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The Familiars (The Familiars #1)

by Adam Jay Epstein (Goodreads Author), Andrew Jacobson (Goodreads Author), Peter Chan (Illustrator), Kei Acedera (Illustrator)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 1,536 ratings · 323 reviews

Is the kingdom's fate in the hands of an orphan cat?

Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn's always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so and Aldwyn is happy to play along.

He just has to convince the other familiars the know-it-a...more

Hardcover, 360 pages

Published September 7th 2010 by HarperCollins

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2010 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade Literature)

87th out of 301 books — 1,970 voters

Top YA of 2010

47th out of 104 books — 308 voters

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Jun 12, 2012 The Holy Terror marked it as will-never-read

Shelves: foot-in-mouth-disease, spammer

No no no no no no no ...

(Continue that word 2,000+ more times.)

like 9 likes · see review

Aug 27, 2010 Katieb (MundieMoms) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs-i-own, 2010-100-book-challenge, mundie-moms-review, mundie-kids-book-reviews, debut-author-challenge

The Familiars is such a great, action packed, full of humor, quick, fun and engaging read. I think this is one book that middle graders, and fans of good old magical adventures will enjoy reading. With a loyal trio of unlikely heros, Aldwyn, Gregory and Skylar had me laughing out loud, and wishing I had pet companions like them.

The familiars are animal companions with magical abilities who become life long companions with a young human apprentice. When Aldwyn, Gregory and Sklyar's Wizard appren...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the main character Aldwyn’s clever wit and attitude and it really drew me into the story and made me care about his character. His companions, Skylar and Gilbert, were also very lovable characters that kind of reminded me of Hermione and Ron in Harry Potter. They seem to be good friends who stick together despite their many differences and despite the fact that Aldwyn has been hiding his real non-magical background from them.

Overall I found this to be a light-...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, level-elementary

7/9/12 ** Another Young Hoosier Nominee for 2012-13. This will NOT feel like I'm reading it just for my job. Magic told from the animal familiar's point of view? Narrator is a cat? High fantasy? And so far, not really a Harry Potter clone. :)

7/11/12 ** I have to say that I'm disappointed with this book. In general, I am a fan of high fantasy, but this book leaves me wanting more. I'd been starting think that I was unable to be "critical" of any book this summer - I've been on a string of 4 &...more

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Oct 25, 2010 BookKids rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, midgrade

Aldwyn has always been a typical, if rather clever, alley cat trying to survive the streets of Vastia's capitol city. When he is forced to hide in a pet shop while fleeing from the most dreaded animal bounty hunter in the land, a young wizard named Jack selects him to be his new familiar. Since only magical animals can serve as familiars, everyone including Jack and the familiars of Jack's two classmates all assume that Aldwyn is a magical cat too. Only Aldwyn knows the truth -- that he's an ord...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Dawn (& Ron) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: animal lovers, fantasy fans

Shelves: fantasy, annas-abc-and-d-bookclub, animal-tales, childrens-fiction, two-fer-read, tbr-challenge, ya

The Familiars Read for Anna's ABC&D bookclub

Both Ron and I read this fantasy tale, about three familiars; a tabby cat, a tree frog, and a blue jay, and their three young wizards in training. The story centers around the familiar's journey to save their wizards. Along the way they learn about each other, themselves and big secrets that affect the entire land of Vastia. We both appreciated the map to help us follow them on their amazing journey. Our combined average rating is 3.75, rounded up...more The Familiars Read for Anna's ABC&D bookclub

Both Ron and I read this fantasy tale, about three familiars; a tabby cat, a tree frog, and a blue jay, and their three young wizards in training. The story centers around the familiar's journey to save their wizards. Along the way they learn about each other, themselves and big secrets that affect the entire land of Vastia. We both appreciated the map to help us follow them on their amazing journey. Our combined average rating is 3.75, rounded up to 4 stars.

"How had the fate of Vastia fallen upon a tree frog, a blue jay, and himself, a fake familiar without even the tiniest whisker of magic?"

The story is seen and told through the eyes of Aldwyn, an ordinary tabby cat who suddenly finds himself pretending to be a familiar to escape a bounty hunter. The authors do a wonderful job of capturing the inner thoughts of a feline, and little touches that cat lovers will find themselves shaking their heads along in acknowledgement. The scene where Jack picks Aldwyn and there is that instant connection between them, is how we feel when all of our rescued pets have adopted us. Aldwyn must keep his secret from the other familiars, as well as the young wizards, while at the same time learning the world of magic, which becomes more difficult when they must save the young wizards. But is Aldwyn only an ordinary tabby cat?

"How quickly a journey can be made in one's mind when the travels by foot took so long!"

Dawn's thoughts. I liked the clever use of all kinds of magical animals used as familiars in this tale, chameleon crabs, pocket dragons to riding lizards and everything else in between. I appreciated how the three animal familiars learned of each other through discovering things about their childhoods and backgrounds, helping them to accept and learn to trust each other, showing that there is normally a reason behind someone's behavior. Though I really enjoyed these aspects and more, other things left me not so sure. Some things are not explained, not sure if this is intentional to keep readers curious, while other things are too conveniently discovered. Is my adult self getting in the way or the fact that I'm not used to reading broad fantasy like this (no, not even Harry Potter, yet), its hard to say. After reading other books in the series, I many have to come back and adjust my assessment. My rating is 3-1/2.

Ron's thoughts. I liked how the three familiars worked together and learned to accept each other's differences. The unexpected twist that a secret reveals sheds a different light on everything as they and the reader know it, which opens up interesting possibilities for the future books. I feel the way it is written makes it easy for young readers to follow, especially considering all the characters and magical beings sprinkled throughout. Overall, I found it a fun enjoyable read and rate it 4 stars.

We would like to mention a few scenes for adults to consider. There are two character's deaths, one where a witch gets boiled alive (157), a fight on a bridge where two people are thrown over the side (224-8) and the magical use of a wolf's snout as a tracking device which can only be obtained one way (201-2). These scenes are generally brief and not overly detailed or in anyway gratuitous, but could be a bit too graphic for some children.

As Gilbert the frog says. "You know, life isn't just about looking into the past and future, it's about living in the moment and appreciating what's right in front of you." That pretty much sums up the fun of this book, just sit back and enjoy the journey before you.
(less)

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Apr 13, 2011 Stacey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, 11-year-old-boy, 11-year-old-girl, fantasy, has-a-movie

I have to review this for our meeting next week...
The back flap of the book says it all: "The Familiars combines the magic of Harry Potter and the adventure of the Warriors into an enchanting story young readers will love." --Michael Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS series.
I think that young readers will love it, but not children above 5th grade. The book will become an animated movie in 2012, and consequently parts of the book read like a movie script. I know the movie will trea...more I have to review this for our meeting next week...
The back flap of the book says it all: "The Familiars combines the magic of Harry Potter and the adventure of the Warriors into an enchanting story young readers will love." --Michael Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm and NERDS series.
I think that young readers will love it, but not children above 5th grade. The book will become an animated movie in 2012, and consequently parts of the book read like a movie script. I know the movie will treat the action scenes much better because action is best shown instead of told (I also thought HP lacked intensity in it's action scenes). The book stars Aldwyn, an alley cat from Bridgetower in the Queendom of Vastia. One morning, after stealing a fish from the fishmonger, he is chased all over the city by a bounty hunter. He manages to escape by hiding out in a shop that sells Familiars--the enchanted animals that wizards use for companionship and to assist them in wizarding duties. Sure enough, a boy named Jack comes into the shop (on his 11th birthday--Harry Potter rip off!) to buy a familiar. He sees many fascinating creatures like chameleon crabs and pocket dragons, but decides he wants a telekinetic cat from Maidenmere--Aldwyn. The story ensues with Aldwyn returning to Stone Runlet where Jack lives with his sister, Marianne, and another apprentice, Dalton, and their Master Wizard, Kalstaff. The book picks up when the queen turns evil and kidnaps the three children and kills Kalstaff, because she saw a prophecy that the three were going to stop her evil plots. Now it's up to Aldwyn, Gilbert, the tree frog Familiar, and Skylar, a blue jay Familiar, to rescue the children. Adventure ensues, with challenges arising every few pages or so to keep the reader engaged. I haven't quite reached the end yet, but I'm sure it'll work out okay in the end, and be left open for a sequel. It doesn't really stand out as being very unique, but it will do as offering for kids who have read HP, Warriors, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, etc. already.(less)

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Oct 02, 2010 Alex Bennett rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really had no idea what I would think of The Familiars. I knew, however, that I was very eager to read it. So eager, in fact that I abandoned another book I was reading just to read this one. And boy, am I happy I did.

One unique thing about this book was that the main characters are animals. I know talking animals may seem weird at first, but once you get to know them more as characters, you forget about their animal-ness. I knew I loved each of the familiars’ personalities and wanted each of...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Crowinator rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, booklist-review, 2010-reads, fantasy, childrens-middle-grade, island-of-misfit-teams

Maybe 2.5 stars. Here's another older review from my LJ blog; I'm adding them to GR to keep track of them. I wrote this one back in 2010.

I think this book should have popularity, let me first say, at least among grade school kids, because of the spin of having a bunch of animals do the heroic questing and saving the world. And a motley group of animals they are, too -- an alley cat, a blue jay, and a tree frog. Still, it is terribly generic as a quest fantasy. It is, for lack of a better word, c...more Maybe 2.5 stars. Here's another older review from my LJ blog; I'm adding them to GR to keep track of them. I wrote this one back in 2010.

I think this book should have popularity, let me first say, at least among grade school kids, because of the spin of having a bunch of animals do the heroic questing and saving the world. And a motley group of animals they are, too -- an alley cat, a blue jay, and a tree frog. Still, it is terribly generic as a quest fantasy. It is, for lack of a better word, cute. I read that the two authors wrote this book to spur a movie contract, and it reads like it, like the skimpy novelization of a children's animated movie (which, to be honest, I would probably rent, as long as it's not one of those creepy, too-realistic computer-animated features, like The Polar Express). It's also been picked up by a movie studio and has a big web site, so all the powers of publicity may be behind this thing. All of the characters are clichéd: think Harry Potter with animals -- the orphaned, misunderstood, always-in-a-scrape hero, who turns out to have amazing powers and a prophetic DESTINY; the bookish, know-it-all girl who is always telling everybody what to do; the dim but sweet-natured friend who is along for comic relief; the wise old mentor who isn't any help; the evil villain with not one single redeeming point . . . you get the idea. There are some scenes -- such as when Jack, apprentice wizard, goes to the shop to pick out his magical familiar -- that are very, very Harry Potter (in this case, a mix of HP picking out his wand and his owl). Even the plot twists are predictable, unless you have never read another fantasy nor seen a fantasy movie nor played a fantasy game in your whole life. (view spoiler)

Nevertheless, despite all my complaining, it has some fun world-building with the way the familiars interact with their magicians and an appealing lead (the scruffy alley cat Aldwyn, who relies on his smarts for most of the book instead of magic, which is at least something. Of course, it's because he doesn't think he can do magic, except when he really, really needs to, it just happens, like it always does in these books).

It's very plotty and action-oriented, it has some funny moments, and though it feels a like a gimmick, it'll provide an entertaining, uncomplicated read for kids, who will probably get a kick out of picturing a cat, a frog, and a bird on the road together.(less)

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Mar 27, 2013 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

A mildly cute fantasy adventure where the main characters are animals instead of children.

Aldwyn is an ally cat. He's lived on the streets his whole life and uses his wits as a clever thief to fill his stomach and survive. Until one day when he is tricked by a fishmonger. The fishmonger sets a vicious bounty hunter after Aldwyn, who flees in fright. Aldwyn takes refuge in a strange shop, where he is mistaken as a wizard's familiar and adopted by Jack, a wizard in training. All seems to be going...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Barbara78e rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ho preso questo libro attratta dalla copertina (e dal prezzo: 9,90 non è male, per un libro appena uscito!). Era accanto a "Il ragazzo dei mondi infiniti", altro titolo che avevo preso e che mi era piaciuto molto. Così me lo sono portato a casa. E ho fatto bene! La storia è accattivante e mi ricorda un po' "Il prodigioso Maurice e i suoi geniali roditori": il protagonista, un simpatico e astuto gatto che si ritrova a compiere imprese mirabolanti, assieme a due compagni alquanto bizzarri, una ran...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Kristofer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you ever wonder if animals can use magic? An alley cat named Aldwyn is going to have an adventure using magic. Aldwyn is chased by a bounty hunter and quickly escapes into a magical pet store. Jack a boy who is a beginner wizard will pick one animal to help him go on adventures. He picks Aldwyn and regroups with his friends Dalton, Marianne and Kalstaff. Kalstaff is his teacher for magic. Marianne has a bird named Skylar and Dalton has a frog named Gilbert. While Kalstaff was teaching his a...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Angela Oliver rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, adventure, childrens, fantasy

Entertaining enough for me to finish, but not an overly great read. The characters seemed a little one dimensional - brave feline, sly/brainy jay and foolish frog (sound a little familair? It's like a furry Harry Potter). I felt sorry for Gilbert, his entire presence in the plot seemed to be to bumble around, make an idiot of himself and get mocked by all and sundry (ok, so he's more a Neville than a Ron). Plus there is no way you could disguise a frog as a chicken! Why did the jay with her awes...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-high, j

I confess that animal protagonists (setting aside Bunnicula and 101 Dalmatians) are not my thing, but I'm not sure why this book got such good reviews. The premise is fine, young animals trained to work as familiars with young wizards, a cat who accidentally gets chosen as a familiar despite not having a magical talent, a desperate quest - but this reads like a screenplay and leaps from action to action and conversation to conversation without a lot of the interconnection that makes a novel not...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Misslittlebookfeet rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved The Familiars; it was engaging, action-packed, entertaining and a good middle-grade novel. The idea of familiars is original and interesting - I'm glad that animals finally have the spotlight rather than humans. Human magic is always emphazized rather than the animals so points for this books because of that. I'm sick of seeing human wizards and witches in fantasy.

Anyway, Aldwyn an alley cat who steals to survive winds up in a odd pet shop where he is chosen to be a young human apprentic...more I loved The Familiars; it was engaging, action-packed, entertaining and a good middle-grade novel. The idea of familiars is original and interesting - I'm glad that animals finally have the spotlight rather than humans. Human magic is always emphazized rather than the animals so points for this books because of that. I'm sick of seeing human wizards and witches in fantasy.

Anyway, Aldwyn an alley cat who steals to survive winds up in a odd pet shop where he is chosen to be a young human apprentice, Jack's, familiar. He meets Skylar, an illusionist blue jay and Gilbert a tree frog who does puddle-viewing, who are two other familiars. He becomes accanquinted with them; enjoying Gilbert's company rather than Skylar's due to her know-it-all attiude. Unfortunately, a great peril is set upon them as a great evil kidnaps and threatens to kill their loyals which, result in the three familiars embarking on a journey to rescue their loyals and uncover a ancient history which they never knew...

My favorite character is Pakanshara. She is blessed with my favorite ability, shapeshifting, and is trying to place the animals at the top because the humans changed their proud history. I find that intriuging and I really did wish she succeeded in her goal and I hope she does even though my hope is futile. She's quite the character.

Otherwise, I enjoyed Aldwyn, Skylar and Gilbert. I loved Skylar the most 'cause Sky was as stubborn as a horse on a sunny afternoon. She flew with elegance and grace but had a whole slew of secrets in her aresnal. I'm glad that this story, though including wizards, had plenty of twists and nice touches rather than the endless slew of cliches and details in Harry Potter. I'm not a fan of HP as you can see.

This book should be meant for readers who are not ready for the heaviness, darkness and complexity of The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson. It should also serve as a relaxation book, to smile and laugh while reading along with it; basically a leisure book for it is certainly a good read. I'd recommend it to the above who want to have a nice lesiure book after a long, tiring day or just to read because it is certainly enjoyable and quite amazing.(less)

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Feb 08, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, j, not-graphic

A streetwise young thief has mastered survival in the back alleys and on the rooftops of a grimy medieval urban core. He sleeps free under the stars at night and has learned how to successfully take what he wants when he needs it, always planning opportunities three meals ahead and working his network of contacts. Until one day, when one of his regular targets hires the city’s best bounty hunter and they set a trap for him.

Fleeing for his life, the thief takes shelter in a magic shop and hides a...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Lydia Presley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, fiction, middle-grade

Okay – so I’m not a fan of books where animals speak and the story generally revolves around animals (and no, I never read that Warrior series). I used to love the movies centering around animals as a kid (Hello, Homeward Bound and Beethoven), but outgrew them in my teenage years.

Then The Familiars made it’s way through the blogosphere.. well, I would say.. burst its way instead of made its way. I’m seeing this book everywhere. My dislike of animal books kept me from outright buying it.. but now...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Mason Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

Our 7.5 year-old daughter read this one, and really liked it, so she encouraged me to read it too. For an adult it's a very quick read, of course, but a fun one. At first I was wondering if it was going to be too much of a Harry Potter pastiche, because the three familiars -- a cat, a bird, and a frog -- mimic the three friends. The cat is Harry, the bird is Hermione, and the frog is Ron's comic relief. But thankfully the story goes in a very different direction, and the animals have a great num...more

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Oct 24, 2010 Anila rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, galleys-are-win, save-me-from-the-tropes

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 12, 2013 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Upper Elementary and Middle School

Shelves: childrens-materials, mystery, kids, for-girls, for-boys, monsters, fantasy, dogs-or-cats, birds, best-chapter-books, animals, ages-8-and-up, 3rd-grade-age

For Grades 3 – 7, Age Range: 8 and up, Series: The Familiars book 1

Review:
Aldwyn is a smart, young alley cat of the queendom of Vastia, but when his breakfast has him on the run from the most feared bounty hunter Aldwyn must do whatever it takes to get away. He finds himself is a part of town that he has never been to before and ducks into a mysterious pet shop. This decision will change his life forever. But that’s exactly what happens when Jack, a young wizard, picks Aldwyn to be his magical f...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Nancy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, children-s-book-2012, mark-twain-2012-nominees

I found this book tedious. In a confusing beginning characters are called loyals (human wizards) and familiars (their animals). The story centers around the three animals a cat, Aldwyn, Gilbert, a frog, and Skylar, a Blue Jay. A traitorous hare has taken over the kingdom of Vastia and taken all the wizard powers from the humans so it is left to the three familiars who have prophecy that says they are to be the ones to save Vastia and restore it to its original power. Dangers arise on this long,...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Elisabetta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Prendete 3 maghetti;
Aggiungete 3 animaletti "speciali";
Cospargete il tutto con un pizzico di pericolo e di avventura;
Infine mescolate il tutto con un abbondante dose di magia.
Et voilà, ecco a voi "The Familiars"!
Qualcuno potrebbe storcere il naso pensando che sia una copia del favoloso ed intramontabile "Harry Potter", ma non è assolutamente così perchè... -rullo di tamburi-
i protagonisti principali sono i tre animali!
Per l'esattezza loro sono "famigli", ovvero animali dotati di una parti...more

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Nov 03, 2010 Madeline Smoot rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade

Aldwyn has always been a typical, if rather clever, alley cat trying to survive the streets of Vastia’s capitol city. When he is forced to hide in a pet shop while fleeing from the most dreaded animal bounty hunter in the land, a young wizard named Jack selects him to be his new familiar. Since only magical animals can serve as familiars, everyone including Jack and the familiars of Jack’s two classmates all assume that Aldwyn is a magical cat too. Only Aldwyn knows the truth — that he’s an ordi...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Teri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine-books

Great simple easy read for the young beginner fantasy fan or relunctant reader
This is a book that is for those readers that have outgrown the Magic Treehouse books but not ready for the heavy and darkness and complexity of HArry Potter and the hunger games models.
This is also a good choice IMO for the relunctant reader, one of which resides in my home.

This is not a book I am going to reccomend to my adult Young adult fan readers. It is too simple, too formulatic and too even rushed for them to...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Michele rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-fantasy, bluestem

This book is a great fantasy for kids! I am normally not a fan of stories from animals' point-of-view, but this book is an exception.

This is the story of Aldwyn, a regular ol' stray cat who winds up a young wizard boy's "familiar" when he takes shelter in a rather special pet shop while being chased down by a bounty hunter for stealing fish. Aldwyn meets two other animals familiars, a bird and a frog. At first, Aldwyn's greatest concern is that he doesn't actually have any magic--he was only hi...more

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Aug 13, 2012 DeLace Munger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, fantasy

I found this to be simple, fairly predictable and not challenging in any way. And I pretty much loved it!

The premise is that three familiars (one of whom is actually faking it) must go on a quest to save their "Loyals" as their masters are called. The main character is a resourceful alley cat who is pretending to be a familiar in order to hide out from a bounty hunter and finds that he enjoys his new life, especially after bonding with the young boy who chose him as his familiar.

It moved along...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Lisa Ard rated it 4 of 5 stars

This first scene in the book is a tense chase scene involving Aldwyn, a wily street cat, a fish shop owner and the hitman hired to eliminate the thieving cat. This is a good introduction to a book that ends up being one long chase, adventure and quest.

During Aldwyn's introductory escape, he takes cover inside a magical shop where he is picked out to be the animal "familiar" to a young wizard. When that wizard, along with his two fellow wizard pupils, is kidnapped, it's up to Aldwyn and the other...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series-to-finish

This book is recommended 9+, so more of a childrens book really than Young Adult. But saying that, it was a really fun and exciting read even for me as an adult! Aldwyn the alley cat, Gilbert the tree frog and Skylar the blue jay were gorgeous and made great main characters. The humans (or loyals as they are called in the book) only really took part at the beginning and end of the story.

Humour abound, mostly caused by Gilbert and his very clumsy ways (I loved this little tree frog) found me laug...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Mary (BookHounds) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, from-publisher-author, young-adult

This is a perfectly woven tale that should appeal to everyone! The story centers around three animal familiars who have magical capabilities (think the triumvirate of Harry Potter) and their human loyals. Familiars have been in story telling as long as there have been witches and are creatures who bond with humans and assist them in casting spells. Aldwyn, an alley cat on the run, hides in a magical pet store where he is quickly adopted by Jack and meets other familiars. Gilbert the tree frog (p...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Reading Vacation's Mom rated it 5 of 5 stars

This trio of familiars is adorable. Skylar is the blue-jay who acts all superior and has the power of creating illusions. Gilbert is the tree frog who constantly cracks jokes and has the power of seeing the future in puddle visions. And then there is Aldwyn, who tells this tale. He is just an ally cat, or so he thinks.

Familiars are the magical animal companions of their wizard loyals. In this story, Aldwyn is mistaken for a familiar and he is now in a predicament where he must live up to that di...more

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About Adam Jay Epstein

I grew up in Great Neck, NY loving all things fantasy and science fiction - from Dungeons and Dragons and the Legend of Zelda to Star Wars and Dr. Strange. I created and imagined new worlds and stories from an early age but never knew that I had the talent to be a writer until seventh grade, when my English teacher assigned our class to write the first ten pages of a sequel to The Good Earth. Afte...more

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