The Wandering Hour (Doomsday Archives #1)

An engaging start to a promising new series.

The book champions accept each others' quirks and weirdness, which will resonate with anyone who’s struggled to fit in. 

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; (for Eliopulos) Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (Jan.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

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 hourglasslike 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 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

★ "Clark and Eliopulos expertly build heart-pounding suspense . . . The book champions accepting each other's quirks and weirdness, which will resonate with anyone who's struggled to fit in. A superb choice for fans of Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series, Tom Booth's Eerie-on-Sea books, and creepypastas." —Booklist, Starred Review

"An engaging start to a promising new series. The wiki framing is clever [and] legitimately scary scenes resolve quickly, with resolutions driven by the kids' strengths and actions."
―Kirkus Reviews

"This dark plot-driven adventure, sprinkled with insightful New Rotterdam wiki entries, winking humor, and heaps of horror sensibilities, is unsettlingly creepy." ―Publishers Weekly

"Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos have summoned the grinning ghost of author John Bellairs and updated him for a generation steeped in the eerie world of online urban legends. Here's hoping you can all make it out of New Rotterdam alive!" ―Trevor Henderson, author of Scarewaves and creator of Siren Head

"Enter The Doomsday Archives and discover a diabolical mix of menacing monsters, forbidden artifacts, and contemporary chills. This series is guaranteed to keep you up way past your bedtime. I want―no, need―the next installment!" ―K.R. Alexander, bestselling author of Gallowgate and The Collector

"The Doomsday Archives should be marked with a bright red sticker that says, I DARE YOU TO READ THIS. It is the most delightfully frightening book for young people to come along in years! Absolutely brilliant." ―Dan Poblocki, bestselling author of Tales to Keep You Up at Night