The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour - by Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos

Book Synopsis

"A superb choice for fans of Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series, Tom Booth's Eerie-on-Sea books, and creepypastas." ―Booklist, Starred Review

What if your favorite scary story was real?

With eerie illustrations and chilling creepypasta interstitials, The Doomsday Archives: The Wandering Hour by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos is the first in a deliciously creepy series, perfect for readers of Jonathan Stroud, Christian McKay Heidicker, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

New Rotterdam is no place for a kid―and that's what Emrys Houtman likes about it. Emrys obsessively documents his town's urban legends and cryptid sightings in a Wiki, along with his neighbors and fellow horror fans Hazel and Serena. It's all in good fun until one day, the trio stumbles upon the Doomsday Archives, a collection of relics with dazzling powers and dangerous consequences.

When a mysterious blood-red hourglass begins appearing around town and children begin to go missing, the trio must band together to stop the horrors plaguing New Rotterdam, or risk losing their home . . . and possibly their lives. Because after all this time hunting monsters, the kids have realized the monsters are now hunting them back.

Review Quotes

A Junior Library Guild Selection
An Indie Next List Pick

★ "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

About the Author

Nick Eliopulos (Author)
Nick Eliopulos is an author, editor, teacher, and game designer. His writing credits include the shop-simulator video game Potionomics; more than a dozen officially licensed Minecraft books; and, with co-author Zack Loran Clark, The Adventurers Guild trilogy. Nick lives with his husband in Upstate New York.