Plot summary
The novel opens with Gregor's little sister Lizzie preparing to go to camp, while Gregor and Boots head down to the Underland. Ripred introduces Gregor to the now-teenaged Pearlpelt so Gregor can observe "the Bane's" violent instability, and choose to kill him before he ends up in a leadership position. Gregor is uncomfortable with the idea. The next day, he returns to dissuade Ripred, but is instead attacked by the Bane's friends.
After several more weeks, Ripred is still missing, but Gregor remains relaxed until a messenger unexpectedly delivers Luxa her crown. Luxa and her friends know that this is a distress call from the nibbler colony in the Jungle. They investigate, but discover only a deceased mouse and an abandoned colony. Luxa is distraught, and decides to visit the nibblers' other colony at the Fount, under the pretense of going on a picnic date. This ruse leads to several others coming along as well. The group finds the colony mysteriously deserted, though they do discover a "mark of secret" which Hazard says warns of death and sorrow. The traveling party tracks the mice into the Swag, but are forced into Hades Hall by an earthquake. During their journey back to Regalia, they learn the Bane has been systematically executing nibblers, which leads Luxa to declare war against all gnawers. Gregor becomes annoyed with Luxa as the consequences of her actions become apparent.
The team eventually locates the missing nibblers, trapped by rats in a natural gas chamber, and is shocked to discover an Underland children's song describes the scene perfectly (and is thus yet another of Bartholomew of Sandwich's dreadful prophecies). A volcano starts to erupt nearby, and all rush to escape. Though one of their number dies in the explosion, the group travels sadly on until they exit the Firelands. Once there, they part ways: Gregor, Ares, and Temp going to escort the young and injured back to Regalia and spread the news of the rats' plans; the rest returning to protect and mobilize any remaining nibblers. Gregor wants to join the latter group, but Ripred convinces him to go learn about the "Prophecy of Time" and finally claim Sandwich's sword. Ripred also helps Gregor realize his new romantic feelings for Luxa, which have kept him moody and confused during their entire journey. The novel ends with Gregor accepting his role as Sandwich's "warrior" by claiming his sword, and training for war. [1]
The Prophecy of Secret
The prophecy in this book is carved into the walls of an old nursery in the Regalian Palace. The Underlanders take it for a popular nursery rhyme of sorts, like Hey Diddle Diddle or Humpty Dumpty. Underland children sing and dance to it at parties, as Gregor discovers in the early chapters of the novel. Unlike the rest of Sandwich's prophecies, it is not known to be such at the beginning of the book.
When the characters witness the mass death of a group of nibblers, and Boots' dancing mimics the terrifying scene perfectly, they reevaluate the nursery rhyme as a prophecy. They find it describes the extermination of the nibblers, and it is dubbed the "Prophecy of Secret" by Aurora. [1]
Publication
Gregor and the Marks of Secret was first published by Scholastic on May 1, 2006. An audiobook version was released by Listening Library on May 13, 2008, read by Paul Boehmer. [2] It has been translated into German, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Polish. [3]
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