The Secrets of Droon

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 is a wondrous place where adventure is always close at hand.

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 on Earth. 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 de-aged to 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. Sparr returns to the present day to give the children and Galen his piece of the Moon Medallion, a magical artifact made 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. Ungast, along with Princess Neffu (Keeah's evil opposite) and Sparr, returned to his younger evil self, form Gethwing's "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 defeat Gethwing.

The series concluded with The Final Quest.

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)
    • 特別版1：魔法の脱出（2001年）
17. ドリーム・シーフ（2003年）
18. ドラゴンシップを探せ（2003年）
19. コイルド・ヴァイパー（2003年）
20. クローグの氷の洞窟にて（2003年）
21. フライト・オブ・ザ・ジーニー（2003年）
    • 特別版2：魔法使いか魔女か？（2004年）
22. 霧の島（2004年）
23. 宝の女王の要塞（2004年）
24. ドゥーベシュへのレース（2004年）
25. ゾルフェンドルフ城の謎（2005年）
    • 特別版3：銀砂の航海者たち（2005年）
26. 月龍（2006年）
27. ザラ女王の戦車（2006年）
28. ゴルの影の中で（2006年）
    • スペシャルエディション4：ソーサラー（2006年）
29. パイレーツ・オブ・ザ・パープル・ドーン（2007年）
30. ジャバル・ルーからの脱出(2007)
31. シャドウソーンの女王(2007)
    • スペシャルエディション5：ムーンマジック（2008年）
32. オーキン家の宝物（2008年）
33. 青い蛇の飛行（2008年）
34. 夢の都にて（2009年）
    • スペシャルエディション6：ウィザーズ・クラウン（2009年）
35. クーンバの失われた帝国（2009年）
36. ルビーの杖の騎士たち（2010年）
    • スペシャル・エディション7：魔王（2010年）
    • スペシャルエディション8：ファイナルクエスト（2010年；旧題：エンドレスボヤージュ）

このシリーズは、英語をはじめ、ポーランド語、フランス語、スペイン語、ロシア語、トルコ語、マレー語、韓国語、オランダ語、チェコ語、中国語、スロベニア語、ベンガル語、ペルシャ語など、様々な言語で国際的に販売されています。

• Scholastic社のウェブサイトにあるDroonのページ
• TonyAbbottBooks.comで販売中の「Secrets of Droon」シリーズ