The Hidden Land

An old King dies . . . a new King ascends.

“Pamela Dean is a hidden treasure, a writer other writers adore: her quirky, literate characters, her munchy prose, her depth-charge stories. More readers should know about her. And now—maybe they will!”—Jane Yolen

Ted, Laura, Patrick, Ruth, and Ellen are still trapped within the Secret Country—a land that they invented as a game, now somehow a reality. They must play their parts, fumbling as they go, even as life veers from their original script.

When the King is poisoned, Ted—“Prince Edward”—must take the throne, although he has no idea how to rule a country, battle magic, or inspire followers. Soon enough, he will have to do all three, because the Secret Country is on the verge of war with the treacherous Dragon King—a war that will send one of the five into the Land of the Dead . . .

Volume Two of the Secret Country Trilogy