The Black Room (Dark Ground) [Hardcover]

Gillian Cross (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dark Ground | Publication Date: April 6, 2006

Robert has come back from a horrible ordeal in a strange parallel world. Now he can’t stop thinking about the people he left behind to face a winter that most won’t survive. When Robert sees a chance to save his friend Lorn, he is desperate to succeed. But is he prepared for the realities of her world? Meanwhile, Lorn struggles to lead the little band of survivors, even as she feels herself drawn to a secret tunnel where an unknown menace lurks.

Seamlessly blending fantasy with a hard-hitting survival tale, Gillian Cross has created a completely original psychological thriller.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-A sequel to The Dark Ground (Dutton, 2004). Sheltered in an underground cavern, Lorn and her band of miniaturized humans struggle to survive in a cold, dangerous, and hostile world. Above their heads, Tom, a normal-sized human boy, walks his dog in a park near his home, observes Rob, and ponders his old friend's recent personality changes. As chapters shift between the small, vulnerable people and the young adults interacting above them, Tom learns that Rob had consciously entered a tiny double of himself, and that Lorn and her friends came to his rescue in a landscape made alien by Rob's relative size in The Dark Ground (Dutton, 2004). Back to his normal size, he is trying to help Lorn and her friends as best he can. Tom's chance encounter with a mentally retarded boy leads Rob and Tom to an underground black room, where the boy's horribly abused sister, Hope-clearly Lorn's double-is imprisoned. Shifting perspectives, cliff-hanger chapter endings, and fast-paced action paired with believable, sympathetic characters make this a compelling read. Hope's father is a terrifying antagonist, relentlessly pursuing the boys who seek to return his daughter to her rightful mind. Their quest is fulfilled in an unexpected way, but the rules governing the trilogy's fantasy elements are left unexplained. A mysterious blue-eyed man seems to be involved. This fantasy thriller amply satisfies readers' appetites, all the while arousing their hunger for the final volume.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. In this sequel to The Dark Ground (2004), Robert, who returned home at the end of the first book, tries to help his former Lilliputian friends survive the winter. He embarks on a desperate search to reunite Lorn with her human-size self. Unfortunately, his endeavors do little to advance the murky plot, and readers may be disappointed because so many questions remain unanswered. There's a lot to sort out in the final volume of the trilogy. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525474870
• ISBN-13: 978-0525474876
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,971,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Missing Links and Dark Truths, August 14, 2007

By 

Shanshad "shanachie_shadowfax" (Discworld) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Black Room (Dark Ground) (Hardcover)

Gillian Cross is back with the second book in her Dark Ground Trilogy! Quick note to readers who have not read the first book: The Dark Ground. This review will contain spoilers for the first story, so you may want to read it before you continue on in this review. Fans of Gillian Cross have been waiting quite a time for this next book in the trilogy. Fortunately, the Black Room is now out and this strange saga can continue!

The story reopens not long after we left characters in The Dark Ground. Robert and his sister continue to try and help those tiny folk he left behind, providing them with materials to last out the winter. But the Robert who has returned to his old life is not the same boy he was before--and his best friend Tom is beside himself trying to figure out what's happened to change him so drastically. Tom is not about to lose his friend quietly, but when he discovers what Robert and his sister are doing he's reluctantly forced to accept that something impossible and incredible is going on. Robert desperately wants to help his small friends rediscover their own lives and when he discovers a chance to help his friend Lorn, he'll do anything he can to save her. With Tom's help, Robert is determined to find Lorn and rescue her before the coming winter, but can he deal with the dark truths that he will discover?

This is one of those books where it is nearly impossible to explain the story properly without giving huge amounts of it away. Ms. Cross' work continues to be profoundly different from the usual fantasy story. There is nothing cute or twee or sparkly in this tale, despite using the convention of miniature people and the strange magic that has caused them to be "shrunk". In fact, it's easy to forget this is a fantasy, despite the strangeness that goes on. The author's writing style takes what is strange so matter-of-factly that it becomes just one more piece in a gripping and bizarre story. The style is refreshing after reading so many stories where characters spend endless time reflecting and considering and analyzing things. Characters relate through confrontation and action, all of which seems real without falling into stereotype and painful cliché. Some readers might find the style a bit brusque, but it worked for me. The plot may be less satisfying for some readers in that it doesn't clear up the pervading mystery nor does it exactly hint what's going to happen to our characters by the end of the trilogy. If the author intends to illuminate the why's of what's happened, there's going to be a lot of ground for book 3 to cover! Still, the ending is unexpected and satisfying in its own unique way.

Given the disturbing nature of some of the things our hero discovers about Lorn, this book is not light reading and may be inappropriate for younger readers. This is likely best for those readers who are young adults, although if a mature younger reader liked the first book, they'll probably enjoy this one. I'm hoping it won't be another long wait for the third book in the trilogy, because I'm eagerly looking forward to finding out what will happen next! Those who enjoyed this might want to try The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. For those who are looking for lighter books on little people, try Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy!

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad