18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic in the making, February 6, 2004
The Secret Country Trilogy is one of the best reprinted by Firebird Books, one of the best fantasy imprints presently in existance. In the first book, "The Secret Country," Pamela Dean draws readers into a magical story that brings to mind classics of the fantasy genre.
Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played at the "Secret" for almost a decade, weaving elaborate medieval fantasies full of magic, treachery, wizards, unicorns, sorceresses and plenty of political intrigue. But one day things change: Ted and Laura discover a house that wasn't there before, and a little sword with blue stones stuck in a hedge. The sword somehow pulls them into the Secret Country, where their games have become reality.
Patrick, Ruth and Ellen have also been pulled into the Secret Country, and now have the status and abilities of their fictional alter egos. But they don't have time to be excited about it, before being swept into a growing war and possible treachery. But the Secret Country now threatens to be more deadly than a mere game -- they don't know as much about the future events as they think, and they aren't sure how they can get back home.
While it sounds like a thousand D&D roleplaying novels, "Secret Country's" sense of humor and delicate writing elevate it beyond other novels where the heroes get sucked into their own fantasy world. But despite seemingly cutesy plot elements (unicorns) and names ("Well of the White Witch"), this book avoids being precious at any point.
The writing has the crisp quality of old favorites, bringing to mind classic fantasy authors like C.S. Lewis and Susan Cooper. With relatively few words she brings the book's events to life ("Ted was watching Matthew dismember some complicated shellfish"), with humor and plenty of detail. The contrast between the teenage heroes and the medieval lords is sharply defined by their speech and behavior.
At the start of the book, like in the Narnia Chronicles, it's a little hard to separate the individual leads from one another. But as the book progresses, they start to become distinct and vivid individually. Clumsy Laura, thoughtful Ted, possibly magical Ruth and the others make good, solid, believable leads for this book.
The Secret Country trilogy is being brought to a new wave of fantasy fans. "The Secret Country" is well-written, bright with imagination and well worth reading.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five stars for the trilogy, July 26, 2005
I picked this book up at the store several times, and always set it down again. Finally I found an old edition at a used book store, and took the plunge. Boy, am I glad the trilogy was reprinted! The Secret Country ends rather abruptly, leaving very little resolved except the reader's intention to find book number two. Which I did. And read in one sitting the same night. I did not understand all of it, and certainly did not catch all the literary references, but when I reached the end of the trilogy, I wanted nothing so much as to pick up the first and start it again, merely for the pleasure of keeping company with the likes of Ted, Ruth, Laura, and the various denizens of the Hidden Land. And much the same way as I check every wardrobe I see for a passageway to Narnia, I will now keep a sharp eye for strange houses surrounded by hedges. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my book calling...
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent - Read the Others!, July 28, 2004
A Kid's Review
The Secret Country is the first title in the Secret Country trilogy, which takes the usual kids-from-our-world-are-transported-to-a-magical-realm story structure and turns it on its head. Not only do these kids know this world - they've made up stories about it and acted them out for many years - but they find they're forced to take the places of the princes, princesses, and sorcerers everyone in the Secret Country thinks they are, even though they can't fight with swords or use magic. In addition, the five children are finding that not everything they made up in their games turns out to be true...
The Secret Country is now one of my favorite books, and I've re-read it several times - I can't believe it ever went out of print! The world and plot are quite unlike anything else I've read, and the five children were all very vivid and distinct people - I never mixed them up, one of the problems I've found in other stories. Other characters were also well written, and I enjoyed the mix of the somewhat Shakespearean speech of the inhabitants of the Secret Country with the modern talk of the children. The unicorns were also very interesting, with their wry sense of humor and ambivalent attitude towards humans.
If you the choice to read The Secret Country, it might be a good idea to note that this is one of those trilogies in which the three volumes are really just one long story, with cliffhanger endings. I wish someone had told me that when I first read this book - I immediately had to go back to the bookstore to purchase the next two books - they're titled The Hidden Land and The Whim of the Dragon, in case you didn't know.
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