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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Forth Installment Can't Come Quickly Enough, October 31, 2003
The mysterious tale of the Spiderwick legacy continues in the third installment of the Chronicles, as the twins Jared and Simon Grace and their elder sister Mallory run into more members of the faery world in their ongoing study of great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Faery World. After moving into the Spiderwick Estate with their divorced mother, the three siblings found the secret library of Arthur, who vanished several years ago, leaving only his comprehensive guide to the faery world that surrounds his home. It is this world that the Grace children are gradually getting to know, and already they have a couple of brownie/boggart and hobgoblin friends and an injured griffin in the barn. But it just so happens that after centuries of abuse and destruction, the faeries aren't so keen on humans learning about their world once more, and so are out to stop them by any means possible. Mallory and Simon are rather keen on ridding themselves of the Guidebook and thereby getting themselves out of trouble, but Jared, who feels the study of faeries is the only thing he's been really good at refuses, and instead suggest visiting great-aunt Lucinda, the daughter of Arthur Spiderwick, who might have some answers to their questions. From the visit at the old person's home to the discovery of an old map in Arthur's libary, the three children decide to set out and discover what actually happened to Arthur. This leads them to the riddle-speaking Phooka (one of the book's best characters yet!) and the court of the noble, beautiful, but extremely suspicious elves, who are the guardians of the realm of faery, and not at all pleased that humans have breached their domain... I am loving the Spiderwick Chronicles, and personally can't wait until the next installment "The Ironwood Tree" is published, as it promises even more faeries, including dwarfs! As the poem at the back of "Lucinda's Secret" says: "And beneath the old quarry, just outside of town, lives a king with a kingdom, but who wears the crown?" It is almost cruel that publishers make us wait so long. To a point, "Lucinda's Secret" was not quite up to the success of the two previous books, as the story was quite clearly split into two: the visit to the nursing home, and the trek into the faery realms. Perhaps if they had found the map earlier, and shown it to Lucinda, the book would have felt more fluid. As such, I'm getting a tad concerned at the outcome of this series - its been established that there's only five books in the series, but so far more and more characters and situations are being introduced, with nothing really getting resolved. On top of the theme of the children inflicting on the secret world of the faeries (a theme I thought was more than enough to carry the series along) there were hints here that a good and evil plot strand is arriving soon, with mention of one Mulgarath the ogre gathering malevolent forces to him. Of course, its rather useless worrying about it yet, but I'd hate to be disappointed in this great series, and the sheer shortness of the books (I read "Lucinda's Secret in half an hour) means that there's a lot of ground to cover in the remaining two books, and I'd hate to see Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, Byron or the Phooka shortchanged in wrapping up the story. Likewise, the promised "Lucinda's Secret" wasn't so much of a startling revelation than simply a little background to the Spiderwick family and reassurting what the children already know - not much of a secret! However, the faery lore that Holly Black places within the context of the story is truly wonderful - any long time scholars of faeries will delight in seeing the dangers of faery food, the technique of wearing one's clothes worn inside out, the faery use of stray sods and the power imbued in a name put to good use. And Tony DiTerlizzi's illustrations are an absolute delight. The beautifully clear and intricate pictures perfectly capture what the text describes, and creates what I consider the *real* nature of faery - not a silly, pretty little world, but quirky, intricate, and a little dangerous. Any fans of Brian Froud will adore Tony DiTerlizzi's drawings, and I myself almost wept with delight at his depiction of the unicorn - no sweet little pony, but small and stunted, with lion's paws and tail and a goat's beard: exactly how the original unicorns were depicted. Finally, the presentation of the book is stunning, especially in regard to the way the author creates it as a 'real story', with the children of the story actually writing to the authors with their story (and their letter is included!) The Spiderwick Chronicles are perfect for bringing lore of faery to a new generation, and I can't wait for the next book!
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by Holly Black
by Holly Black
by Tony DiTerlizzi
by Holly Black
by Tony DiTerlizzi
by James Horner 
