Book Review: The Secret Country by Pamela Dean

Title: The Secret Country (The Secret Country Book 1)
Author: Pamela Dean
Published: New York: Firebird, 2003 (1985)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 371
Total Page Count: 145,905
Text Number: 429
Read Because: discussed here and here by Jo Walton, purchased used from St. Johns Booksellers
Review: Each summer, five cousins have created the Secret—a fantasy world whose story and magic they've built in bits and pieces over the years. But one year, they find themselves in the Secret Country itself, a real place whose magic and politics are much more complex from within. Dean pens some beautiful lines and the Secret's unicorns are superb, but the world and magic of the Secret Country aren't particularly unique; what's compelling, instead, is the nature of its creation. The children may have built this world, but they're no longer its architects: their insights into the story war against the difficulty of playing the roles they've written, and they're never sure if the Secret is real; it's a fascinating take on portal fantasy. But for better or worse, The Secret Country is a children's book; it holds up to an adult reader, but the cast is distinctly young and the book has a lightness of tone which, while not frothy or twee, didn't work for me, and which sometimes slows the pacing by quelling any sense of risk. It's also only half of a story (The Hidden Land is the other half), for all it lacks a glaring cliffhanger. I enjoyed The Secret Country, but had hoped to like it more; still, I recommend it. While imperfect, it's frequently clever and delightful.

Reading Wednesday! (Fate/Zero, The Secret Country & sequels)

What are you currently reading?
I'm at the tail end of the Fate/Zero light novels. The fan translations are exceedingly unpolished; elsewise this has been a phenomenal read. I loved the anime when I watched it, but revisiting it in a media I find easier to retain while in constant contact with a friend who's also a big fan has been intensely rewarding, because this story deserves minute observation and rumination. Fate/Zero's hallmark is a complex web of characterization, motivation, and interaction, and each of these is more explicit in the light novels (there isn't time or potential for similar exposition in the anime). As a result, every scene is fascinating and can stand up to the scrutiny it invites. This is what I talk about when I talk about id-level media: I eat this stuff up, even though I've been taking the novels at the same slow pace I approach any series. The anime may still be the place to start with Fate/Zero, because it's great and a little more accessible, but the light novels are perfect.

What did you recently finish reading?
The Secret Country, Pamela Dean (review here). I'm deeply unsure if I plan to continue the series. I want to read The Hidden land to complete this story, and The Dubious Hills interests me for its premise, but I only ever found a stray used copy of The Secret Country to begin with; both of my libraries have little Dean, and even if I didn't prefer to borrow first, I certainly didn't love The Secret Country so much that I feel compelled to search for the sequels. We're probably headed to Powell's next week, so I may find them then; we'll see.

What do you think you'll read next?
No idea! I try to keep a couple of books at hand without making specific plans, because when I read at whim with no sense of obligation I tend to enjoy it more. Right now some classic horror, a reread, and some Mary Renault are all in my maybe-someday-soon pile, but I may chose none of them.