The Secrets of Droon

The Secrets of Droon is a fantasy book series by Tony Abbott aimed at elementary school-age children. The series was named by the American Booksellers Association among the top ten books for Harry Potter fans.^[1] On October 1, 2010, the final book of the Series: Special Edition 8: The Final Quest was released, concluding its eleven year run.

Plot Overview

Eric Hinkle, Neal Kroger, and Julie Rubin are three friends who accidentally discover a magical world called Droon; a rainbow staircase that appears when Eric's basement closet is dark is usually how they get to Droon. There they meet Keeah, the princess of Droon and a budding wizard, who is trying to defend Droon against Lord Sparr, an evil sorcerer who constantly tries to destroy Keeah and the Upper World friends and take Droon for his own to rule.

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 Sparr that forces her to shift shapes; she goes from being a bird, to a dragon, to a tiger, and finally a dolphin before becoming human again with the help of her sister, Witch Demither. 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, who was kidnapped along with Sparr by Ko, emperor of the long-lost evil Empire of Goll, and brought to Droon (as Zara and her sons were originally from the Upper World) will later become a recurringly important part of the series.

After Special Edition #1, ‘‘The Magic Escapes’’, Droon's past begins to be explored, as well as Droon's connection to the Upper World. The characters develop as well, with Eric's wizard powers (gained in Book 12, ‘‘Under the Serpent Sea’’) progressing, and Julie obtaining the powers of a wingwolf- namely, to fly and shape-shift. 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 (Zara's Silver Moon [the pendant], Galen's Ring of Midnight, Urik's Pearl Sea, and Sparr's Twilight Star), before going off on his own journey.

Gethwing, the moon dragon who serves as Ko's lieutenant (though he has ambitions of his own), becomes the more prevalent villain, especially when Ko is thrown into a chasm with no visible bottom. 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 still be Ungast, goes undercover to find out a secret about Gethwing that could possibly help defeat him.

Characters

Main characters

• Eric Hinkle. One of the main protagonists of The Secrets of Droon. In the first book, he and his friends, Neal Kroger and Julie Rubin, find a rainbow staircase in Eric's basement closet that takes them to the magical land of Droon.
• Neal Kroger. Along with his friends Eric Hinkle and Julie Rubin, first enters Droon in Book 1, The Hidden Staircase and the Magic Carpet. He, Eric, and Julie help Princess Keeah and their Droonian friends to defeat whatever evils threaten Droon.
• Julie Rubin. “Discovered” Droon in the first book, as she was the one who first felt the staircase and convinced them to once again go back into the closet and turn off the lights, revealing the rainbow staircase.
• Princess Keeah
• Lord Sparr. The main antagonist of the series, a powerful evil sorcerer, the leader of the Ninns and the ruler of the Dark Lands. His magic, like nearly all dark magic in Droon, is red. He constantly seeks to dominate not only Droon, but the Upper World, too.
• Galen Longbeard, Wizard of Droon.
• Salamandra. She is the princess (and later queen) of an empire called Shadowthorn. She has a thorn-covered staff which she uses to steal magic and perform it. She is also in possession of the 'Portal of Ages' which she uses to time travel through Droon and the Upper World's pasts and futures. She first appears in Special Edition 1: The Magic Escapes and reappears in most of the last 10 books. Her allegiance is brought to question often, but she seems to be mostly good intended.

Family members

• Mr. & Mrs. Hinkle, Eric's parents
• Mrs. Kroger, Neal's mother and a librarian
• Mr. & Mrs. Rubin, Julie's parents

List of Books

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

Sequel series and possible TV series

Tony Abbott has 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 doing a three to four season television series based on the books.

References

1. ^ 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.

External links

• Secrets of Droon book series at TonyAbbottBooks.com