Stories that entertain. Ideas that last.
Adam Caplan is an author, storyteller and experienced trainer. He writes adventure stories for young readers that explore big ideas - maths, history, courage, friendship and what it means to keep going, even when things look bleak.
His latest book, Mathatar is a fast-moving time-slip adventure.
What if maths was not just something we use to describe the world?
What if it was one of the things holding the world together?
Mathatar is an adventure series for curious readers, reluctant mathematicians, confident problem-solvers, dog lovers, history fans, and anyone who has ever wondered whether the universe might be a little stranger than it looks.
When fourteen-year-old Maya discovers that small mathematical distortions — known as mathslips — are beginning to damage reality, she is pulled into a journey through ancient history, impossible portals, lost knowledge, and a danger that wants to redact mathematics itself.
And, of course, her grandfather’s Labrador, Fella, comes too.
Author of Mathatar
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Where maths, history and reality collide
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A story for readers who like adventure with something real underneath it
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Author of Mathatar · Where maths, history and reality collide · A story for readers who like adventure with something real underneath it ·
A story for readers who like adventure with something real underneath it.
At its heart, Mathatar is a fast-moving time-slip adventure. But beneath the portals, puzzles, ancient cities and strange enemies is a bigger idea: that mathematics is not dry, separate or lifeless. It is pattern, structure, rhythm, proof, quantity, shape and order. It is part of how we understand reality.
Maya does not begin the story as a maths genius. She begins as a real fourteen-year-old girl who notices that something is wrong and refuses to look away.
With the help of Aya, a sharp and practical girl from ancient Ur; Fletcher, her loyal and occasionally chaotic friend from home; Grandad, who knows far more than he has ever admitted; and Fella, whose noble nose may be more important than anyone expects, Maya must work out what is being stolen before reality starts to come apart.
Why Mathatar exists
Making maths feel alive
For many children, maths can feel like a subject full of rules, tests and right-or-wrong answers.
But maths is also one of humanity’s oldest stories.
It began with counting. It grew through trade, calendars, buildings, stars, music, measurement, pattern, and the need to make sense of the world. Mathatar takes that history and turns it into adventure.
The aim is not to disguise a lesson as a story. The aim is to tell a gripping story in which the ideas matter.
About Adam
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About the author
Adam Caplan is an author, speaker and storyteller with a long-standing fascination for the way ideas change people’s lives.
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Before Mathatar
Adam spent more than twenty-five years in sales training, coaching and communication, helping people understand complex ideas and turn them into action.
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Instincts
That same instinct sits behind his fiction: take something that can feel intimidating, make it human, and tell a story people want to follow.
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Style
He writes with warmth, humour and pace, creating stories that are adventurous, emotionally grounded and full of wonder.
News & Updates
Follow the journey
Mathatar is currently being prepared for submission and publication opportunities.
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