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judgeabook's review
Just not for me, wanted to try an older fantasy. I'm sure a lot of other people would like it
kateslowreads's review against another edition
3.0
It reminded me a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia, except less whimsical and much more detailed. There aren't any easy resolutions in this alternate world, which is more original, I guess, but also more frustrating for the reader who has to wait while the kids just figure out what's going on and how to deal with it. I always tend to read Pamela Dean's books in short little bits, not all in one go, and I don't know why that is. It's not like they're boring, or hard to get into, but it's like the gourmet chocolate that I get and eat teeny little pieces of for weeks instead of just enjoying it then and there.
I like the style she wrote the unicorns in very much though! Vain, but not silly, beautiful, but conniving.
I like the style she wrote the unicorns in very much though! Vain, but not silly, beautiful, but conniving.
lizshayne's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was one of those books that I failed to read as a child but everyone else apparently did. So now I'm trying to catch up and it's fascinating to read the story about kids going into a fantasy world that defined so many of the books that the authors my age read and are responding to.
It's also good. It's good in the way that it responds to Narnia and good in the way that it thinks about story and fascinating to think about what's going to happen.
It's odd seeing how this book would have grabbed me if I'd read it 20 years ago and enjoying it now without being grabbed.
It reminds me, for perhaps obvious reasons, of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry in how they are stories about coming into another world and discovering the seriousness of it. But it's also very different. I suppose that means I need to track down the rest of them now.
It's also good. It's good in the way that it responds to Narnia and good in the way that it thinks about story and fascinating to think about what's going to happen.
It's odd seeing how this book would have grabbed me if I'd read it 20 years ago and enjoying it now without being grabbed.
It reminds me, for perhaps obvious reasons, of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry in how they are stories about coming into another world and discovering the seriousness of it. But it's also very different. I suppose that means I need to track down the rest of them now.
aknapp82's review against another edition
3.0
I love the idea of this book. It reminds me of the Narnia Chronicles, and I love the whimsical feel of the story. That said, it is a little muddled and confusing. Maybe it's because it's told from the perspective of children who are suddenly thrust into their own made-up world and can't quite make sense of it. But it makes the story hard to follow sometimes. And it just ends with no real resolution or explanation. I'm hoping that comes in the second book, because despite the confusing moments, I'm dying to see how this story plays out.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
I've read so many books and series about children going through a door of some sort, finding a new country and spending time there. And there are many other stories about children creating their own worlds, which usually don't manage to manifest in any way. This book combines those two, with one very interesting twist: the country doesn't always conform to the way the children imagined it would (or set it up to function).
That twist creates tensions that the children don't fully understand and adds to their problems fitting in the Secret Country (like when trying to fence expertly while not ever really having been taught, or realizing they're shorter than their characters are supposed to be). Despite all that, there is a lot of padding here and things that feel a little thrown in "because" rather than organically flowing from either the country or the children's stories. Add to that a few characters that are completely two-dimensional and this got rounded up from 3.5.
Rumor has it that Book 2 is better, so stay tuned.
That twist creates tensions that the children don't fully understand and adds to their problems fitting in the Secret Country (like when trying to fence expertly while not ever really having been taught, or realizing they're shorter than their characters are supposed to be). Despite all that, there is a lot of padding here and things that feel a little thrown in "because" rather than organically flowing from either the country or the children's stories. Add to that a few characters that are completely two-dimensional and this got rounded up from 3.5.
Rumor has it that Book 2 is better, so stay tuned.
hanakorc's review against another edition
1.0
The book couldn't keep my interest. The plot moved slowly and there were way too many names.
stiricide's review against another edition
1.0
DNF p. 62, every character in the Secret Country speaks in a different dialect/cadence and I just can't handle it.
zaldrizesse's review against another edition
1.0
I cannot get into this book, took me almost 6 months to read the first three quarters, and now I'm giving up. The plot is so hard to follow, it is poorly written and the characters are not built up at all. I have only ever not finished one book I started, this one will make two.
kcollett75's review against another edition
5.0
Five children (cousins) find themselves in the imaginary country the history of which they have spent summers enacting for years (at least they thought it was imaginary ...). Involves missing royal children, a dear friend planning treachery, a misguided king, prophetic unicorns.