Deltora series - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Deltora Quest book series is the collective title for three series of children's literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

book

Book

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

s, written by Australian author Emily Rodda

Jennifer Rowe

Jennifer June Rowe is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson...

. It follows the adventures of three companions as they journey across the fictitious land of Deltora, endeavouring to recover the magical Belt of Deltora and defeat allies of the evil Shadow Lord. The series was first published in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

in 2000, and has since been published in more than 30 countries. As of February 2010, the series has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, including 2 million in Australia. It is published by Scholastic in Australia

Australia

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In most countries, the series is illustrated by Marc McBride.

The series consists of fifteen books: the first eight comprise the Deltora Quest

Deltora Quest 1

Deltora Quest is the original series created by the author Emily Rodda in the year 2000 in Australia. There are eight books in this series: The Forests of Silence, The Lake of Tears, City of the Rats, The Shifting Sands, Dread Mountain, The Maze of the Beast, The Valley of the Lost and Return to...

series, the next three comprise the Deltora Shadowlands

Deltora Quest 2

Deltora Quest 2 is a series of children’s fantasy books, written by Australian author Emily Rodda. It follows the adventures of three companions as they journey outside the magical land of Deltora to rescue the many prisoners held captive by the evil Shadow Lord...

series (also known as Deltora Quest 2, Deltora II or Deltora 2) and the final four comprise the Dragons of Deltora

Deltora Quest 3

Deltora Quest 3 is a series of children's fantasy books, written by Australian author Emily Rodda...

series (also known as Deltora Quest 3, Deltora III or Deltora 3). There are also six other official bonus books to the series: The Deltora Book of Monsters

The Deltora Book of Monsters

The Deltora Book of Monsters is a fictional guide to monsters of Deltora, as part of the Deltora book series, written by Emily Rodda and illustrated by Marc McBride. The book itself is mentioned in the series and is said to be written by a palace librarian, Josef....

, Tales of Deltora, The Authorised Ultimate Deltora Quiz Book, How to Draw Deltora Monsters, How to Draw Deltora Dragons and Other Creatures and Secrets of Deltora. An anime adaptation of the series

Deltora Quest (anime)

is a Japanese anime series based on the series of children's books of the same name, written by Australian author Emily Rodda. It was announced by Rodda herself at Sydney's Book Council of Australia Conference and at an ABC Kids convention. The series was produced by Genco and SKY Perfect Well Think...

aired on Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese television from 6 January 2007 to 29 March 2008. A Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

game for Deltora Quest has also been made in Japan.

Creation and publication

Emily Rodda conceived of the Deltora series as a classical quest

Quest

In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...

featuring a continuing storyline told over several books. She purposely modelled the structure of the series on the structure of a video game, after noting how engaged her own children were with video games. The success of Rodda's previous fantasy series, Rowan of Rin

Rowan of Rin

The Rowan of Rin series is a series of five children's fantasy novels by Australian author Emily Rodda. The series follow the adventures of a shy village boy, Rowan...

, helped Deltora get published as both series take place in completely fantastic worlds: Rowan of Rin was unusual because most children's fantasy series published at that time followed the Alice in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...

model where contemporary children found their way into a magical world. Rodda worked on the manuscript for some time before taking it to her publisher. She spent time developing the world of Deltora before working on the story in great detail—Rodda believes that fantasy authors must make their fictional worlds seem completely real.
> Books in the first series all number about 120 pages in the Australian versions. In the second, they are around 141–155 pages each. Books in the third series are the longest, with each ranging from around 180 to 205 pages. In some countries the series are available in boxed set

Boxed set

A box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related items that are contained in a box.-Music box sets:...

s and all-in-one volumes.

Reception and awards

The series has been praised for its use of riddle

Riddle

A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and...

s and code

Code

A code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....

s, fast pace and epic setting. It has also been commended for its allegorical

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

levels that address contemporary issues.

Because the series was published at around the same time as the Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

series and because it shares some similarities in genre, it is often cited as a good series for children to read in between Harry Potter installments. Emily Rodda states that she thinks the success of the Harry Potter series helped the international sales of the Deltora series, although she states it didn't affect her writing as she has been writing children's fantasy for more than 20 years before Harry Potter.

Since being published the series has won numerous awards including the 2003 YABBA award (VIC children's choice), the 2002 KOALA award (NSW children's choice), the 2002 Aurealis Awards: Peter McNamara Convenors' Award and the 2002 WA Young Reader's Book Awards: Most Popular Book. The series as a whole was voted the 30th best book in a 2004 Australian nationwide poll that included books of all genres.

Deltora Quest

The first series of Deltora Quest follows the journeys of Lief, the son of a humble blacksmith, who, on his sixteenth birthday, sets out to fulfil his fathers quest to restore the Belt of Deltora. Joining Lief is an ex-palace guard named Barda. Along the way they meet with Jasmine: a wild child of the Forests of Silence, who has long, black hair and emerald eyes. She can speak to trees and has two pets: a raven named Kree and a small, gray, furry creature called Filli. Their quest is to find the seven gems of the fabled Belt of Deltora: Diamond

Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

, Emerald

Emerald

Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...

, Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli

Lapis lazuli is a relatively rare semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color....

, Topaz

Topaz

Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...

, Opal

Opal

Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...

, Ruby

Ruby

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...

, and Amethyst

Amethyst

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief...

.(Not in that particular order.) The gems each have a special power and are hidden in dangerous locations around Deltora. The three friends must face numerous perils to reach them. Once the Belt is complete and the proper descendant of the first King of Deltora, Adin, wears the belt, the evil tyranny of the Shadow Lord will be forced back to the Shadowlands, . The books in this series are The Forests of Silence

The forests of silence

The Forests of Silence was written by Emily Rodda, and is the first book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest series. It was awarded "Notable Series in Children's Book of the Year Awards 2001: Younger Readers"...

, The Lake of Tears

The lake of tears

The Lake of Tears is the second book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest series written by Emily Rodda. It continues the trio's journey to find the seven missing gems of Deltora, braving dangers and guardians in each book.-Plot summary:...

, City of the Rats

City of the Rats

City of the Rats is the third book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest series written by Emily Rodda. It continues the trio's journey to find the seven missing gems of Deltora, braving dangers and guardians in each book.-Plot summary:...

, The Shifting Sands

The Shifting Sands

The Shifting Sands is the fourth book in the eight-volume Deltora Quest fantasy novel series written by Emily Rodda. It continues the trio's journey to find the seven missing gems of Deltora, braving dangers and Guardians in each book.-Plot:...

, Dread Mountain

Dread Mountain

Dread Mountain is the fifth book in the Deltora Quest children's fantasy series written by Emily Rodda. It continues the quest of Lief, Barda, and Jasmine to find the seven missing gems of Deltora, braving dangers and Guardians in each book. The fourth gem has been found and the fifth is hidden in...

, The Maze of the Beast, The Valley of the Lost, and Return to Del.

Deltora Shadowlands

In Deltora Shadowlands, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine embark on a quest below the land of Deltora, and travel through strange societies underground. They were formed by the three tribes of the former inhabitants of the Shadowlands, which was, long ago, a beautiful land, with the Shadow Lord repressed by the magic of the Pirran Pipe. The three adventurers convince each tribe to lend them their pieces of the Pipe, before Lief, Barda and Jasmine travel into the Shadowlands itself in order to use the Pipe to hold off the Shadow Lord and his evil power long enough for the thousands of Deltoran slaves to escape. The books are Cavern of the Fear, The Isle of Illusion

Deltora Quest 2

, and The Shadowlands

Deltora Quest 2

Dragons of Deltora

In Dragons of Deltora, the three companions once again must save Deltora, this time from the Four Sisters, evil creations of the Shadow Lord. These four Sisters sing their songs of death across Deltora, poisoning the land and gradually causing Deltora's crops to wither, resulting in famine across the land. With only a part of a torn map, left by Doran the Dragonlover, they set out to find these Sisters and destroy them. Each Sister must be destroyed with the aid of a dragon. When each Sister and the Sister's guardian are destroyed another fragment of the map is found. Eventually they discover that the Sisters are hidden in the four most eastern, northern, western and southern corners of Deltora. The Sister of the East is hidden in Dragon's Nest. The Sister of the North is hidden at Shadowgate and the Sister of the West is on the Isle of the Dead. The Sister of the South is hidden in the city of Del, which happens to be the hometown of Lief. The books are named after the Sister's locations Dragon's Nest, Shadowgate, Isle of the Dead, and The Sister of the South.

Add-on books

There are six add-on books. These are:
How to Draw Deltora Monsters, How to Draw Deltora Dragons, The Deltora Book of Monsters, Tales of Deltora, Secrets of Deltora and The Authorised Ultimate Deltora Quiz Book.

Lief

At the start of the series, Lief is the son of a blacksmith who lives in the run down city of Del. He is (as Barda describes him) "a young hot-head" and spends his time roaming the streets and both tempting and dodging trouble. On his 16th birthday he leaves Del on his father's quest to find the magical gems missing from the Belt of Deltora and the heir destined to wear it. Lief is tempted in many ways and by the end of the first series he has grown not only in bravery and strength, but also in wisdom and patience. Lief is very courageous and extremely trustworthy. A few times he considers giving up the quest, but the thought of his friends or allies suffering always helps him to continue. The second series sees the characters questioning their trust of one another as they plot to save the slaves in the Shadowlands. In the third series, Lief and friends once more quest around Deltora, awakening the ancient dragons which help him destroy the Sisters of the North, South, East and West. In the eighth book, it is told that Lief's hair is dark. It is implied in Isle of the Dead that he is at least eighteen. During the second series, Lief and Jasmine's romantic feelings for each other become more pronounced, and at the end of the third series, they get married and have three children, a daughter named Anna and twin sons called Jarred and Endon.

Jasmine

Jasmine is approximately the same age as Lief (16). She is described as having black hair(dark green in anime) which frames her elfin like face and emerald green eyes. She is often described as impatient and lonely, but with a good heart. In the beginning of the series Jasmine is a wild orphan girl who lives a solitary life in the dangerous Forests of Silence, until she meets Lief and Barda when they trapped by the Wenn. Her only friends in the Forests are the raven named Kree and a small furry animal called Filli. Jasmine understands the language of trees and many other animals. She is independent, like Lief, though she displays far less tact. She is also unafraid of standing up for what she believes in, if she feels something is injust or incorrect she explains her view without any fear of reprimandation. She believes in equal rights and fairness, her only problem is that she cannot understand people who will not fight for themselves. Growing up alone, Jasmine knows how to defend for herself. Because of her upbringing, she is used to getting her own way, which causes conflict with her companions. In the beginning, she has no understanding of money. In the series she finds her long lost father and they are once again reunited. She shows romantic interest in Lief, even though they don't always see eye to eye. In the final chapter of the last book, Lief and Jasmine are married. Thanks to the fact that she grew up in the forest, she was more agile than most people and could balance on things very easily, as demonstrated in the rithmere games, when she wins by using her wits. She also has a very short temper, which causes her to go ballistic when Doom (her father, unknown to them both at the time) asks about her parents. She beat him anyway after running around the ring quite easily and even at one point taking a piggyback ride on him. Because of her short temper, many people described her as 'wild' and 'crazy'.

Barda

At the beginning of the series Barda appears to be a poor beggar living on the streets of Del. He is revealed to be an ex-palace guard who assumes the role of protector to Lief, much to both his and Lief's dismay. He is a skilled swordsman and frequently makes jokes about being stuck with two young hot-heads: Lief and Jasmine. During the series, Barda competes in a contest in which he describes his special skill as strength. He helps Lief and Jasmine along the quest and is always stronghearted, never gives up hope and is rather a gentle giant. At the end of the third series Barda finds love and happiness with Lindal of Broome, who he marries and together they have six children all taller than their parents and like peas in a pod.

Jarred

Jarred is Lief's father and Endon's best friend. Early on he was forced to leave the castle of Del when Endon's evil adviser Prandine accuses him of attempting to murder Endon. He spent his young life as a blacksmith before helping Endon when the gems were stolen from the Belt of Deltora. He let Endon and wife Sharn take his and his wife's place as blacksmith and they escaped into the Forest of Silence. There, his wife Anna was killed by Grey Guards and he was captured, with Jasmine ending up left to grow up alone. Jarred escaped the Shadowlands, the only person able to do so, and suffered a head injury that took away his memory. He named himself Doom and became leader of the Resistance against the Shadow Lord. He helped Lief and friends sparingly until the Belt was completed and revealed to him. He organized the plans to return to Del. There he was hurt again and regained his memories. Lief was forced to flee and Doom, Jasmine, and Barda were captured before he was able to reveal Lief's royal heritage, however. He survived the battle and sat the rest of the series out, remaining in Del. Lief and Jasmine had a son named after him

King Endon

Endon starts his life as a friend of Jarred and heir to the throne of Deltora. Much of Endon's life is spent training to become the next King of Deltora, learning rules and politics. Endon's father dies from a "terrible fever", making Endon the new King of Deltora. A day later his father's chief adviser, Prandine, reports to him that his friend Jarred is trying to kill him. Blindly Endon believes him, causing Jarred to run away. For the next couple of years Endon lives peacefully in the palace until Min, King Endon's childhood maid, tells Endon that enemies lie within the palace itself. Endon does not believe Min and sends her back to her work. In the next hour Endon finds Min dead. Desperate, Endon seeks the help of Jarred and helps him arrive to the palace via a secret passage. Endon finds Jarred and they go to the top tower with Sharn, Endon's wife, and find the gems of the Belt of Deltora gone. After, they find Prandine and he admits that Jarred did nothing wrong, that he (Prandine) killed Endon's father by poison, and also that he is a servant of the Shadow Lord. Prandine tries to kill them but Sharn throws Prandine out of the palace tower. With Prandine dead Endon and Sharn run away under the protection of Jarred. Jarred and his wife Anna leave Del and Endon and Sharn take over their identities as the town's blacksmiths. Endon and Sharn have a son they name Lief and when Lief turns sixteen, Endon sends Lief on a quest to find the seven lost gems of Deltora without telling Lief of his true lineage.

Sharn

Sharn is the Toran wife of King Endon of Deltora. She is an extraordinary weaver, and even makes Lief's cloak which can blend in with its surroundings and saves the trio from capture numerous times. Despite being of noble birth and having a very safe life, she is incredibly brave. This is shown when she throws Prandine off the Palace tower, and also when she is interrogated by Fallow, an Ol in the same form as the advisor Prandine.

Themes

A recurring political theme expressed in the series is that a leader who does not understand ordinary people is doomed to failure. Another political theme focuses on the disastrous results of leaders who ignore history. The final books explore the nature of despair. The 1st and 2nd series explores the theme of "united we stand, divided we fall". The theme of gambling, and how it equates to trickery also revisits the story occasionally.

Adaptations

Rodda has said there has been some interest in adapting the Deltora series into a film but she refused to let any adaptation change the story. There is also a Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

real-time RPG confirmed with all three characters. A 65 part Deltora Quest

Deltora Quest (anime)

anime series

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

of the first eight books began its broadcast season in Japan on January 6, 2007. Rodda chose this option because she and her kids "love" Japanese anime and because she wanted any adaptation of Deltora to be "cool". The series is produced at Oriental Light and Magic and is directed by Mitsuru Hongo

Mitsuru Hongo

is a Japanese anime director of film and television who directed animes such as IGPX, Outlaw Star, and The Candidate for Goddess.-References:...

. The studio keeps the quest magic jewels intact in the story, but one noticeable alteration has been made: Lief's hair color has been changed from black to blonde. Others include the Resurrection of Theagan along with at least one new villain, Oscar. Rodda has not ruled out a live action version of the story (either film or television) being made at some point in the future, but she intends to wait until she gets an offer that "is genuinely admiring of the books as they are." There is currently a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

adaptation by Makoto Niwano

Makoto Niwano

is a manga artist.He created several series, including Bomber Girl.-References:...

, serialised in Bom Bom Comics

Comic Bom Bom

was a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Kodansha and targeted at elementary school boys. Each issue had 700+ pages, with 80 of them being full-color advertisements. Similar to its rival CoroCoro Comic, it featured tie-ins with game makers and toy makers but toward the end of its run had...

and published by Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

External links

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