The Black Reckoning is the third novel of the children's fantasy trilogy The Books of Beginning by John Stephens. The narrative focuses on siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma as they race to find the Book of Death, completing their collection of the Books of Beginning and giving them insurmountable power, before the primary antagonist Dire Magnus.

Emma must journey throughout the world and beyond it- confronting monsters, ghosts, and the darkness within herself before time itself unravels. Only if she can master the powers of this most dangerous book will she, Kate, and Michael be able to save the world from the dramatic, deadly final confrontation between magical and ordinary people that the Dire Magnus has in store.