Emily Rodda

Deltora Quest is one of the hallmarks of my childhood. I eagerly read and reread each book in the series when the next one came out. When they were all out, I read and reread the series whenever it struck my fancy. Which, quite frankly, was a lot. It's hard not to love them though, they're just typical fantasy and fantasy is my one true genre - no matter what else I read, it's always fantasy I come back to.

Quest stories are the quintessence of classic fantasy. There's nothing like a hero show more with a quest against evil. In Deltora Quest, the hero is Lief - a sixteen year old boy who wants nothing more than to return peace and happiness to his kingdom. When he is offered the chance to fulfil a promise his father made, he jumps - leaping headfirst into danger to try to make a difference.

The Belt of Deltora is the only thing that can defeat the Shadow Lord who rules but it was broken many years ago, the seven gems scattered across the realm and guarded by only the most evil creations. Lief sets out to find the gems and reunite the belt so that the Prince of Del can claim his throne and push the evil of the Shadow Lord back into the Shadowlands and away from the kingdom. Lief begins his journey with the beggar Barda, an old friend of his parents but it's not long before they're also joined by Jasmine, the wild orphaned girl they meet at their first stop - and her companions Filli (a possum? mouse? type thing?) and Kree, a raven.

Each book follows the trio as they travel the land for the lost gems, weaving a tightly written narrative with lots of action and adventure. Along the way they meet new people both friends and enemies, have to confront their own hopes and fears and figure out and solve many riddles, puzzles and problems to complete their quest.

Tired and thirsty, the trio are delighted to stumble across a small pool of water. The sign naming it the Dreaming Spring with the words; 'Drink, gentle stranger and welcome. All of evil will beware' though gives them pause. Especially when Jasmine reports that trees surrounding the grove are completely silent. But when Filli and Kree both drink and remain unharmed they decide to risk it and once satisfied make camp deeper in the trees, setting Barda to watch.

Lief wakes up thirsty from a bad dream and decides to head to the Spring. There he is amazed to discover a Kin named Prin - a fabled flying creature he once had a soft toy of. The rest of Prin's Kin (yeah I can't resist that kind of pun) are dreaming and she is delighted at the idea of a playmate. When she suggests hide and seek, Lief can't bear to disappoint and so goes to hide.

Unfortunately Prin is captured by Grey Guards while he does. Barda and Jasmine agree to help him rescue Prin but in the meantime the Grey Guards drink the water and turn into two of the dead silent trees that cover the grove. When the rest of the Kin awaken they learn that only those who mean no harm can drink from the water safely. Furthermore the water is the Dreaming Spring - "whatever or whoever you picture in your mind when you drink, you visit in spirit when you sleep." Jasmine and Barda are comforted by this because they dreamt the Manus and Ralad people and Doom and the resistance members are safe. But Lief is further worried because he dreamt his home was empty and branded with the sign of the Shadow Lord.

They also learn that the Kin relocated from Dread Mountain when the Dread Mountain gnomes stopped trying to kill them using arrows and began actually killing them with poison tipped arrows. The grove was originally their winter home but now they stay all year long and use the water to dream of their mountain home. They are reluctant but when Barda asks them to carry the trio to Dread Mountain, three Kin step forward. They get up early the next day and proceed to fly towards Dread Mountain. I liked this;

Merin glanced up at the lightening sky and turned to Barda. “As I am the largest, you are to ride with me,” she said politely. Plainly, she was anxious to be gone. Rather nervously, Barda climbed into her pouch. Lief had to smile at the sight, and despite their fears many of the watching Kin laughed aloud. “What a large baby you have, Merin,” called Prin’s mother. “And how beautiful!” Both Barda and Merin preserved a dignified silence.

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #5: Dread Mountain (pp. 40-41). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Poor Barda and Merin being mocked so. They fly all day before stopping for the night at Kinrest - a halfway point. However in the cave they find something puzzling - a grave about ten years old with the marker Doom of the Hills. I loved this part, the mystery of Doom deepens. Who is he really? An enemy? A friend?

Back in the sky, the Kin fly as close to the Mountain as possible before starting to make defensive manoeuvres to avoid any gnome arrows before landing.

“Lief, are you all right?” Stiffly, Lief uncovered his face and blinked into Ailsa’s dark, anxious eyes. He swallowed. “I am very well, thank you,” he croaked. “As well as anyone can be who has just crashed through a thorn tree.” Ailsa nodded solemnly. “It was not my best landing,” she agreed. “But there are no gaps in the Boolongs here. That is why we are safe from the gnomes. They do not like the thorns.” “I do not love them myself,” grunted Barda, who was sitting on the ground beside Jasmine, inspecting several wicked-looking scratches on the backs of his hands.

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #5: Dread Mountain (p. 54). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Their landing had me laughing. Alisa nods solemnly. Perfection. The Kin leave shortly after, warning them of the coming storm. Just after they leave though, the trio are horrified to see Prin has followed them and falls prey to a gnome arrow. They rush to get to her and luckily manage to save her with the last few drops of the nectar. Only to run right into a Vraal. This time, Prin saves them with purple moss that burns before using the green moss to heal their injuries.

When they recover, Prin makes a path through the trees and they head up the mountain. At one point they discover an old gnome rest and Barda makes them shields using the walls (which is tree bark). They've just finished when they hear a troop of gnomes and discover the gnomes have made their own well trodden path. I enjoyed how they used their new shields to hide. And how disheartened they are to realise there's a track they could've taken instead of being all scratched up.

But they eventually make it up the mountain and find the door to go in. This is probably my favourite part. The door is dark at the top and light at the bottom with decorative grooves. To begin with Lief uses white dust to rub into the grooves too make the words appear. The words form a rhyme and say you should find an arrow straight and narrow, put it in the arrow shaped hole in the door and push. Which they do. But they hear giggling and hesitate to step forwards. Prin knocks Lief over and Lief suddenly sees why the gnomes are giggling. The decorative grooves aren't grooves - they're stretched out carved words that add to the rhyme and say 'if you want to die'. Because the door leads to a giant pit if you push the door. You need to pull the door to enter safely. Lol tricky. Very tricky and very clever. I loved it.

Although they make it inside they find themselves in a dead end, right before a door slams shut. Locked up, they struggle to come up with a plan without knowing what the gnomes will do. Prin laments that they aren't at the Dreaming Spring so they could dream what the gnomes are doing and Lief gets excited, remembering that they've still got water bottles full of the spring water.

They dream and discovers what the gnomes are up to and worse, what the guardian of Dread Mountain is. A giant slimy poisonous toadlike beast named Gellick that has been living with the gnomes for many years and has enslaved them all.

“Oh, yes,” Lief jeered. “It helped you drive away the Kin, so that now your paths and gnome-rests are smothered by thorny Boolong trees in which Vraal can lie in wait. It enslaved you, so that now you toil day and night in Gellick’s service, half starved and in fear of your lives. You have indeed made a wonderful bargain.”

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #5: Dread Mountain (pp. 110-111). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The make a deal with the gnomes to destroy Gellick in return for the emerald stone he wears on his brow. They plan to use the Grey Guards' blisters against him but are horrified when Gellick calls them fools for using his own poison against him. That's when they learn that while the gnomes harvest the toad's poison, they only keep some to tip their arrows - the rest is taken down the mountain and left near the Shadowlands. Hope seems lost when Lief has a flashback to the Dreaming Spring and proceeds to throw the remainder of his water bottle into Gellick's mouth, turning him into a tree and regaining the fifth gem, the Emerald.

The adventure ends happily when the Kin return to the mountain and the gnomes greet them in friendship. I liked their plan to trick the Shadow Lord with deliveries of fake poison and the fact the Kin and the gnomes are going to work together to achieve it.



5 stars. show less

Lief, Jasmine and Barda have freed Deltora from the Shadow Lord's power, restored the Belt of Deltora and even rescued the Deltoran prisoners from the Shadowlands, but all is not well in Deltora. There is a growing shortage of food as crops fail, harvests lessen and the people starve.

But new information comes to light of a curse the Shadow Lord has left - Four Sisters - terrible servants of the Shadow Lord that are poisoning the land. The only hope is to set out on a new quest to find the show more only thing said to be able to defeat them - the Dragons of Deltora.

Three of the four Sisters have been defeated, leaving only the final threat - the Sister of the South. But Lief, Jasmine and Barda are stunned at the lengths the Enemy will go to succeed.

Plots woven into plots it's amazing how Rodda comes up with her books. This was another fast paced action adventure filled with magic, legends of old and fierce and terrible monsters. More history of the dragons is given and many smaller plots are wrapped up like why Lief looked like Bede from the Masked Ones troupe.

My favourite part though concerned Doom and Jasmine.

‘Ah, she was cunning,’ muttered Doom.
‘Why, you almost sound as if you admire her!’ growled Barda.
Doom grimaced. ‘If she had chosen to use her talents for good, she might have been a great asset to us,’ he said. ‘Lief and I found supplies of that yellow paper beneath her mattress, you know. She never stopped thinking and planning. I am sure that by the end she had convinced Josef that I was working secretly for the Enemy.’

‘I considered that myself, Doom,’ Jasmine said calmly.
‘Indeed?’ Doom said, raising an eyebrow. ‘And why was that?’
‘Lief said the guardian of the south was subtle, quick-thinking, and very clever,’ Jasmine answered, shrugging. ‘That sounded more like you than anyone else in the palace.’
‘Why, thank you,’ Doom said drily.
‘Also …’ Jasmine checked the points off on her fingers. ‘You have been in the Shadowlands. You are proud and ruthless. You mix with strange people. You are awake all hours of the night. You were one of the few to see Sharn the night she fell ill—’

‘Why, plainly Paff went to my room that first night and put poison in my lip balm while I was still downstairs!’ exclaimed Sharn, very shocked. ‘Doom was the one who realised the cream was poisoned, when he brought the royal emeralds and amethysts to my chamber. He was the one who saved me!’
‘And me,’ Zeean put in. ‘Jasmine, how could you think such a thing of your father?’

Jasmine shrugged again. ‘Doom is not an ordinary father,’ she said.
‘Very true,’ said Doom. ‘And you are no ordinary daughter, I am happy to say. If I had been in your place, I would have thought exactly as you did. We are more alike than we realised, it seems.’ He grinned broadly, and Jasmine’s tired face broke into an answering smile.

Zeean and Sharn both shook their heads, clearly bewildered by this strange example of family loyalty.

Rodda, Emily. DQ3 #4: SISTER OF THE SOUTH . Scholastic. Kindle Edition.

Lmfao. It was perfection. It was summed up everything I love about Jasmine and Doom and their relationship to each other. Although I was also pretty amused by Lindal of Broome when she was demanding the meeting be held at her sick bed. Her and Barda are perfect for one another. After all, he did the same thing in Return to Del. And the dragons were fantastic with their disdain for each other and Jasmine arguing against them.

A satisfying conclusion to a terrific fantasy quest with everyone living happily ever after. 5 stars. show less

Deltora Quest is one of the hallmarks of my childhood. I eagerly read and reread each book in the series when the next one came out. When they were all out, I read and reread the series whenever it struck my fancy. Which, quite frankly, was a lot. It's hard not to love them though, they're just typical fantasy and fantasy is my one true genre - no matter what else I read, it's always fantasy I come back to.

Quest stories are the quintessence of classic fantasy. There's nothing like a hero show more with a quest against evil. In Deltora Quest, the hero is Lief - a sixteen year old boy who wants nothing more than to return peace and happiness to his kingdom. When he is offered the chance to fulfil a promise his father made, he jumps - leaping headfirst into danger to try to make a difference.

The Belt of Deltora is the only thing that can defeat the Shadow Lord who rules but it was broken many years ago, the seven gems scattered across the realm and guarded by only the most evil creations. Lief sets out to find the gems and reunite the belt so that the Prince of Del can claim his throne and push the evil of the Shadow Lord back into the Shadowlands and away from the kingdom. Lief begins his journey with the beggar Barda, an old friend of his parents and former palace guard but it's not long before they're also joined by Jasmine, the wild orphaned girl they meet at their first stop - and her companions Filli (a possum? mouse? type thing?) and Kree, a raven.

Each book follows the trio as they travel the land for the lost gems, weaving a tightly written narrative with lots of action and adventure. Along the way they meet new people both friends and enemies, have to confront their own hopes and fears and figure out and solve many riddles, puzzles and problems to complete their quest.



The gang are on their way to the Maze of the Beast but are being hunted by the Shadowlord servants. When they are attacked by Grade One Ols (shapeshifters) they are rescued by Dain - a compatriot of Doom's and part of the Resistance - and make the decision to escort an injured Dain back to the Resistance stronghold. Unfortunately Dain collapses before he can tell them the password - or at least, how to find the password.

I love the codes and clues and puzzles in this series - in order to find the password, you have to find a scrap of paper with the clue. The clue was when enemies at pass, orders normal. Each letter of each word to spell weapon. I think I love it most because I can actually solve these clues. Nothing beats feeling smart.

Of course, although they make it into the Resistance stronghold, they no sooner see Doom before he's locking them up for three days to ensure they're not Ols - only he doesn't let them out when the three days end. Dain comes to the rescue yet again, freeing them in return for going with them to Tora.

Where they had no actual plans to go to but might have possibly not bothered to mention that to him. Still, they need to travel along the coast so they agree to travel together. Well Dain, Lief and Barda - Jasmine, Kree and Filli decide that since they're making the group the most noticeable - they'll be the ones to travel separately to their meeting point. Which would be find except Jasmine, Kree and Filli are the eyes and ears of the operation. Oops. But Lief can't deny they're no longer of interest to the servants of the Shadowlord - even if they are still ripe pickings for bandits.

In the meantime Lief worries about Jasmine, Kree and Filli and vows that once together again - they will no longer split up. Aww - love is in the air?

Before long they come across Where Waters Meet a small settlement on the river. Passing through is Steven and Nevets, proprietors of S+N B Fine Wares and the boys all buy something to support the son of Queen Bee and are rewarded with a small jar of Quality Brand Honey. Barda picks up a embroidered belt - later he splits the seam and convinces Lief to hide the Belt inside for disguise. They continue on and end up coming across the River Queen - a passenger boat - and decide to pay for passage. And meet Jasmine in disguise! Except they don't notice!

The last passenger was a haughty-looking young woman in a fine purple cloak tied at the throat with golden cord. The hands that held her golden parasol were tightly gloved in black to match her shining high-heeled boots. A scarf of purple silk was bound closely around her head. Long golden earrings swung from her ears. Her face was powdered white, her lips were painted red, and her eyes were outlined heavily in black. After one bored glance at the newcomers she turned away and stared out at the water, twirling her parasol.

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #6: The Maze of the Beast (p. 69). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The young woman in the purple cloak twirled her parasol and stared out at the river. The companions sat down on a bench by the rail. “A strange group,” Barda muttered. “We will have to keep our wits about us.” “Indeed.” They all looked up. The young woman in purple had moved closer to them. She was still staring at the water, but plainly it was she who had spoken. Lief stared at her. At the proud tilt of her head, the painted lips, the black-shadowed eyes, the long golden earrings. Then he had the shock of his life as he recognized her. It was Jasmine.

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #6: The Maze of the Beast (pp. 71-72). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Jasmine is the bomb.

And then the boat gets boarded by pirates.

In a flash, Jasmine had wriggled free, leaving her cloak in the woman’s hands. In a moment her dagger was in her hand, and her booted foot was kicking backwards with deadly force. The woman howled and fell back, lurching into Lief’s attacker and sending him sprawling. Jasmine hauled Lief to his feet and passed him her second dagger. “Stay behind me!” she ordered.

Rodda, Emily. Deltora Quest #6: The Maze of the Beast (p. 78). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Honestly I just love Jasmine. I adore that every single time there's danger - she's the badass fixing the problems and Lief is just being ordered to stay back. And I love that she's adaptable. Nothing throws her or is anything more than a challenge she sets out to overcome.

So there's a fight and they end up cold, wet and despairing. They're being stalked by Ols, Dain's been kidnapped, Barda is feared dead and the pirates have possession of a (disguised) Belt of Deltora. Thankfully, Barda returns and that's enough to cheer the gang up a little as they plan to follow the pirates and get the Belt back. Unfortunately their plans are quickly disrupted when they're tricked by an Ol, captured by the pirates and are thrown into the Maze of the Beast. But they manage to recover the Belt so success!

In the cavernous maze they find the guardian is a beast called the Glus - a giant slug like creature that seems to hunt by movement. Finding the sixth gem - the amethyst - in the icy wall, Lief manages to multitask, finding the gem and their exit - a blowhole. Sure they're almost captured by the pirates again but thankfully the blowhole serves a secondary purpose by taking out the remaining pirates. Safe and sound, they retrieve their possessions and set off to their next destination, the Valley of the Lost. Well all except Dain but I didn't really like him anyway.



5 stars. show less

Deltora Quest is one of the hallmarks of my childhood. I eagerly read and reread each book in the series when the next one came out. When they were all out, I read and reread the series whenever it struck my fancy. Which, quite frankly, was a lot. It's hard not to love them though, they're just typical fantasy and fantasy is my one true genre - no matter what else I read, it's always fantasy I come back to.

Quest stories are the quintessence of classic fantasy. There's nothing like a hero show more with a quest against evil. In Deltora Quest, the hero is Lief - a sixteen year old boy who wants nothing more than to return peace and happiness to his kingdom. When he is offered the chance to fulfil a promise his father made, he jumps - leaping headfirst into danger to try to make a difference.

The Belt of Deltora is the only thing that can defeat the Shadow Lord who rules but it was broken many years ago, the seven gems scattered across the realm and guarded by only the most evil creations. Lief sets out to find the gems and reunite the belt so that the Prince of Del can claim his throne and push the evil of the Shadow Lord back into the Shadowlands and away from the kingdom. Lief begins his journey with the beggar Barda, an old friend of his parents but it's not long before they're also joined by Jasmine, the wild orphaned girl they meet at their first stop - and her companions Filli (a possum? mouse? type thing?) and Kree, a raven.

Each book follows the trio as they travel the land for the lost gems, weaving a tightly written narrative with lots of action and adventure. Along the way they meet new people both friends and enemies, have to confront their own hopes and fears and figure out and solve many riddles, puzzles and problems to complete their quest.

I loved the first book. The first half takes us back to the beginning - the history of Del, the friendship between Jarred and Endon and the unfolding of the Shadow Lord's plan to take over. When the King dies and Endon is crowned, Jarred warns him of his suspicions about putting the Belt of Deltora away to be guarded in a tower instead of wearing it and the danger he thinks the Chief Advisor (a man called Prandine) presents but Endon doesn't listen and instead, Jarred runs from the castle, swearing to always come to the aid of Endon if he calls. A bunch of years later - he does. I always really liked the rhyme about disturbing the bear to get into the castle and the fact Jarred and Endon had their own code to write secret messages. I adored the fact that Queen Sharn is the one who saves both Jarred and Endon from Prandine by using her wits and tricking him.

The second half takes place sixteen years later. The Shadow Lord has taken over and now rules the land. A crippled Jarred can no longer undertake the quest and so, it falls upon his son, Lief to fulfil the promise he made to Endon. Lief jumps at the chance to prove himself and so him and Barda pack up and head out to their first destination, the Forests of Silence. They find trouble straight away and it's only through the compassion, quick thinking and bravery of Jasmine that they are saved. She leads them to her 'nest' and agrees to lead them to the evilest part of the forest where the gem is most likely to be. There they find that a golden knight rules, killing anyone who tries to steal his treasure - the Lilies of Life. They defeat him and take his sword which contains the Topaz. When Jasmine accidentally touches it the ghost of her dead mother returns and tells her that she should leave her home and travel with Lief and Barda to help them in their quest and so Jasmine joins the journey.

Jasmine would have to be my favourite character. She is totally badass. She's a great strong female role model - she's brave, ruthless to her enemies, full of love for her friends and loves to champion an underdog. While I do love Lief and Barda, Jasmine is awesome. Lief can actually be regarded as rather soft compared to her which is an interesting dynamic and one you don't really see that much. He finds her brutal for stripping the Grey Guards that invade the forest - even though they are evil and would kill her in a heartbeat. It's an interesting dilemma. The truth is she's a survivor and will do what she needs to do in order to protect herself and her loved ones, distasteful or not.

And so ends the first book with the first gem returned to the Belt and our heroes united against the evil of the land.



5 stars. show less