Emily Rodda

Secrets of Deltora is a companion volume to the Deltora Quest series. "Written" by Doran the Dragonlover - a Deltoran hero and adventurer - the book is in the style of a travel guide to Deltora and interspersed with various anecdotes and commentary.

Although this started out strong I lost interest as the commentary of Doran's quest to save the dragons abated and more time was spent on the geography and things to do in the various towns. That said for those who enjoy the more obscure companion texts that add to the world building, this is a treat. Unfortunately while I'm a fan of folklore and fairy tales and even the history of the world's I read about - I'm not so interested in the geography. So this was a bit of a miss.

An interesting addition to the world of Deltora but only really for die hard fans. 3 stars.… (mer)

Tales of Deltora is a companion volume to the Deltora Quest series featuring all of the mentioned myths and legends of Deltoran history. It focuses on the beginnings of the Shadow Lord and Shadowlands and the union of the seven tribes by Adin, the creator of the Belt of Deltora.

This was fantastic. Although concise this had many things I had been curious or fascinated by and filled in a lot of the details the stories had left out in the main books. Theoretically these are all individual tales and could be read in any order but I found it more enjoyable to read as is.

My favourite tales from the Tenna Birdsongs were The Seven Goblins and Opal the Dreamer, while my favourites from The Deltora Annals were The Bargain of the Mere and The Archer of Azzure. But I honestly loved all of them.

I was amused by the the tale of Adin in the Shifting Sands asking if he can take the head. Lmfao. And I also really enjoyed the councillors of Del.

Jealously, he wondered which of the other councillors had called this sudden meeting, and why he had not been informed of it in good time.
As it happened, all the other councillors were wondering the same thing. But, not wishing to seem foolish, or less important than their fellows, none of them asked the question aloud. As the ordinary folk around them murmured excitedly, glancing at them with questioning eyes, they all stroked their beards or folded
their arms, nodding thoughtfully and pretending to a knowledge they did not have.

Rodda, Emily. Tales of Deltora (p. 90). Scholastic.

While some of the tales are familiar, many are new or add further detail and all will be enjoyable to new and old fans alike. 5 stars.… (mer)

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 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.… (mer)

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 only thing said to be able to defeat them - the Dragons of Deltora.

Lief, Jasmine and Barda have defeated the Sisters of the East and of the North and are on their way west to find the third Sister. But they are delayed in their journey when they become tangled up with Laughing Jack, Verity, Red Hans and a ghost ship.

The story of Red Hans, Verity and the ghost ship was fascinating. Verity was awesome. I loved her cursing Laughing Jack and the crew with their downfall. The only thing more epic was Jasmine using that vow to never take any of the crew's winnings to doom Laughing Jack to eternal servitude as a rower. I don't know why Lief was so judgey about it. Jasmine was right - she didn't make him steal the gold back. She just made sure the temptation was available. The other characters were interesting too. Tom and Ava made me laugh - I only wish we got to learn more about Ava - her appearance is kind of brief. Barda's outrage at Ava's prices was amusing. Although frankly I thought it was more outrageous that Tom sent gifts and then proceeded to ask for payment. I mean sure, they can afford it but seriously?

I liked the amethyst dragon as well. She was nicer than the others and a lot more reasonable. I definitely want to know more about the diamond dragon. I felt sorry for the mother dragon though. And Doran actually but at least he's now been put to rest.

A fast paced action packed adventure. I can't wait to read the conclusion to the quartet. 5 stars.… (mer)