fantasy-based adventure with fast-paced action. VERDICT Hand this to fans of Angie Sage's "Septimus Heap" and Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven" series; the ending will leave readers anxious for the sequel.--Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, Brighton, MI
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Walters, Laurie Slagenwhite. "Clark, Zack Loran & Nick Eliopulos. The Adventurers Guild." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 10, Oct. 2017, pp. 89+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A507950757/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3cd12bc3. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
The Adventurers Guild
Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-48478801-1
Centuries after the rest of the world fell to monsters, Freestone is one of few cities left standing, "points of light in the darkness." Its first line of defense is the Adventurers Guild, a group of volunteer soldiers and conscripts from the city's other guilds. When half-elven would-be wizard Zed is unexpectedly drafted into the Adventurers Guild, his brash friend Brock follows along to keep him safe, joined by noble-born Liza and Jett, a dwarf. The recruits' initiation into the guild nearly kills them, and that's just the beginning of their troubles: they soon learn that the magical wards that protect Freestone are failing and must be restored, leading to a perilous journey into monster-infested lands. Hazards, betrayals, and quick-witted banter abound in this gripping series opener ("Dangers will not pause to respect your comic timing," wisecracking Brock is scolded during training). Clark and Eliopulos weave a thread of post-apocalyptic adventure into a classic questing saga, replete with spells, enchanted weaponry, and mythological beings--elves, kobolds, gelatinous goo, and more. Ages 8-12. Agent: (for Clark) Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary; (for Eliopulos) Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Adventurers Guild." Publishers Weekly, vol. 264, no. 37, 11 Sept. 2017, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A505634978/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3374be5d. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.