Line #1 Literature/TheSecretsOfDroon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secrets_of_droon.png]]
2	''The Secrets of Droon'' is a children's fantasy series written by Tony Abbot and illustrated by David Merrell. With over 40 books (none much longer than a hundred pages), the series is intended to get children to continue reading after one book.
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4	The plot centers around three children, Eric Hinkle, Julie Rubin, and Neal Kroger, who find themselves in the world known as Droon after [[DownTheRabbitHole finding a magical staircase in Eric's basement closet]]. For the first ten or so books, the plot is relatively straightforward, chronicling the adventures the children have with their new companions Princess Keeah and the wizard Galen to stop the EvilOverlord from taking over Droon. Pretty soon, though, things start to expand and many genuinely surprising twists and turns come about. The plot gradually encompasses a massive amount of characters, several different worlds (including the Upper World, the "real" world where we live), and some long-needed subplots.
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6	While the books themselves are rather predictable kids' books, and fall victim to many cliches, the series is quite enjoyable. It may not be complex, but it's fun, interesting, and can entertain just about anyone who reads it, regardless of age.
7
8	!!The Secrets of Droon provides examples of:
9	* ActionGirl: Keeah and Julie.
10	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The red Ninns and blue Orkins.
11	* AmbiguouslyHuman: Sparr. He's never really referred to in a way that would reveal his species. He has a human body shape, except for, well, the ''fins'' behind his ears. He's obviously not a Ninn, either. Later on it's revealed that he's [[spoiler:Galen and Urik's brother, and they're almost certainly human]].
12	* AncientArtifact: The Moon Medallion and its three additional parts: The Ring of Midnight, The Pearl Sea, and the Twilight Star. Also the Wand of Urik.
13	* ArtifactOfDoom: Three of them. (The Three Powers.)
14	* BadassLongcoat: According to the artwork, Lord Sparr alternates between sporting this and a BlackCloak.
15	* ABeastInNameAndNature: "Beast" is a classification of evil creatures, under the control of the Beast Emperor, [[BigBad Ko]]. Other than {{Red Eyes\|Take Warning}}, they have no common appearance and are a wide range of MixAndMatchCritters (for example, Ko is a three-eyed minotaur with four arms).
16	* BeenThereShapedHistory:
17	** After [[spoiler:Sparr]] is trapped in the Upper World (Earth) 500 years ago, he starts traveling forward through time. The kids notice him in book illustrations and old films at the library, including an image of the ''Mayflower'' and a film of an early airplane test.
18	** The kids themselves are forced to do so (for Droon's fictional history) in Special Edition #3, ''Voyagers of the Silver Sand'': When Gethwing destroys the magic staircase, trapping them in Droon while he wreaks havoc in the Upper World, they have to travel through time picking up PlotCoupons that were used to create the stairs in the first place, and then take them back 500 years to ensure the stairs are recreated. They also meet teenage Sparr and young Galen, to whom they suggest hiding the Three Powers rather than destroying them, since some important good was achieved through using them.
19	* BigBad: Lord Sparr... initially. [[spoiler:Emperor Ko later takes the role, only to be usurped by Gethwing. At the end, Ko comes back and he and Gethwing enter an EvilVersusEvil until both are defeated]].
20	* BigDamnHeroes: So, our three main characters are about to be eaten by giant serpents, they've found out that there is, in fact, no way out, and suddenly... [[spoiler: Young Galen]] shows up and zaps the kids out of trouble.
21	* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: Krog is, for all intents and purposes, an Abominable Snowman.
22	* {{Brainwashed}}: The nobles of Droon get brainwashed by the Golden Wasp.
23	* BuryingASubstitute: In book 15, they find Ko's sarcophagus, but it's empty. We later find out that [[spoiler:Ko never died, he just went to a secret island and went into a deep sleep to rejuvenate himself]].
24	* CardCarryingVillain: Lord Sparr starts out as this. He undergoes a bit of character development and shakes it off, though. Well, for the most part.
25	* CleverCrows: Otli, Jotli, and Motli.
26	* ClingyMacGuffin: A magic wand gets stuck to Eric for a while.
27	* ColorCodedMagic: Good wizards (male or female) can shoot blue sparks from their fingers, while evil witches or sorcerers shoot red sparks. Subverted later on when [[spoiler:Eric]]'s sparks change to silver for no apparent reason, and [[spoiler:Keeah]] starts shooting blue from one hand and red from another, due to her innate witch powers (she later creates purple by putting both hands together).
28	%%* CoolPlane: Sparr has one. Urik invented one.
29	* CrypticConversation: The oracle [[MeaningfulName Portentia]] attempts to have one with the heroes, but fails miserably when she can't come up with rhymes fast enough.
30	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: ''The Knights Of Silversnow'' contains several parallels to slavery and imperialism with the history of the Orkins.
31	* DamselInDistress: Eric imagines Keeah as this in his dream in ''Dream Thief''.
32	* DemBones: Sparr summons skeleton warriors to attack the kids in [[TheUnderworld Agrah-Voor]].
33	* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: Neal laments the Droonians' use of the word "doom" at one point.
34	* DownTheRabbitHole: Or rather, Down The Luminescent Staircase In A Closet.
35	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: All three of the kids dream about upcoming adventures in Droon before they happen.
36	%%* DumbMuscle: Slag.
37	* EarFins: One of Sparr's defining features are the fins behind his normal human ears, and a sign that he's AmbiguouslyHuman.
38	%%* EccentricMentor: Galen.
39	%%* EnemyMine: Sparr and the heroes in book 23.
40	* TheEveryman: The three main characters are pretty much supposed to be anyone within the target audience (children).
41	* EvilLaugh: Pretty much every villain in the series has done this -- all written out, of course.
42	* EvilOverlord: Lord Sparr. The guy should get an award for encompassing just about '''all''' the cliches associated with this character.
43	* EvilSorcerer: Sparr again, making him also a SorcerousOverlord. Also Shadowface, who [[spoiler:turns out to be super-old Sparr]].
44	* EvilTowerOfOminousness: They call it "the evil fortress of Lord Sparr" ''in-universe''.
45	%%* EvilTwin: Keeah's dark side, Princess Neffu.
46	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Eric]], who becomes Gethwing's protege Prince Ungast.
47	* {{Fangirl}}s: The 'Giggle Twins' become instant fangirls of Neal. They want to touch his hair. A lot. Neal even lampshades it:
48	--->'''Neal:''' Now I know what it feels like to be a pop star. And I don't like it!
49	* FantasyKitchenSink: Is there any creature that ''isn't'' in Droon?
50	* FireForgedFriends: Sparr, the kids, and Keeah for several books.
51	* FloatingContinent: The floating city of Ro.
52	* ForbiddenZone: The Forbidden City Of Plud.
53	* ForcedTransformation:
54	** The Eye Of Dawn turns Lord Sparr into a scaled-up monster.
55	** Keeah (accidentally) turns Neal into a bug.
56	** And then later Neal relapses into being a bug. And then is transformed into a goblin. And then a turtle. Actually, [[ButtMonkey Neal gets this one a lot]].
57	** This also turns out to be the fate of [[spoiler: Keah's mother Queen Relna. She turns from a falcon to a dragon to a tiger to a dolphin, in that order.]]
58	** Krog turns out to be [[spoiler:the Prince of Stars]].
59	* FormerlyFriendlyFamily: Relna and her sister the Sea Witch Demither.
60	* FountainOfYouth: An unexpected side effect of Sparr using the Coiled Viper to [[spoiler:resurrect Ko and his minions]] is [[spoiler:Sparr himself being reverted to the same age as the kids, [[RaiseHimRightThisTime before he became evil]]]].
61	* FunnyAnimal: Among others, the Oobja and Mooples. The Lumpies would count, except that most people don't count pillows as animals.
62	* GilliganCut: When Neal and Keeah want Eric to dress up as a girl to sneak into Maliban's court...
63	-->Neal pulled a blue gown off a rack and draped it over Eric's shoulder.\
64	'''Neal:''' This one even matches your eyes. How about it... Erica?\
65	Eric stomped his foot and began to shout.\
66	'''Eric:''' I won't, I won't, I won't-\
67	[''End of chapter, next chapter...'']\
68	'''Eric:''' Are you sure this dress matches my eyes?
69	* GarnishingTheStory: A dragon suddenly comes in for no reason at all in ''The Sleeping Giant of Goll'', despite there being absolutely no mention of dragons before this.[[spoiler: It turns out that it's Queen Relna's latest form.]]
70	* {{Geas}}: At one point, Sparr gives Eric one of the Coiled Viper's eyes, but magically prevents him from telling anyone else. Eric doesn't realize this until he tries to tell his friends.
71	%%* GirlNextDoor: Julie to both Eric and Neal.
72	GoodColorsEvilColors: Blue is usually associated with good wizards like Galen, Keeah, and Eric. Red is associated with witch powers. Finally, Ko and his beasts have an affinity for green.
73	%%* GoodParents: Relna and Zello, Keeah's parents.
74	* GoshDangItToHeck: Justified, since most of the characters are children who wouldn't know many stronger profanities. "Holy crow!" and "Oh, my gosh!" are the most common offenders.
75	* GrandFinale: Special #8 concludes the series.
76	* HamToHamCombat: Galen VS Ving, Keeah VS Sparr, Demither VS Sparr... pretty much any time two characters fight in the series.
77	* HandWave: In The Knights Of Silversnow, it's established at the beginning that the marmots infesting Droon are the main problem. They are promptly forgotten about until the last three pages, when it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Orkins are known for making cheese]].
78	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Sparr]] after becoming a child.
79	* HereThereWereDragons: It's implied that the Upper World used to have as much magic as Droon (and several of Droon's most powerful magic users, like [[spoiler:Galen and Sparr]] were born there. It's only due to Salamandra's actions that the modern day is largely mundane.
80	* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:Prince Maliban]] is Lord Sparr. However, [[spoiler:Gryndal]] is not.
81	* HorseOfADifferentColor: Pilkas are the most common steeds, kind of like shaggy, 6-legged horses.
82	* IdenticalStranger: Neal and Julie happen to look just like the rulers of Ut, though Neal's doppelganger is more of an EvilTwin, being a (literally) iron-fisted tyrant.
83	%%* TheIngenue: Keeah, at first.
84	%%* InvisibilityCloak: Galen gives one to the kids in the first book.
85	%%* IWasQuiteALooker: Oddly enough, Galen.
86	* LargeHam: ''Every single major character in the entire story.'' And 90% of the non-main characters as well.
87	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: When their adventures take them to the Upper World (or a {{Muggle}} from the upper world gets sent to Droon), someone (usually Galen) uses a spell to make everyone forget what happened and maintain TheMasquerade. Eventually they stop using this on [[spoiler:Eric's parents, since they can't explain why he vanished without telling them about Droon]].
88	* LiteralSplitPersonality: [[spoiler:after using the Coiled Viper to resurrect Ko, it seems that Sparr was reverted to childhood, when he was still good (or at least hadn't turned evil). But it turns out he was split into two halves, the young Sparr and the elderly (and evil) Shadowface, who forcibly re-merges them.]]
89	* MageInManhattan: In book 19, Sparr comes to the Upper World to find the Coiled Viper, and at the end of book 25, Gethwing and [[spoiler:Young Sparr]] go there, destroying the stairs so the heroes can't follow him.
90	%%* MagicalGirlWarrior: Keeah.
91	* MagicalLand: Droon, of course.
92	* MagicMusic:
93	** The harp Friddle made for Relna. Turns out to be very important as [[spoiler:it's the only thing other than Sparr that can control the Golden Wasp, and the only thing, period, that can reverse the effects of its venom.]]
94	** The horn that a Hoobah drops in the Upper World is able to open the veil between Calibaz and the human world.
95	%%* MerchantCity: Tortu in ''The Mask of Maliban''.
96	* MessianicArchetype / MosesArchetype: Neal for the Hoobahs. He [[spoiler:uses his genie powers]] to finally give them a homeland. And he definitely endured a lot of suffering to get there, including [[spoiler:dying. Though [[SurvivalThroughSelfSacrifice he got better]]]].
97	%%* MissingMom: Keeah's mother, Queen Relna.
98	%%* MobileMaze: Sparr traps Keeah in one in ''Into the Land of the Lost''.
99	%%* TheMole: [[spoiler: Sparr]] in ''In the Shadow of Goll''.
100	%%* {{Mooks}}: The Ninns.
101	%%* MundaneFantastic
102	* OppositeSexClone: Gelna, Galen's female copy.
103	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The main dragon character, Gethwing, is a bipedal, four winged monster, who comes from the moon.[[note]]Droon's moon, not Earth's moon.[[/note]]
104	* OurGeniesAreDifferent: All the genies we see (Genies of the Dove) were once humans, but became genies by performing certain selfless tasks. Neal gets to become one by fulfilling all the required tasks in a single day.
105	* OurOrcsAreDifferent: Ninns are introduced as a (seemingly) OneGenderRace of [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation red-skinned]] ProudWarriorRaceGuys who serve as Mooks for Sparr. Eventually, it's revealed that not only are there female and child Ninns (who show the heroes some kindness and give them food), but the whole race was created from the peaceful [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience blue-skinned]] '''Ork'''ins (and can be turned back by magic).[[note]]This leads to some FridgeLogic about the ethics of transforming a Ninn who's never known anything else into a species with a completely different culture (and it's unclear if they keep their memories through the transformation).[[/note]]
106	* OverlyLongGag: "It's a [[strike:boat]] '''ship'''!" In ''Voyage Of The Jaffa Wind''.
107	* PlotCoupon: So many. In the first book alone there's the soccer ball and the Three Powers, and later we have Julie's bracelet, Eric's father, the individual powers...
108	%%* ThePollyanna: Relna.
109	* PowerUpFood: The Tangfruit, which allows Eric to both communicate with the Mooples and hear what the hawk bandits are saying.
110	* PurityPersonified: Again, Relna. Also Queen Zara.
111	* RaisedByOrcs: Sparr was kidnapped as a baby along with his mother, Queen Zara, and raised by the evil Emperor Ko after she died.
112	* RaiseHimRightThisTime: After [[spoiler:Sparr]] is de-aged to be the same age as the kids, they let him join their group (after some hesitation). [[spoiler:Their kindness and his experiences with them do seem to have an effect after he's forcibly re-merged with Shadowface.]]
113	* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Keeah does indeed wear a crown, and her mother has a PimpedOutDress.
114	* RobeAndWizardHat: Galen wears the stereotypical robe and wizard hat.
115	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Both King Zello and his daughter are warriors, and work for the good of Droon.
116	* SdrawkcabName: Galen's mirror copy, Nelag. He's not an EvilTwin, but he does think, speak, and read backwards. Which comes in handy when they need to read a scroll written in reverse.
117	* SdrawkcabSpeech: Galen's copy Nelag does everything backwards, which is annoying most of the time, but comes in handy when they need to read a scroll written in mirror writing, which he reads out loud like normal speech.
118	* SealedGoodInACan: The titular Knights Of Silversnow in book 17.
119	* SecretTestOfCharacter: The trials the kids face in book 20. It's unclear what exactly they were testing for, though.
120	* SelfDuplication: Zara and her children (and [[spoiler:Eric, since he's descended from Urik]]) can create Phantoms to send in their place, with the only way to tell them apart being the Phantom CastsNoShadow. Ko can also create a Phantom, but he stole the power from Zara.
121	* {{Shapeshifter}}: [[spoiler:Julie]] gets shapeshifting powers after she becomes a wingwolf.
122	* ShipTease: Between Eric and Keeah. In one book where they see their older selves meet after years apart, he notices that neither of them is eager to break their embrace.
123	* SignificantAnagram: [[spoiler:Meredith]] rearranges to spell [[spoiler:Demither]].
124	* SkilledButNaive: Eric with his powers.
125	* SpiderPeople: Max is a spider troll, with the body of a spider and a humanoid head.
126	* {{Sssssnaketalk}}: Lord Sparr talks like this when he's [[spoiler: Prince Maliban]].
127	%%* StandardFantasySetting
128	* TheStarscream: Gethwing seeks to overthrow his emperor Ko.
129	* SubStory: One book has the heroes steal a giant submarine before the bad guys can get it and use it to attack Jaffa City.
130	* SurvivalThroughSelfSacrifice: In one book, [[spoiler:Neal]] accomplishes the "Four Genie Wonders", one of which is "to die for another and yet live", allowing him to become a genie. Though the reason he survived seems to be that he was destined to become a genie all along, and in the process fulfilled a StableTimeLoop.
131	* SwapTeleportation: An involuntary version occurs whenever something from the Upper World is left in Droon after the kids go back, or something from Droon is inadvertently brought into the Upper World (for example, when Julie brought a bracelet back with her, Eric's dad disappeared and was sent to Droon). [[NewRulesAsThePlotDemands Except when it doesn't]]. Why didn't anything happen when [[spoiler:Demither put the Coiled Viper there years ago]]? Or when [[spoiler:Eric becomes Prince Ungast and stays in Droon]]?
132	* TalkingAnimal: What animal in this series ''doesn't'' talk?
133	* TalkingInYourDreams: Dream Thief. Dreams are also Keeah's way of bringing the kids back to Droon in the earlier books.
134	%%* ThirdPersonPerson: Hob talks like this.%%Like what?
135	%%* ThirstyDesert: Panjibarrh.
136	%%* TomboyPrincess: Keeah.
137	* TripToTheMoonPlot: In book 27, the kids go to Droon's moon, which has a breathable atmosphere and a whole city on the far side, using Queen Zara's magical flying chariot.
138	* TheUnderworld: The kids visit Agrah-Voor, city of the dead, in book 7, ''Into the Land of the Lost'', and almost become ghosts themselves.
139	* UpTheRealRabbitHole: For the first book, the kids refer to their world as "the real world", although they don't show too much interest in going back.
140	%%* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[spoiler: Sparr.]]
141	* VanishingVillage:
142	** The Flying City of Ro is invisible except for one day a year, and if you're still there when that day ends, you can't leave until the next time it's visible.
143	** The city of Ut is only accessible for one day every hundred years, and even then only if the bottle it's kept in is placed in a certain geographical location.
144	* WickedWasps: The Golden Wasp is a magical giant wasp that mind-controls anyone it stings.
145	* WildCard: Salamandra. Her only loyalty is to herself, and she helps both the heroes and villains at times.
146	%%* WingedHumanoid: The Hawk Bandits Of Tarkoom.
147	%%* WizardBeard: Galen Longbeard.
148	* WizardsLiveLonger: Galen and Sparr are both over 500 years old.
149	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Ye gods, ''[[spoiler: Sparr]]''. As if [[spoiler: living his life in captivity with Ko, then losing his mother]] wasn't enough, then [[spoiler:his brother has to go and become his ArchNemesis.]] Even with [[spoiler:the whole TakeOverTheWorld thing]], you'd have to have very little heart not to feel sorry for the guy.
150	%%* WorldOfHam: Oh, yes.
151	%%* ZanyScheme: '''Meatballs?!''' ''Really?!'' (ItMakesSenseInContext.)

Context Literature / TheSecretsOfDroon