Book Description
For the past nine years, cousins Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played at "The Secret"-a game full of witches, unicorns, a magic ring and court intrigue. In The Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real. They have arrived at the start of their game, with the Country on the edge of war. What was once exciting and wonderful now looms threateningly before them, and no one is sure how to stop it . . . or if they will ever get back home. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Possibly the best book I have read in 40 years
This is not Narnia. These are real kids and real adults too (seen through kids' eyes). The language is deft, dense with layers of meaning and allusion - the more you bring to this book, the more you get from it. (The third book also works as a great source of enjoyable poetry.) Run, don't walk, to your nearest source and buy all three now.

The Secret Country
This book and its sequels are three of my very favorites. By chance I found them in the book store. I was just browsing, and the cover page caught my eye. Grabbing it, I read the back and was immediatly intrigued. It was a book about something that made me think. I bought it and its sequels, and immediatly fell in love with them. Pamela Dean's expressive and realistic characters are so inviting that you can't put it down. The dialoge is amazing, and the plot intricate with its many slip-ups and twists.

For years five very different cousins Ruth, Ted, Patrick, Ellen, and Laura have played a game they call the Secret. It is filled to the brim with mystery, drama, court intrigue, mystical beasts, enemy kingdoms, and most of all, magic. The Secret has characters that the cousins have based off of themselves, or who they wish to be. Lady Ruth, Prince Edward, Prince Patrick, Princess Ellen, and Princess Laura, are the royal children. There are many other quirky characters that fill the game and keep it interesting. Then, by chance or by fate, the five find themselves in their Secret Country, playing their pretend roles as the many twists and turns of their plot unfold. The cousins soon realize that they must stop everything they acted out at home, and that they have to find a way back to their real lives.

The Secret Country is a book that describes every book-lover and play-maker's dream: what if the imaginary worlds we dream about become real? It is a book every lover of fantasy should read.

the secret country
Ted and Laurie found a sword that took them into the wondrous world that they and their cousins Ruth, Patrick, and Ellen created. Many different events have been happening and few have turned out the way they were supposed. It seemed that their fantasy world was taking control now and they were just visiting. It was time to play their roles and find out what was happening. If you are interested to find out what happens next, read The Secret Country by Pamela Dean. I would highly recommend this book to all teen readers.

The first reason I would recommend this book is because of its plot. For example, the "secret country" took years to prepare and to make choices. Another instance is when Ted has a dream of a fencing match with Lord Randolph and uses the dream as a base for his fencing techniques. The last instance is when they use Sham's Ring to pause time in their own world so they stay out of trouble.

Another reason I would recommend this book is for its indifference from other fantasy books. Such as, the Unicorns are the most powerful beings. Another example is that five kids are to change the country's destiny and to save it from the Dragon King. A third example is that there are swords that allow them to travel at will between the worlds and are able to cast light. One last example is that their game is turning real and that they have no control.

The final reason I would recommend this book is because of its creativity. Like, the children must not get caught in their other world clothes. The characters each have their own abilities and weaknesses. Ruth is a witch, Ted is a practiced swordsman and Laura is a princess and there are more abilities for each character. And that the secret country is on Pennsylvania's time meaning that it's hard to sneak out and not get in trouble for all of the kids.

I would recommend this book to all readers that prefer fantasy books. This book starts out slow, but eventually the plot speeds up and it becomes more interesting. The plot will keep you wanting more as you get further into it, although it will still have slow parts. There is some action throughout the book, but the amount increases as you near the end of the book. If you liked this book be sure to grab a copy of the next two books in the series.

N. Koester

The Secret:Each Book Gets Better
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.

Five stars for the trilogy
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... ... Read more

Amazon.com
In Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary, Pamela Deanexplores the life of 15-year-old Gentian (the middle of the three titular sisters)--the homework, the Halloween parties with her best friends, the spatswith elder sister Juniper.Gentian is a student at an "open" high school,and her telescope and astronomical observations are her paramountinterests. Then her well-ordered days are disturbed by traces of a mystery. Ahouse suddenly appears next door, complete with a darkly handsome boywho speaks only in quotations. Is he interested in Gentian, or Juniper,or even Rosemary? The final conflict of the book involves a time machinein the attic and unfurls with a hallucinogenic intensity. In her firstseries, which started with Secret Country, Dean depicted an absorbing fantasyworld with an old-fashioned flavor.Here, she shows herself to be a careful, highly controlled writer with a thorough knowledge of the heart ofa gifted teenager. --Blaise SelbyBook Description
Deans excellent fantasy takes its inspiration from the oft-told folktale. With truly marvelous skill, Dean weaves together adolescent social and romantic fumbling, hints of magical feuds, a Nancy Drew-like mystery, urban fantasy in the manner of Charles de Lint. Booklist ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Fascinating - leaves one wondering
This book is very Pamela Dean-ish; drawing one deep into the world of a geeky, literate teenager.I loved the experience of reading it because I love the way she deals with relationships and friendships; the way in which things do not have to be spelled out between people; the way in which her characters run on assumptions in the way that we all do... but few authors capture quite as well.

The supernatural boy-next-door element left me feeling a bit like there was something I had missed - and that the something was not even included in the book.I felt that perhaps there was some literary or allegorical reference that I should have known, but didn't.

I agree with some reviewers that the big plot resolution was disappointing in some way, and then Gentian's conversation with her parents seemed shockingly low-key, but the fact that the book ends with her inner struggle about how to fix her relationship with her friend is spot-on.Again, we are not told how Gentian is feeling, but we "feel" it anyway.

Has its moments
When Pamela Dean is at her best, her books are well-written, intelligent, funny and clever. Her plots are intricate and exciting, with frequent nods to the great English literary masters. Tam Lin was an example of this. Juniper, Gentian and Rosemary, however, is not.
The problem with this book is that it's chock-full of Mary Sues, to such an extent that it would make an enthusiastic fanfiction writer blanch. This is a book about children, but they are all smart enough to be multiple Nobel prize winners -- they excel at astronomy and poetry, quote Shakespeare like English scholars -- and they act like adults. I have yet to meet a 13-year old with the intellectual capacity and vocabulary of Gentian, the main character and heroine. The way the children speak to each other, their musings -- it doesn't feel real.
In addition, the plot is too thin. Too many threads are left hanging loose at the ending, and this, I am sad to say, makes for quite an unsatisfactory read. It is a shame, because Pamela Dean can be a really good writer (even though, at times, she seems to have a somewhat militant atheist agenda; but, alas, that is a whole other discussion).

I haven't decided yet...
I picked up The Secret Country Trilogy a couple of months ago and absolutely fell in love with it.I love Dean's writing style, her characters, the story, and the fact that I can re-read it four times (and counting) and still discover things I missed the first time.The point of this digression is that I was highly motivated to seek out other books by this author, and now I almost wish I hadn't.While her characters still had some of the same sparkle, and the vocabulary was refreshingly erudite, this book was somehow lacking in substance and ultimate resolution.I enjoyed the interplay of characters, but there were too many issues that never got wrapped up at the end.At several points during my reading of the book, I had the strangest sense that I'd read the book before, because it all seemed very familiar to me.Upon further reflection, I decided it reminded me of another book I just finished, "Alison, Who Went Away."And quite frankly, that book dealt with many similar themes in a much more satisfactory manner.So if you're looking for a wonderful story with exquisite characters and a satisfying end, skip this one and find a copy of "The Secret Country."You won't be sorry.

A rite of passage.
This is a terrible book that I have read four times. Some books seem to have a character that are not quantifiable by the credibility of their plot or the fickle nature of their characters. Although dealing with fantasy this story is not in essence fantastic. The warmth of friendship, both within and outside the family, is the factor that first comes to mind when thinking of this book and it is this that has provided the impetus for my repeated readings. It is not a book that sits comfortably within known genres, on my bookshelves it sits alongside "Franny and Zoey," as a great book to read when you are ill.

Interesting charactors that desrvea better story..
The main charactor of Gentian,(whom I liked,although she(and her group,the ironically named Giant Ants", were a bit precocious for my taste at times) are an unusual group of young girls who'd rather discuss Shakespeare than boys & fashion. A highly mysterious (and handsome)boy,Dominic ,shows up in the neighborhood in time to shake up Gentian's placid existance. His amibiguity and Time Machine project kept me reading.Unfortunately,the project, like the book,never seems to take off and a strange spell(or curse?) that they father placed on his daughters so they would'nt ever want to run off with any handsome,intriguing young mensends the story off in an unsatifying direction(which,hopefully. I certainly he lifts by the time they're of age! ) Overall,this book was less about fantasy and more like an updated Little Women(whom the author refers quite a bit) Not would you'd expect,but not terrible either,just a bit of let-down. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Difficult, but Beautiful
This book... I read it a long time ago, and wasn't sure I understood it. And I've just read it again, and understood it quite a bit more - it's one of those things that can catch a little piece of your mind, and hold it, but that you might not understand for a long time.

It's really amazing - it's so difficult to understand a truly different way of knowing something, but she does it. It's told from the point of view of a fourteen year old girl whose province of knowledge is pain. This sounds painful, but it's not; what's painful is learning, and change.

It's also, inceidentally, a werewolf story; but not the traditional sort. This is not what you come looking for when you look for a traditional werewolf story, which is why at least one reader was disapointed in it. This is a metaphor, a poem, a story about change and the casual way it can cause us harm, and choice and a fully functioning society utterly different from anything else I've ever read. It's beautiful and should probably have a lot of awards.

I have never been able to get it out of my head. I hope I never do.

a fascinating exploration of knowledge
A wonderful rural fantasy in which a small hilly community is the result of an experiment that renders all the inhabitants with the ability to only know one thing for certain.Only one person in the village knows the proper name for things, only one person knows, truly, what is beautiful, only one person knows when something is broken, and only one person knows how to fix something.People are unsure, dubious, about everything else.Children are not born with their knowledge, they grow into it, and sometimes the revelation can be painful.Arry is the 14-year old physici of the village, the only person that knows when something is broken, she feels the pain of others and must tell them when they are hurting.This is a lot for a 14 year old to deal with.Since her parents disappeared, she must also look after her younger brother and sister, quiet Beldi and spirited Con.She has her hands full, but there are other problems, she feels as if Beldi is hurting, but nothing seems broken.Who's jurisdiction is such a thing?Can she help him, who would know what is wrong?Beldi, of course, is hurting at the absence of his parents, but Arry does not have the 'knowledge' to know this.

The precise nature of knowledge in this story creates the opportunity for some wonderful jokes.There is a constant going from person to person in the village verifying information, as no one can be sure if what someone else says is the truth, there is the perpetually dubious reply 'who says so?', the response of a taunting child in our world, but an earnestly serious response in these dubious hills.When Arry is frustrated, she curses by saying 'Doubt!' and calls the damnable family cats that get into everything 'doubtful' because they are always under her feet.Doubt, of course, is the most frustrating and tentative thing about this hilly place, rendering it perfect for cussing.Dean also takes the lines from poetry by Keats, Gerald Manly Hopkins etc and makes it into the little spells children under 5 use to help out around the village.The lines of such familar poetry used for the little magic that is used in the village is a homely and lyrical touch.the magic is not invasive, it adds just enough of an otherworldly quality to this wonderfully realised world.

Dean is an exceptional world builder, right up there with Ursula Le Guin, but the thing that I love is theminature size of her worlds.They are child-sized worlds for adults.She treats the presence of evil intelligently and delicately in her work, understanding that it is a complex part of being human.Someone in one of the other reviews here critisied the ending of the Dubious Hills, but if you don't appreciate the ending, you've missed the point of the whole book.They have found a way to escape the doubt that plagues their lives, and think how gratifying it is to know things for certain.I think the Dubious Hills is a critical utopia, and an exceptional exploration of knowlege.I'm agog that such a simple story can have such a deeply philosophical edge to it.Dean is, in truth, a master storyteller, she can weave such complex and delightful worlds in so few words.Her language is deft, quiet, simple.But she creates complex, realistic places and situations.This is a superb book.

Not what I had hoped/ expected/ wanted...
My milage varies considerably from the other reviewers of this book.I finished it, but resentfully.

I bought it because it was inexpensive and I didn't like Dean's _Tam Lin._I wanted to give her another shot.I also was hoping, thinking that it would be like _The Giver._Superficially, it is, but then it gets into the whole werewolf: should we or shouldn't we question.To me, it was a silly question, a silly simple society and characters I found I didn't care about.

Rather than this I recommend Peter David's _Howling Mad._It's about a wolf that gets bitten by a werewolf and becomes a man every full moon.

Beautiful
I've read it about five times so far, and I know I will keep picking it up every once in a while.It's a seductive world Dean creates.And unlike most fantasy writers, Dean does not write for the lowest commondenominator.This is literature.

A while ago, when my mother (an Englishmajor and Yeats fan who often asks me when I plan to read real booksinstead of fantasy) was desperate for something to read, I handed her thisbook.

She loved it.

Wonderful.
It's not quite as lyrical as the Secret Country books, but it's a marvelous read. It's set in the same world, but not the same land, as the Secret Country books, in a strange land where specialization has magicallybeen taken to a bizarre and fascinating extreme.

None of Pamela Dean'sbooks should ever be out of stock or out of print. I cannot praise herunique writing style highly enough. Look for _The Secret Country,_ _TheHidden Land,_ and _The Whim of the Dragon,_ too; they're among the verybest fantasy ever written. ... Read more

Book Description
The five cousins are still trapped in the Secret Country, and must play their parts. When the King is poisoned, Ted-Prince Edward-must take the throne, even though he has no idea how to rule a country, battle magic, or inspire followers. Soon enough he will have to do all three because the Country is on the verge of war with the treacherous Dragon King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Secret:Each Book Gets Better
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.

Hidden away
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.

AWESOME! This from a 26-year old, hehehe
I was going up and down the isle of my favorite book store when I stumbled on the interesting cover of this book. I picked it up going, wow, what is this about? I read the back cover. My heart raced suddenly. Could it be true? A book with such an interesting story idea like this? I didn't even read the first book but by instinct picked up ALL THREE books in the trilogy at once. Boy, was that a smart thing to do.

(...)

Good news!
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!

Six stars!
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 storybegun 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 isentirely suitable for either children or adults. I can't recommend it toohighly; the writing sings. It's replete with literary allusions interwovenin a fashion entirely suitable to the setting and the subject. ... Read more

Book Description
In the ancient Scottish ballad "Tam Lin," headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover's body and soul. In this version of "Tam Lin," masterfully crafted by Pamela Dean, Janet is a college student, "Carterhaugh" is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. Set against the backdrop of the early 1970s, imbued with wit, poetry, romance, and magic, Tam Lin has become a cult classic—and once you begin reading, you'll know why. This reissue features an updated introduction by the book's original editor, the acclaimed Terri Windling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (103)

Possibly my favorite book ever.
This is probably my favorite book. It is in fact the second time I have read it, but it's still amazingly awesome. It's a retelling of the Tam Lin ballads from Scotland, set in a college in the 1970's and populated by incredibly bright people who quote Shakespeare and Keats in regular conversation and discuss the literary merits of The Wind in the Willows. Basically, it's how I always imagined college would be, but better. Not to mention it's gorgeously written and the supernatural elements are skillfully woven in so that they almost seem like every college campus should have them. I won't go into what they are, because that would ruin the book and you should all read it.

Title should be. . .
"...sex is inevitable in college and be sure to take the Birth Pill.Which will then screw you over, because even smart people can get pregnant."I think about 3/4 of the book was spent on that issue alone, and about 'love' and boyfriends.

From the other reviews, it's obvious that the characters quote things and discuss plays and trade around books (some of which I have put on my reading list.)Pamela Dean spoils a number of endingsof books/plays she has read, which is irritating.The characters never really changed or grew either.Two of the girls finally begin to understand each other, but that's about it.

There's a ghost story that's supposed to make sense, and a Queen of Fairies who is a Head of Department who also apparently seduces her students, (gross) but the real "fantasy" only comes in at around the last sixty to seventy pages.(I did find it amusing that the ghost frequently threw Thomas Hardy's Tess D'Urbervilles out of the window.I'd do that too if I had a paperback/hardback copy.)

Pacing is strange; sometimes Ms. Dean spends a hundred, two hundred pages on one year and just fifty pages on the next, so it doesn't feel like the characters change that much.It was a bit of a shock at the end where I found out the main character was almost finished with college.She still acted the same.Blegh.

If you want a good book about Tam Lin, read Fire and Hemlock instead by Diana Wynne Jones.Link: Fire and HemlockThe main character of Fire and Hemlock actually grows up, there's a good deal of fantasy involved, and DWJ's Tam Lin is fascinating.If you must read Pamela Dean's Tam Lin, then fine, but you've been warned.

Somewhat entertaining, but shallow
For the most part, it's a college soap opera with bits of the fantastic slapped on here and there, and the conclusion doesn't cohere. I thought the students quoting dead authors at each other is amusing enough, but I can't attest to the authenticity of it, since I don't quote Shakespeare, Coleridge and Homer at other people. Nor does any of my fellow lit students do it. Maybe I'm not attending the right college; maybe I don't speak to the exactly right kind of people. Who knows.

And, after finishing it and giving a few moments to thinking about the novel, I find it all horribly silly. The ghost stories I can buy, but that the Queen of Fairie has become a professor who heads a Classics department? While holding strange parties and rituals to "recruit" more people for her entourage -- and why she'd want to do that I don't know? That some of the students are the original actors from the Lord Chaplain's Company who are... studying at a liberal arts college, supposedly to "catch up with the world"? Most of all, that the heroine and her friend Molly come to believe in all of these with very little hesitation and skepticism, especially since the information is dumped on them all at once toward the end (although Janet's been musing about the strangeness in her college for a while)? Okay. Ooookay. Come on, if your new boyfriend were to tell you that Professor ____ is the Queen of Fairie, that your friend's boyfriend is really the original Robert Armin from Shakespeare's company (and your ex-boyfriend the original Nicholas Tooley of the same origin), would you just... buy it on faith? I suspect most sane people won't. Not even English majors who read science fiction.

I wouldn't say the characters are wooden, but they aren't three-dimensional either. Most of them are, well, students. I suspect that their concerns and dilemmas would be sympathetic only to people who are also college students. Their portrayal and characterization just aren't written in a way that'd reach to an audience outside the age bracket. Juggling academic workloads with love lives, worrying about contraceptives, gossiping about the college staff, and so on: it's just all so very textbook. And so very, very shallow. The romances, of course, are unconvincing, but then the author portrays them in a way that befits teenage flings -- they aren't meant to be serious, or true love. Up until the point where Janet, having broken up with Nick, takes up with Thomas. Oh my. The marriage proposal flying, the sincerity of emotions that drives her to save him from the Queen of Faerie even while holding his shapeshifting body. And it all falls flat because, quite frankly, I don't see why. Have these two been good friends? Yeah, but no more than the bond between Janet and anyone else in her social circle. Is her impulsive decision to sleep with him (and acting on it immediately) characteristic of a teenager? Definitely, but please don't try to make me believe that this is true, enduring love. There's no setup, there's no characterization enough to convince the reader.

I don't regret reading it too much, since I was reading it on a plane trip, but I won't read it again, and nor can I recommend this to anyone.

No stars. Can I actually give minus stars?
This is the WORST bit of fantasy I've ever read. The characters are wooden. The diologue is painful. And even as you get more than half way through the book, NOTHING HAPPENS. Nothing. No really. I love Terry Windling but I am surprised at her putting her name on this rubbish.

Alright, I'll admit it....
When I first found this book a few years back, I was sceptical. I had grown up on the old Fairport Convention version of the ballad, and had found a book or two based on it. However, when I found this, it sounded... not so great. I mean, setting the old scottish fairy tail in a midwest college in the 70's? Really? WHY? What good could that be? It had to be aweful if it differed that much from the storyline, right?

Wrong. By the time that my best friend gave this to me as a christmas gift, I had forgotten that this book existed. So I started reading it. And couldn't stop. The characters remind me a lot of the people at my college. I know people who speak just like Nick and Jannet, however odd that may seem. I found the plot to be stunning, and more than once found myself skipping back to parts as bits and pieces were revieled, realizing how this or that fits in. Whay can I say? I'm stunned.

Also, look closely at the cover. It's fun to analyze. ... Read more

Book Description
Three things have the power to destroy the Secret Country: the Border Magic, the Crystal of Earth, and the whim of the dragon. The cousins have faced the first two; now they face the third. The Country's most trusted counselors know that the five are impostors, but no one knows who has been playing with their destinies. They must find and speak with Chryse the unicorn and Belaparthalion the dragon in order to learn the truth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Whim of the Dragon
The end of this book was terrible. The end of a series should be catacalismic for someone, but in this book everyone, even the bad guys, get what they want. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

The Secret:Each Book Gets Better
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.

Great news!
Review-wise, I can't really add much to those who have spoken before me (see below), but I can pass on that the series is to be reprinted starting in 2003!Great for those of us who were having problems finding all three books!

This book should not be out of print!
The Whim of the Dragon is the final book in an incredible series, and it lives up to the first two splendidly.

In this book the children are forced to grow up, to realize that their game really has affected otherpeople's lives.They have to take responsibility for their Secret. Deanpulls no punches.The book is bittersweet; it made me cry and laughtogether, not sure which emotion was in control.

Definitely one of thebest things I've read.I would recommend it to everyone, but since it'sunavailable that's not very useful.It's now almost impossible to find, afact which I find frustrating to the point of tragedy.

Six stars!
_The Whim of the Dragon_ is the last book in the trilogy that begins with _The Secret Country_ and _The Hidden Land._ I cannot praise Pamela Dean's unique writing style highly enough.It sings. Magic and poetry areinterwoven in a setting in which the mage's talent is essentially poetic;literary allusions, most commonly to Shakespeare, are everywhere. Asuperlative read for children and adults alike. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 708 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: I just wanted a Tuesday-Thursday class schedule; what I got changed my life.(practice of oral history)
Author: Pamela Dean
Publication: The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 29Issue: 2Page: 21(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Contents:~~1)The Desperate Hours (Hayes)~~2)General Dean's Story (Dean)~~3)Mr. Hobbs' Vacation (Streeter)~~4)The Power and the Prize (Swiggett)~~5)The Duchess and the Smugs (Frankau)~~6)Tomorrow! (Wylie). ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Oral History Association on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 644 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ordinary Heroes.(Theater Review)
Author: Pamela Dean
Publication: The Oral History Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Oral History Association
Volume: 29Issue: 2Page: 155(2)

Article Type: Theater Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Oral History Review, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 5074 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Oral History Online.(Product/Service Evaluation)
Author: Michael Frisch
Publication: The Oral History Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 32Issue: 2Page: 89(12)

Article Type: Product/Service Evaluation

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Book Description
Here is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning anthology Firebirds! Firebirds Rising takes readers from deep space to Faerie to just around the corner. It is full of magic, humor, adventure, and—best of all—the unexpected. The one thing readers can count on is marvelous writing. Firebirds Rising proves once again that Firebird is a gathering place for writers and readers of speculative fiction from teenage to adult, from the United States to Europe, Asia, and beyond. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Collection
I read the first collection, The Firebird, and feel in love all over again with Megan W. Turner and for this book, in addition to my already favorite authors, it introduced me to more of authors whose styles I like very much.

First of all is Ellen Klages, with 'In The House of the Seven Librarians'. I love her prose and all the words make a nice song in my head. It was almost like a poetry.

Second is Tanith Lee. I haven't had the chance to read her books but I like her story 'The House on The Planet'. The title reminds me of Laura Ingalls' :) It has the taste of pioneering adventure in it but of course, with a surprise at the ending. ... Read more

Book Description
Whether your kitchen needs a light face-life or a total overhaul, this book will show you how to do a professional-looking job. Using hundreds of colour photos, including video images from the TV show, Kitchens gives you the common sense help you need to successfully upgrade your kitchen with results you'll be proud to share with your family and friends ... Read more