The Archons, a race of shape-shifting, technologically superior lizard aliens, have conquered Earth and subjugated its people. With the help of the benevolent Lumerians and their magic timepieces, teenagers Zya Nicole Jenkins and Elijah Morgan travel through time to gather seven ancient artifacts that could turn the tide of the conflict and free humanity once and for all.
The Guardians encounter legendary deities, famous historical figures and have their friendship tested as they explore Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece and other historically mythological settings in this gripping fantasy series that, ultimately, asks what it means to be human.
Jabril Yousef Faraj is an award-winning Young Adult Fantasy author.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Midwest, the nonbinary, Arab-American artist is an Edward R. Murrow award recipient and alumnus of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Faraj’s fiction debut, Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks: The Emerald Tablets, garnered the 2025 Literary Global Children’s Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel, was a finalist for the Children’s Book International Award in Fantasy and runner-up at the New York Book Festival.
Faraj is a lover of classic fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin and Star Wars. Homeschooled until high school, they read voraciously as a young person, inspired by the stories of C.S. Lewis, the Childhood of Famous Americans series and countless Newbery Medal winners. Likewise, Faraj aims to inspire the next generation with imaginative worlds, dynamic characters and encouraging themes.