The Secrets of Droon explained

The Secrets of Droon
Author:Tony Abbott
Illustrator:Tim Jessel, David Merrell, Gil Adams, Royce Fitzgerald
Country:United States
Language:English
Cover Artist:Tim Jessell
Genre:Fantasy
Publisher:Scholastic Inc.
Pub Date:1999–2010
Number Of Books:44
Media Type:Print (hardback and paperback), Audiobook

The Secrets of Droon is a fantasy book series by Tony Abbott aimed at elementary school-age children. The first book, The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet, was published on June 1, 1999.[1] On October 1, 2010, the final book of the series, The Final Quest, was released, concluding its eleven-year run.[2] The series was named by the American Booksellers Association among the top ten books for Harry Potter fans.[3]

An audio version of the series is available from Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group. The series was designed by Dawn Adelman.[4]

The publisher, Scholastic Inc., took huge efforts to popularize the series. In the official website of the series (created by Scholastic), various innovative factors were introduced, such as online games and quizzes based on the series, as well as a timeline and map.

The story is about Eric, Julie, and Neal, three kids who discover an enchanted stairway in Eric's basement that is a portal to the magical and troubled world of Droon. It's a wondrous place where adventure is always close at hand.

Plot overview

Eric Hinkle, Neal Kroger, and Julie Rubin are three friends who accidentally discover a magical world called Droon which is accessed via a rainbow staircase in Eric's basement closet. There they meet Keeah, the princess of Droon who is a wizard, and Galen Longbeard, the first wizard of Droon. Keeah and Galen are trying to defend Droon against Lord Sparr, an evil sorcerer who constantly tries to defeat the protagonists and take control of Droon. Time in Droon is different than time on Earth, and passes much slower. In Droon, a whole year is not even a second in our world. This factor helps the kids very much and makes their travelling easier.

The first twelve books see Keeah, Eric, Neal, and Julie trying to find and free Keeah's mother, Queen Relna, from a curse placed on her by Witch Demither that transforms her into various animals. The fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth books and the first special edition introduce the plot involving Zara, the Queen of Light, and her three sons: Urik, Galen, and Sparr. Zara was kidnapped along with Sparr by Ko, the emperor of the long-lost evil Empire of Goll, who brought them to Droon.

After Special Edition #1 “The Magic Escapes,” the series begins to explore the history of Droon as well as its connection to the Upper World. The characters develop with Eric gaining wizard magic and Julie gaining flight and shapeshifting powers from a wingwolf. In the book "The Chariot of Queen Zara", Salamandra, Queen of Shadowthorn, arrives in Droon and becomes another central antagonist. Later, her intentions seem mostly good, though her alliance is always in question. In Book 22, ‘‘The Isle of Mists’’, Sparr awakens Ko; however, in the process Sparr and his pet, the two-headed dog Kem, are aged back to being children, and become allies with Keeah and the Upper World children. In Book 28, ‘‘In the Shadow of Goll’’, Sparr is turned back into his adult self, though he remains the children's ally. He disappears through a hole in the earth to Droon's Underworld, but reappears in Special Edition #5, ‘‘Moon Magic’’, though fifty years older in Droon's future. He comes back to Droon's present to give the children and Galen his piece of the Moon Medallion, a magical artifact composed of four pieces created by Zara and her sons, before going off on his own journey.

Gethwing, the moon dragon who serves as Ko's lieutenant, becomes the more prevalent villain, especially after Ko is thrown into a bottomless chasm . In Book 33, ‘‘Flight of the Blue Serpent’’, Eric is wounded by a poisoned ice dagger intended for Galen, and is eventually manipulated by Gethwing into becoming Prince Ungast, his evil opposite. Ungast, along with Princess Neffu (Keeah's evil opposite) and Lord Sparr, returned to his younger, evil self, form Gethwing's formidable "Crown of Wizards"; it is not until Special Edition #7, ‘‘The Genie King’’, that Eric becomes himself again. Eric, pretending to be Ungast, goes undercover to discover how to defeat Gethwing.

The series concludes with the last book, The Final Quest.

Books

The series consists of 44 books: 36 main series books and 8 Special Editions. They are:[5]

  1. The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet (1999)
  2. Journey to the Volcano Palace (1999)
  3. The Mysterious Island (1999)
  4. City in the Clouds (1999)
  5. The Great Ice Battle (1999)
  6. The Sleeping Giant of Goll (2000)
  7. Into the Land of the Lost (2000)
  8. The Golden Wasp (2000)
  9. The Tower of the Elf King (2000)
  10. Quest for the Queen (2000)
  11. The Hawk Bandits of Tarkoom (2001)
  12. Under the Serpent Sea (2001)
  13. The Mask of Maliban (2001)
  14. Voyage of the Jaffa Wind (2002)
  15. The Moon Scroll (2002)
  16. The Knights of Silversnow (2002)
    • Special Edition 1: The Magic Escapes (2001)
  17. Dream Thief (2003)
  18. Search for the Dragon Ship (2003)
  19. The Coiled Viper (2003)
  20. In the Ice Caves of Krog (2003)
  21. Flight of the Genie (2003)
    • Special Edition 2: Wizard or Witch? (2004)
  22. The Isle of Mists (2004)
  23. The Fortress of the Treasure Queen (2004)
  24. The Race to Doobesh (2004)
  25. The Riddle of Zorfendorf Castle (2005)
    • Special Edition 3: Voyagers of the Silver Sand (2005)
  26. The Moon Dragon (2006)
  27. The Chariot of Queen Zara (2006)
  28. In the Shadow of Goll (2006)
    • Special Edition 4: Sorcerer (2006)
  29. Pirates of the Purple Dawn (2007)
  30. Escape from Jabar-Loo (2007)
  31. Queen of Shadowthorn (2007)
    • Special Edition 5: Moon Magic (2008)
  32. Treasure of the Orkins (2008)
  33. Flight of the Blue Serpent (2008)
  34. In the City of Dreams (2009)
    • Special Edition 6: Crown of Wizards (2009)
  35. The Lost Empire of Koomba (2009)
  36. Knights of the Ruby Wand (2010)
    • Special Edition 7: The Genie King (2010)
    • Special Edition 8: The Final Quest (2010; formerly titled The Endless Voyage)

Characters

Protagonists

The lead characters of the series are[6]

Antagonists

The villains of the series are:[7]

Family members

These characters are parents of Eric, Neal and Julie:[8]

Translations

The series is sold internationally in English and other languages, including Polish, French, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Malaysian, Korean, Dutch, Czech, Chinese, Slovenian, Bengali, and Persian.

Sequels and possible TV series

Tony Abbott revealed on his blog that there could be a sequel series of seven books based on the Seven Cities of Gold. Nickelodeon has even expressed interest in making a television series based on the books.

References

  1. https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Stairs-Magic-Carpet-Secrets/dp/0590108395 Book Description
  2. https://www.amazon.com/The-Secrets-Droon-Special-Edition/dp/0545098858 Book Description
  3. American Booksellers Association. BookWeb:Pressroom. "Exclusive 'If You Liked Harry Potter, You'll Like...' List From Independent Booksellers." February 29, 2000. http://www.bookweb.org/news/pressroom/3018.html Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  4. Web site: Graphic Design by Dawn Adelman at Coroflot.com. Coroflot. 2016-12-27.
  5. http://www.scholastic.com/droon/scholastic_droon_checklist.pdf
  6. http://www.scholastic.com/droon/encyclopedia.htm A to Z
  7. http://www.scholastic.com/droon/encyclopedia.htm A to Z
  8. http://www.scholastic.com/droon/encyclopedia.htm A to Z

External links