The Fallen Country

by Somtow Sucharitkul

Living in a land of eternal cold, populated by ice princesses and snow dragons and ruled by the mysterious Ringmaster, Billy Binder is joined by a group of school friends who help him discover the Ringmaster's secret powers.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction

198 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1986

About the author

also known as S.P. Somtow

Reviews

[Jessada Karnjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ความจริงบางอย่างมันไม่ควรมีอยู่บนโลก อย่างเช่นเมืองแก้ว หรือเด็กถูกทำร้าย ผู้ใหญ่บางคนอ้างโลกทั้งใบที่ไร้ความปรานีเป็นต้นเหตุบีบบังคับให้เขาต้องทำแบบนั้น แต่ก็มีเด็กบางคนที่มีผู้ใหญ่ไร้ความปรานีบีบให้เข้าต้องสร้างโลกใหม่ขึ้นทั้งใบ

[Meizhangza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Thai translation of the story, not the English one. So there might be some mistakes in the names of people and places and spellings.

This story is quite satirizing. All the fantasy settings are not convincing enough. For the whole time of reading this, I was thinking of the fallen country as Billy's imagination that is made solid, in the story, just because he believes in it so strongly and so do his friends. It's more like illusion experienced by a group of people. The country does not really exist. It's just a symbol to help emphasize the idea that abused children are abused until they become insensible to the pain and torture, like being in the Fallen Country. For the children to stand up and take revenge on the abuser is not the real solution. It's just gonna recreate the endless cycle of child abuse. The best solution is to forgive the abuser and stop the abuse for the sake of other children. And it's adult's duty to take care of children safety though in most part of the story they did the opposite things.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern classic of fiction for young people. Like Rowling, Somtow writes children's literature without talking down to the reader. Far too many books for young people make the mistake of thinking that children can't understand what they read. Somtow let's the story unfold on it's own without needing to censor reality. It's a pity that his work doesn't get the recognition that it deserves. Adding the original short story is a nice touch for this edition, but the novel is a true masterpiece.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Rowling, Somtow writes children's literature without talking down to the reader. Far too many books for young people make the mistake of thinking that children can't understand what they read. Somtow let's the story unfold on it's own with out needing to censor reality. It's a pity that his work doesn't get the recognition that it deserves. Adding the original short story is a nice touch for this edition, but the novel is a true masterpiece.