Hallelujah! The third installment. This is actually my first time reading this book- for some reason, when I read these as a kid I never got around to this one, so twas a special experience to finally close the final chapter of the Carroll children (named, no doubt, for the author of the Alice books- Dean is ALL ABOUT her classical references, let me tell you. In the last book we even had what we dweeby classics students call katabasis, when a hero- Ted - goes to the land of the dead).

Thoroughly engrossing, the best of the series (or a close 2nd to The Hidden Land), and the other books, full of intense subtleties. No one is truly good or truly evil. The relationships between characters are so, so complex- particularly those of Fence/kids, Randolph/Ted, Randolph/Ruth, etc. Many-faceted and unpredictable, but never contradictory.

And my, but these are children to root for, each of them. They’re clever without being unrealistic, can recite poetry without seeming pretentious, noble but also are not exempt from the whining/squabbling one would expect from a group of cousins- in short, fully endorsable.

The only annoying thing about this series is that there isn’t just that *one* character you identify with and make “yours.” You know how I mean- the one character in every series that you latch onto and root for, even at the expense of rooting for the others. Nope. You’re ly to find several. Between Ellen’s joie de vivre and bravery and irreverence, Laura’s endearing clumsiness and interesting character arc and her own kind of quiet bravery, Ruth’s devotion to her character and her own dual natures, and Ted with his protectiveness for his little sister but never in a way that discounts her dignity or agency, and his fierce temper that he only ever unleashes on someone else’s behalf- we have much to choose from.

I suppose Patrick is hard to care about. He’s rather Edmund from Narnia (generally, I don’t the comparisons to Narnia, as I never much d those books- yes, sorry, roast me on a spit if you must- and they really don’t have that much in common, but the Edmund-Patrick resemblance is strong). He’s just a fuck up who needs to get out of the way, frankly. I don’t see the use of him, except as a nod to the fact that every family indeed has a black sheep, and I mostly wished they had left him and his unimaginative brain at home, in Australia, alone, where it belongs. So imagine my pleasure when that’s just what he does. I was a little disappointed Ellen stayed with him, but on the one hand, at least he’s not alone, and on the other, I really d Pamela Dean’s explanation- she has fun no matter where she is. She doesn’t need to live in the Hidden Land to have adventures. Her whole life is, and will be, an adventure.

Admittedly, the big surprise of the series, that Claudia is really the much-discussed Melanie , did not come at all as a surprise to me, and in fact made me want to hit all the otherwise intelligent characters, none of whom had guessed that somehow this WHOLE TIME. Right-o, kids, might want to drink less wine while you’re puzzling out this world (didn’t I mention that? These kids- including an 11 year old!- are constantly drinking but never get drunk. Stalwart livers for preteens!).

There were hints dropped all over the series goose poo about the fact that Ruth and Randolph are in love with each other and I was really nervous that that wouldn’t come to fruition, but blessedly it did, with a very satisfying scene near the end.

the other books, this is more of a book written for adults who YA, not really children or YA themselves. Dean casually throws out phrases “frame narration” (dunno about you but I doubt my 10yo self knew what that was), litters the prose with quotes from classic poetry and Shakespeare, and uses vocabulary “appurtenances, choleric, insoucient” she’s saying “chairs.” It has the unpretentious forward movement of a YA book (a peculiar thing for me to say, given the fact that the VAST majority of the entire series is spent with the 5 children, Fence, and/or Randolph, with occasional extras, sitting around drinking and chatting about current events- I’d hazard a good 80% of the text. Yet it never feels it stunts the plot- the plot IS the chatting, and it’s highly entertaining chatter indeed!), with enough underpinnings of ontological/existential questions the reader can parse out, if they so choose, to keep even the snobbiest of readers pleased.

Overall, a very satisfying end to a fantastic series.

*2020 Reread*

Reread for the 3rd or so time, and every damn time it strikes me as such a work of fantasy art. I think it’s safe to say this is my favourite of the trilogy (how rarely are we readers lucky enough to say that the final book of the series is the best?! That the books actually get better with each passing volume?).

Shakespeare, much of this book demands to be read aloud. I find myself irresistibly drawn to reading all the dialogue aloud, playing the roles of the characters, using the inflections so artfully described by Dean. That’s why it takes me so long to read these books despite their relatively short length. You just can’t help but want to hear these conversations aloud, in the imperious voice of Ruth, or the dry voice of Fence, or the strained voice of Randolph, or the indignant voice of Ted. God, it’s so clever you really find new meanings in every conversation each time you re-read.

The #1 most underrated series in all of fantasy. If you challenging dialogue and ever-so-much subtext and incredible backstory-building, especially in book 3, I can’t recommend it enough.
favorites4 s Kait62 1 follower

I thought this was the best book in the series but the issues from the other books were also in this one. My issues:
-laws of magic not clear
-often times who is saying what in conversations is unclear
-motives are unclear
-I got real sick and tired of character A gave character B a meaningful look and character "C" (us/ one of the children) wondered what it meant. These were particularly frustrating because I was unsure if we (the readers) should have known what was going on or if we were supposed to be as confused as the children.
-Also I am beyond confused about the resolution of the series (how the "bad guy" situation was resolved)read-ya3 s meg1,319 14 Read

SO glad to be done because I don’t understand how a book for 12 year olds can be THIS confusing AND this unfun????? read-20242 s Grace279

Oh my word. *tries to breathe*

Alright-y, so this isn’t going to be much of a review. This is a good last book to the series, although I would’ve loved more in-depth discussion of how the two worlds relate, and such. Patrick, despite him irritating me, grew on me by the end and I understood why he was frustrated with the Hidden Land. If rules of physics and perhaps even the laws of gravity are up in the air (heh—see what I did there?) because of magic, then how do you cope? Anyone you met can be someone else! And not everyone is Fence or Randolph with magic, who can detect to some degree when someone is not who they say they are. Also, imagine being able to be destroyed at the whim of all powerful and magical creatures who barely follow rules or have clear moral standards.

… I love the Hidden Land. I just think I’d want to visit for a week. Not stay. Ever. I mean, especially since Patrick pointed out some of the weaker points of the plot towards the end… Yeah, living there doesn’t sound too fun.

Anyway, well written, well rounded, and a really good—if expected—ending to this trilogy. The ending felt a bit rushed, to be honest, and I'm skeptical of them all believing so quickly (let alone Ruth’s mother saying they couldn't stop her because she was sixteen—no comment on the marriage either, though clearly they knew), or some of the adults going back with them, but I suppose Dean had a story to finish. I guess I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first and second book. This series only gets better, I think. Dean has a gift for showing without telling and having characters grow in depth and maturity.

What some people might be uncomfortable reading about in this book because of personal opinion or belief (spoilers): mild romance, especially by the end, but sweet and amusing. Cursing is mild as well, probably would rate a PG in theaters at the most. The cursing is more than the other books had, though. There’s magic. Obviously. One of the characters talks of having lovers, and there’s some talk between that person and the angst ridden ex-lover. Nothing horrible. Overall, I’d say this book is pretty PG.

Random things of note below:

-Anyone else notice there’s a cardinal on each cover of the trilogy somewhere? Cool, right?

-I need is a second trilogy that builds on this with the same characters of course. (Basically, a series. Yes.) It would deal with Ted learning to be king and the world accepting that they're strangers and that the royal children are dead and them exploring the magic schools and learning about politics.

-More politics. Especially politics. Because it actually would’ve been a good political marriage for Ted and Ruth to marry the Dragon King’s children.

-Can’t Andrew stir up so much trouble where he is?

-What about the people who panic and mob because if there's one world out there that can fall into their world and who has people who look just them, how do they know real Hidden Land people from people from other dimensions? There's so many possibilities! Surely there would be rebels because they refuse to follow a false king. The others in the book— Randolph and Fence—had time to come to terms with Ted and Co.’s messing with their world and lying to them when they arrived, but the others won't. I mean... I want it all. Is that too much to ask?

-Ok, did none of the Carroll children find it, I dunno, odd that they kept seeing flashes of themselves or a cousin or sibling in the Hidden Land? Even when Ruth talked to Randolph in the turnip scene, she saw a flash of Ellen. Surely someone else finds that odd! (Ok, yeah, beginning to see Patricks problems with this world.)

Final observation/note… The scene with Ellen’s cloak that Fence threw over the (fake) horses got me thinking. It seemed familiar, because I remembered some other book using rhyming and poetry—or nursery rhymes or something—to use magic. Then I lit on it. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles series by Patricia C. Wrede, right? You know, I actually thought of Dean and Wrede before, while reading this, I think. The scene with the red man and Ted and Laura, towards the beginning of this book I believe, there was a blue (tea?) pot mentioned that was brought in. Which made me think of Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot that both of them co-wrote using the letter game. It’s pretty cool when you see little influences of writer friends (at least, I assume they’re friends since they wrote a book together!) in each other’s books. I don’t think you could call it plagiarizing or stealing an idea—I certainly don’t view it that. But it was interesting, is all. fantasy i-own-this-book la-crème-de-la-crème1 changeableLandscape2,184 24

Definitely my favourite of the trilogy! Sadly the actual plot has mostly slid from my mind already; what stuck with me (just when I read it as a teenager) is Ruth's falling for Randolph, although I have no idea of the assumptions she (or Dean) is making that make it a terrible thing for her to flirt with the guy that she's attracted to. Yes obviously by *2023* standards there's a huge age gap as well as some other messy things, but by 1987 standards there would be no reason for her not to, except I think that Ruth is resolutely Not Other Girls and that was very much considered a good thing at the time. I really enjoyed their interactions, though, and Ruth's ongoing struggle with who Lady Ruth had been and the sorts of things she had done, and her attempts to understand all of that -- lots of nice juicy stuff about identity and personality and the effects of other people. Laura was MUCH less annoying in this one, she got some things to do and actually did them. And really, just the entire set up of 'Now we go back to the Hidden Land and have to deal with the fallout of our impersonations plus all the problems caused by the original kids being dead' is a great set-up and really super interesting. I wonder if one could *start* a book there?

It wasn't perfect, still very messy plot-wise and not enough eucatastrophe for my liking, but I really enjoyed it and it's definitely worth rereading.1980s spec-fic Andrea Knapp102

This is definitely the best book in the series! It's nice to see the story unfold through the eyes of more than just Laura and Ted and to see more of this world. There were still moments when I had a hard time staying focused on the story. Sometimes it's hard to follow or just drops off in spots. The Green magic, red magic, blue magic stuff gets a little muddled for me. But for the most part, it's a solid conclusion to the story. I feel there are still some things unresolved, and I'm not entirely sure I the ending. But I love the idea of this world, and this is the most exciting book of the trilogy. Mariana166

So I'm still not entirely clear on what happened... but neither were the characters, so I'm assuming it's okay that I feel I didn't catch everything.

This was a fun little journey, but I think I've realized that I really just prefer when my characters understand the world around them. I'm not a fan of reading the narration of someone who's confused all the time.2019 children-s-lit pure-fantasy ...more AFMasten451 5

Reading this book so long after having read the first two made it somewhat difficult to follow, or it may have been because the children are now speaking in Shakespearean English. Fun to read any way. Bree40

It is an excellent story which the reader gets involved with. Shaz644 16

Three and a half stars Harmonie Rainbow19 2

DNF @ 65%

I just can’t do it anymore. I tried. dnfs *??? Maki ???*582 47

The series really could have ended with the second book. I wasn't quite sure where the story could possibly go from Ted and Laura getting ice cream, but the story took off running from where the second book left off.

Looking back on the series as a whole, this was probably my favorite of the bunch. I enjoyed watching the strained back and forth between the kids and the people who had, until the end of the second book, assumed that the children were people they knew. It amused me every time Fence or Randolph had to catch themselves getting too familiar with someone. Because I'm made of pure evil.

The plot was entirely predictable, though still enjoyable. I just said, I was definitely more in it for the characters at this point.

The ending was very, very rushed. It, again, came out of nowhere, and everything was tied up a bit too neatly. There was very little drama involved, for such a huge deal.

Ted and company go back to Australia with Fence and Randolph in order to let their parents know that they've (mostly) decided to stay in the Hidden Land. Nobody really questions the fact that there are multiple universes - most of the conflict is centered around the fact that Ruth's parents don't want her to go, or how the rest of the family will explain the sudden disappearance of half of its members. Apparently having two random guys in capes show up is all the proof they need that other worlds exist.

...alright. There's also the fact that Ted and Laura are in Australia, when they should be in the US. But nobody considered kidnapping a more plausible explanation than multiple dimensions?

I swear I'm not trying to kill the magic and fantasy of the story. It's just a bit past my suspension of disbelief level, considering how realistic the series has tried to be concerning our world up until that point. For goodness' sake, the book takes the time to come up with a way to explain how the kids get time to slow down so that they won't be missed when they're away! And yet, the existence of multiple dimensions is immediately accepted as fact?

And while the ending ties up several loose ends, it leaves even more just sitting there, unraveled.

, Andrew. How? Why? Who? After Claudia's actual role in everything is explained, it opens a whole can of worms about Andrew. But none of that is mentioned, aside from a brief "huh" from the children. And instead of trying to figure any of it out, they just sort of abandon him.

The entire ending just left me feeling unfulfilled, really. For such a great series, it should have been...bigger. Less rushed.

As it was, not a terrible ending to the series, though.read-2010-to-2019 Ellen493

How is it that none of my Goodreads friends have read (or, anyway, rated) this little series, and I've never properly reviewed it? Well, let me remedy the latter, at least.

Ted and Laura, and their cousins Ruth, Patrick, and Ellen, have played together for years at a game they call "the Secret": an imaginary country where they're all princes and princesses and there are banquets, betrayals, and battles aplenty. One day they're magically transported to that country, which they continue for a while to think of as part of their game, but where things are slightly different than they should be.

Without giving too much away, it turns out that their Secret Country is real, and there are real Princes Ted and Patrick and Princesses Ruth, Ellen, and Laura -- who seem to have gone missing. Things play out, some according to their game and some differently, and they discover that playing their Secret, as much as they enjoyed it, was nothing compared to the real thing.

Dean's Tam Lin (perhaps deservedly) gets more attention than this trilogy, which is an odd little creature. The connection between the "real" world and the Secret Country stretches credulity at times, especially if you're a fan of complex worldbuilding in your fantasy. The battles and evil plots get short shrift for the most part, in favor of our five wandering around and experiencing the strangeness of one's imagination come to life.

For all its oddities, though, this series is delightful. It's a little bit of a Narnia for those who don't want Jesus figures in their fantasy. It's also very concerned with the question of whether it's cruel to do to fictional characters all that we do. (Randolph is a particularly interesting study on that subject.)

If you're looking for a YA fantasy that's fun without being frothy, and can put up with some plot meandering if it comes with keen characterization, do you pick up this trilogy as soon as you can.comfort-books fantasy fiction ...more Katharine453 41

The Whim of the Dragon by Pamela Dean is the third and final book in the Secret Country Trilogy--and a deeply satisfying conclusion to a complex and engaging story. The story follows five cousins whose imaginary country has become suddenly and disconcertingly real. As they realize they can no longer control and shape events as they could in their game, they struggle with how to do the right thing and behave honorably to their imaginary characters, now real people with real relationships.

To explain much about the plot of the third book would give too much away about the plots of the first two. I can only say that the action is suspenseful and the conclusion wraps up the myriad loose ends very well. The five children mature and develop each in different ways, and the ending leaves each of them with a fitting role to play in the future. It's the kind of ending that leaves you reluctant to put the book down, the kind of ending that makes you want to write fanfiction. In fact, I think it's the whole trilogy, the outstanding writing, the absorbing complexity, that has the effect, not just the ending. The characters are going to be inhabiting my head for some time, I can tell. I keep thinking about them and the world Dean created.

Need I say, please, please, find these books at your library or buy them from Amazon. They may be hard to find but you will not be disappointed.childrens-lit fantasy favorites Shawn Thrasher1,883 44

How I could both be incredibly and continually and mind-bogglingly stumped after reading these three books, without a clue as to what the hell is going on most of the time, and still be head over heels in love with The Secret Country? I read the first book, several times since I purchased it in the 1980s golden age of fantasy paperbacks, always coming away from it with a sense of sweet strong-writing-induced oblivion; I read the second book, and remain in awe and anger at how beautiful and puzzling the prose could be; And then The Hidden Land is just an extension of this life that loveliness has to sell (I can quote poetry too, Sara Teasdale, although not well, I had to look it up and was going to quote it backwards, and it's even more inconceivable and strange, and I'm still eating it up with a spoon. I imagine in ten years or so from now, Ms. Dean will take me on this adventure again. This trilogy is a medieval mizmaze for fantasy lovers. The mizmaze was a prayer labyrinth (google it); Pamela Dean's work are a sort of literary prayer labyrinth, forcing the reader to contemplate the beauty and complexity of storytelling and writing. Delaina190 29

Ted, Laura, Ruth, Patrick, and Ellen return to the Secret Country to sort out the mess they left behind--not least of which is their confession to being impostors of the royal children and magicians everyone thought they were. Despite the fact that there are five kids, they are all distinct from each other (not to mention from their newly acquired roles), and they all have the chance to voice conflicting opinions and viewpoints. Action sequences are few and far between -- Dean seems more interested in expounding philosophy and emotion in well-turned, yet highly layered, phrases. Despite that, it's a fascinating story, and now that we're all on the third book, most confusing things are explained and it's fun to see how everything plays out. My only real complaint about this book stands from the first two: the character's conversations are often too elliptical to be enlightening for the reader. She explains without really explaining -- but she does manage to quote James Thurber, which is quite an unexpected treat. Loose ends get wrapped up and this reader was finally satisfied. Elizabeth364 2

I thought this was the best book of the trilogy, although it still frustrated me in many ways. The best way I can put is it that through the trilogy, Dean made the characters more substantial, but the Secret Country still seems threadbare. That's appropriate for a world that may have been created in a children's let's-pretend game, but by this point, we're supposed to be thinking that the Secret Country is real—and there's just not enough there to feel real. But yes, I did that we get to know the characters better (most of them, anyway; Patrick falls by the wayside in this book). Where we once only saw the story through Ted and Laura's points-of-view, we now also see the story through Ellen and Ruth's eyes. The story's end leaves some questions unanswered and is a bit pat, but it does feel a conclusion. Plus, there's a twist to the end that I haven't seen in other travel-to-a-magical-land books, and I appreciate originality!fantasy Beth3,478 15

I really enjoyed listening to this, but I'm confused because I vaguely remember other things and yet they aren't here.fantasy scintillation young-adult Lauren741 5

Something that always bothered me about the Narnia books was that at the end, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy all went back to their lives in England as if the adventures in Narnia never happened, despite the fact that they got to their late teens/early twenties in the books. Can you imagine living that life, and then going back to being schoolgirl Lucy? Anyway, what I love about this book is that the author resolves the problem of what happens when the adventures are over. And the whole trilogy is so very real, and makes you really think about what you would do if you found yourself in a fantasy land, and encountered all the real-life consequences of meddling in another world.
"All may yet be very well." Katrina10 Read

I wanted to this book more than I did. It just never really hooked me, and I semi-abandoned it for a couple weeks while reading other things before making myself finish it off.

This book - this series, rather - is to Narnia what The Magicians is to Harry Potter; it's a look at the awkward underbelly of what happens when you're whisked away to a magical county. While the constantly reinforced fish-out-of-water realism is interesting and adds depth to the characters, it also made it harder for me to really sink into the plot.

Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure others will enjoy; well-written and part of a relatively small niche. Krista WaymentAuthor 0 books19

My Rating/Reviewing MO

I love this whole series but I would have to say this was my least favorite of the three. Although it may have been because when I finished it the story was over!

All my questions were answered and all the lose ends were tied up. I just did not how everything was wrapped up so tightly. I a little mystery left at the end so my imagination can take over.

Over all a well written book. I would recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy. Wren186 8

I said more or less what I needed to say about this book in my review of the one before it. It's boring. That's essentially the issue, you see. It's just boring.

The first one wasn't that boring, but the previous one just didn't take the story much of anywhere, and sadly by the time things really started to develop here I was out of energy. This trilogy would have worked as a single installment, but as it is this third book is one of the few I have ever left unfinished. I just didn't have the patience for it.old Yi-Ling45 7

Oh dear feelings about this are uncertain definitely must reread as I missed a lot and am still slightly confused about the plot. But I enjoyed the language and character interactions and wordplay along the way, so there's that. Also last chapter made me particularly happy, possibly one of the most satisfying ends there could've been. I d this series a lot more than I expected even having read Tam Lin. I it more than Tam Lin because the characters are much more well developed and able. And real. I will amend this review to something proper when I have reread, much anticipation!2015 Twyla1,766 62

Uh, is it better if you read the other books first? The language is horrible to figure out. Peter does not swear too much. How old are these kids?? So far one is eleven, (theres no way an eleven year old can quote that much poetry!) not sure which one, and one is engaged to a murderer????? Umm, having many reservations, but half way thru so I "guess" I cant quit
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Done. The language of the conversation really ruined it for me and I didnt see the point if they didnt get the kids back.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewread-in-2016 Stanley41

The last book to "The Secret Country" trilogy. The 5 cousins, Laura, Ruth, Ted, Patrick, and Ellen are still stuck in their invented game. In order to return to reality, they have to finish their game. They are now in the last stages of their game, they need to get past a bit more hardships and survive to return home. Briar298 10

I enjoyed this book - the whole series, in fact. The characters were really well drawn and I d the way it ended. The only problem was that the whole overall-end-of-series-explanation seemed a bit contrived - it was just too complicated and a wee bit unbelievable. Having said that, I still enjoyed the book. Basil65 1 follower

After completing this book I realized three books weren't really necessary for this story, but it didn't harm the story. Unfortunately the book ended I expected it to. Loved the concept of the story and the unicorns over all. Loved the fact that the kids aged in real time throughout the books as well. Eowyn381 2

i love these books (third in the Secret Country series), but i always feel i miss something while reading them (this is probably my third read). I feel i've missed a subtle plot point or some nuance that explained a bunch of things, which is why i give it 4 stars instead of 5. but they're great, original, fun fantasies. BrittanyAuthor 1 book22

Every fantasy lover should read this series. It is has one of the best-written plots I have ever encountered and keeps your mind turning constantly. I have never seen a book mix "the real world" with fantasy in such an intriguing and thought provoking way. This is the kind of book that makes you love the writer's art.favorites Julia58

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