Customer Reviews

The Hidden Land (The Secret Country Trilogy, Vol. 2)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pamela Dean's Secret Country Trilogy has only recently come back into the spotlight, when reprinted by Firebird Books. Now the second volume of this quirky epic is out: "The Hidden Land." It suffers from a bit of middle-volume syndrome, but it keeps up the pace and builds up suspense and plot for volume three.

In the first book of the trilogy, five cousins suddenly got swept away into the Secret Country -- a magical land of wizards, dragons, unicorns, nobles and kings, which they thought they had made up as a game. Now they have taken the parts they set down for themselves, ranging from sorceresses to crown princes -- and a person they never made up has shown up: the mysterious Claudia.

Now things take a not-so-unexpected turn, when the kids try to keep the King from being murdered. But the king dies anyhow -- and the question of whodunnit only makes things more complicated. Since he is the crown prince, Ted has to ascend the throne, but since he isn't really Prince Edward, he's uneasy about it. But despite his lack of experience, he must find a way to ready the Hidden Land for war against the Dragon King... even if he dies in the process.

Dean jumps headlong back into the story without missing a step. "The Hidden Land," like its predecessor, takes a lot of basic fantasy elements and whips them together into something fresh. Kids in a fantasy land, wizards, unicorns, evil dark lord, and plenty of other stuff. Don't worry -- Dean's sense of whimsy and mystery carries it through.

Her descriptions are detailed but avoid being grandiose. Dean takes the story seriously but doesn't make it pretentious. She also mixes together "ye olde" speak and modern English, keeping the medieval people from sounding like modern Americans, and Americans from sounding like ye olde medieval types. You can't forget that these scared, confused kids are not native to the Secret Country.

Ted is perhaps the character who grows the most in this book, since he's struggling to keep afloat as the new King. But all the cousins have become more confident and able. (In a few cases, they act oddly because of their adventures). Some are stronger, some are wiser, and some are just handling the situation well. But they are still portrayed as kids stuck in a fantasy game gone wild.

"The Hidden Land" suffers from the awkwardness of being in the middle of the trilogy. But it remains a budding classic, with its whimsically serious story and likable characters. Highly recommended.

I originally picked up this trilogy because it looked interesting and the other reviewers raved about it. Chapters into the first book, I began to wonder why it was so beloved. More questions than answers swam across the page, drowning me in confusion and frustration. I felt thrown into a sea without a life preserver. The language was too archaic at times, and I constantly felt I was not being given enough information to process the storyline.

I felt like I was plowing through the book with an old, tired horse in a massive field full of rocks while the burning sun beat down from above. Being a complete-ist, however, I trudged on and picked up book #2. Halfway through, I pleasantly discovered that my horse was more spry, the rocks had disappeared from the field, and I was wearing a broad-rimmed hat. I was still plowing, but it wasn't nearly as painful. By book #3, I had a tractor, cool breeze, and lemonade in my hand. The work was no longer a chore but a welcome vacation I found thoroughly enjoyable.

I can hardly account for the transition, but it did happen. I recommend the trilogy to those who are not afraid to persevere in the beginning to achieve a great reward in the end.

Nobody, nobody, nobody writes like Pamela Dean. Some writers have written as well, but no writer of prose has ever had a voice that somehow manages to feel like Tom O'Bedlam's song.

_The Hidden Land_ continues the story begun in _The Secret Country_ and finishing in _The Whim of the Dragon._ The protagonists are a group of kids of various ages, and the story is entirely suitable for either children or adults. I can't recommend it too highly; the writing sings. It's replete with literary allusions interwoven in a fashion entirely suitable to the setting and the subject.

Just passing on good news I've heard -- the series is to be reprinted starting in 2003! If you couldn't find The Whim of the Dragon, the third book, just wait -- relief is in sight!
Aside from that, it's a worthy follow-up to The Secret Country, but very much dependent on it -- don't try to read this alone. Good reading to you!

Absolutely excellent book! In this book, Ted, Ruth, Patrick, Ellen, and Laura find out that the things that sound romantic, heroic, and exciting in theory aren't much fun in real life. This is a must read if you've read The Secret Country, as it continues the tale of the children as they try to avoid the dilemmas they'd created for themselves in the safety of their own home when living their story in The Hidden Land.