Deltora series
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The Deltora book series is the collective title for three series of children’s fantasy books, written by Australian author Emily Rodda. It follows the adventures of three companions as they journey across the magical land of Deltora, endeavouring to recover magical artifacts and defeat allies of the evil Shadow Lord. The series was first published in Australia between 2000 and 2005. It has been published in more than 30 countries and 10 million copies worldwide, including 2 million in Australia[1]. It is published by Scholastic in Australia and the USA. The series is illustrated by Marc McBride in most countries.
The series consists of fifteen books: the first eight comprise the Deltora Quest series, the next three comprise the Deltora Shadowlands series (also known as Deltora Quest 2) and the final four comprise the Dragons of Deltora series (also known as Deltora Quest 3). There are five other official books that compliment the series: The Deltora Book of Monsters, Tales of Deltora, The Authorised Ultimate Deltora Quiz Book, How to Draw Deltora Monsters, and How to Draw Deltora Dragons. A Japanese anime adaptation of the series is currently showing on Japanese television. [2].
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[edit] Creation and Publication
Emily Rodda conceived of the Deltora series as a classical quest featuring a continuing storyline told over several books[3]. She purposely modelled the structure of the series on the structure of a computer game, after noting how engaged her own children were with video games[4]. The success of Rodda's previous fantasy series, Rowan of Rin, 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 model where contemporary children found their way into a magical world[5]. Rodda worked on the manuscript for some time before taking it to her publisher[3]. 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[6].
Deltora is an adventure that features lots of swordfights and monsters. The continuing story of each series is broken down into stages through the use of plot coupons. It also makes use of plot twists, red herrings and foreshadowing, especially in regards to the backstories of its central characters. It draws most heavily on the conventions of the fantasy genre: it features magical amulets, a disembodied evil Dark Lord and a teenage boy hero with dark hair. Each book includes some maps, diagrams or illustrations.
The Deltora series is well known for its array of fictional plants and animals.
The series is marketed for younger readers aged 8 to 14[7], although has been recommended by fans for readers of all ages[8]. The first eight books are all about 120 pages long in their Australian versions. The next three are slightly longer at around 135 - 145 pages each. The final four are the longest, ranging from around 160 to 185 pages. In some countries the series are available in boxed sets and all-in-one volumes.
[edit] Plot Synopsis
[edit] Deltora Quest
The first series of Deltora Quest follows the journeys of Lief, who has set out to do his Father's Quest of saving Deltora. Joining Lief is the ex-Palace Guard Barda. Along the way they meet with Jasmine - a wild child of the Forests of Silence. Their quest is to find the seven gems of the fabled Belt of Deltora: topaz, ruby, opal, lapis lazuli, emerald, amethyst, and diamond. Each gem is hidden in a dangerous location around Deltora and the three friends must face all sorts of perils to reach them. Once the Belt is complete the evil tyranny of the Shadow Lord will end and Deltora's one sole heir will take his/her rightful place on the Quest.
The books are 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 Del.
[edit] Deltora Quest 2 (Deltora Shadowlands)
In Deltora Quest 2, Lief and his companions, Barda and Jasmine set out on a quest below the land of Deltora, and travel through the strange societies underground, 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 power long enough for the thousands of Deltoran slaves to escape.
The books are The Cavern of the Fear, The Isle of Illusion, and The Shadowlands.
[edit] Deltora Quest 3 (Dragons of Deltora)
Once again the three companions have to save Deltora, this time from the Four Sisters, evil creations of the Shadow Lord. These four sisters sing their songs of death across Deltora causing Deltora's food supply to become limited and these songs "bring to the land a long slow death." 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 is destoyed with the aid of a dragon. When each sister and the sister's Guardian are destroyed another fragment of the map is found and they discover that the final sister is hidden in their hometown of Del. While they try to stop the sister the rest of Del is being poisoned by the evil Guardian of the South. Eventually, after the three companions destroy the sister of the south, a great poisonous, acidic liquid is released from the center of Deltora. With the help of the last seven dragons, however, the poison is stopped and the series ends with the wedding of Jasmine and Lief.
The books are Dragon's Nest, Shadowgate, Isle of the Dead, and The Sister of the South.
[edit] Tales of Deltora
Tales of Deltora was a book compiled with the history of Deltora by Josef, the librarian In the time of King Alton and King Leif. It told of in the beginning of time there were many islands, all separated from each other. Beasts lurked in the water and dragons ruled over the skies. In the Land of Dragons, one of the islands, there were people and to their north was an island with pure white sand and said to have sparkling ponds and wise, kind inhabitants. One day the rock in the sea broke, engulfing the sea in fire from the Earth's core. The sea beasts were almost extinct by now, leaving the seas free of danger. The clash between fire and water created a mountain between the Land of Dragons and the island north to it. The island was protected by magic and could not be entered. It also told of an evil sorcerer who one day was ship-wrecked into the Land of Dragons. He fled to the mountains where he lived in secret with murderers and bandits who had been banished. One day, while the sorcerer was taking a walk, he saw an egg. It turned out to be an Ak-Baba, a very powerful bird which was the size of a full-grown dragon. Slowly the sorcerer began to grow stronger in the Dark Arts and promised to rule over both the island to the north and the Land of Dragons. Later, Pirran, the island to the north, was found out by the sorcerer to be protected by a flute. The flute played notes so beautiful no evil could arouse where it was heard. After awhile the Chief of the island, and the one who played the flute, died and a new player was going to have to be chosen. Three players, who were very good, were to be voted on to be the new player. They got an equal amount of votes though, and a being clothed in black told them to break the flute into three parts and give each one to a player. The people agreed and separated the pieces among each of the their favorite players. Later, the sorcerer conquered Pirran as no part of the flute could be played without the other two parts. The beautiful land of Pirran soon became the land of Shadows, Shadowland. The book also told of Adin and his battle for the land and gathering the seven gems of Deltora, uniting them under him. They told of the ferocious and battle-loving Jalis, the honourable and cunning Dread Gnomes, the lively people of Del, the playful people of Mere, the clever people of Ralad, the wise and calm Torans and the resoureful people of the plains. Another thing the book talked about was their battle with the Shadowlord. It told of heroes, hope, darkness, dragons and light.
[edit] Setting
The books are centered around the magical land of Deltora, particularly the major cities: Del (the capital where the royal family resides), Raladin, Hira, Rithmere, Dread Mountain, Tora, and Jaliad. Deltora is roughly pentagonal in shape and is bordered by The Silver Sea to the west, and mountains to the north. Beyond these mountains lie the Shadowlands, a barren, desolate plain ruled by the Shadow Lord, formerly a beautiful land named Pirra.
[edit] Main Characters
[edit] 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 hot-headed and spends his time roaming the streets and both creating and dodging trouble. On his 16th birthday he leaves Del on the quest to find the magical jewels and the heir to Deltora. During the series, Lief competes in a fighting contest (the winner would win 1000 coins) in which he describes his special skill as speed. He does not show romantic interest in Jasmine until the 3rd series, who returns his feelings later on. Lief finds out that he is the heir to the throne of Deltora and he becomes the king and saves Deltora 3 times. On rare ocasons, however, he shows to be an unworthy leader and makes rash decisions. In the end he befriends all the deltoran dragons and marries Jasmine. And he restarts the tradition of wearing he Belt day and night, as Adin, the first king, did.
[edit] Jasmine
At the start of the series Jasmine is a wild, orphan girl who lives a solitary life in the dangerous Forests of Silence. Her only friends in her spell in the Forests were the blackbird named Kree and a small furry animal called Filli. Jasmine understands the language of trees and many other animals. She is hot-headed, like Lief, though she displays far less tact. She finds her long lost father and they are once again reunited. She is about the same age as Lief. During the series, Jasmine competes in a contest in which she describes her special skill as agility. She shows romantic interest in Lief, and ends up marrying him.She and Lief also have kids named Anna, after Jasmine's deceased mother, Jarred, after Jasmine's father, and Endon, after Lief's deceased father.
[edit] Barda
At the start of the series Barda appears to be a poor beggar living on the streets of Del. He is revealed to be a capable fighter who was intended to act as a bodyguard to Lief, much to Lief's dismay. He is a skilled swordsman and frequently makes jokes about being stuck with two young hot-heads- Lief and Jasmine. He is about the same age as Lief’s parents. During the series, Barda competes in a contest in which he describes his special skill as power.
[edit] 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 explores the insidious 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.
[edit] 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 real-time rpg game confirmed with all three characters.[6] A 56 part Deltora Quest anime series 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”[6]. The series is in produced at Oriental Light and Magic and is directed by Mitsuru Hongō. The studio keeps the quest for all seven magic jewels intact in the story[6]. One noticeable alteration has been made: Lief’s hair color has been changed from black to blonde, Others include the Ressurection of Theagan along with at least one new villan, Oscar.[9] Rodda hasn't ruled out a live action version of the story (either film or television) being made at some point in the future - she intends to wait until she gets an offer that "is genuinely admiring of the books as they are"[6].
There is currently a manga adaptation by Makoto Niwano, serialised in Bom Bom Comics and published by Kodansha[10].
[edit] References
- ^ Scholastic Aus News at Scholastic.com.au
- ^ anime and manga for australia at Anime.org.au
- ^ a b Deltora Quest Author: Emily Rodda at Scholastic.com
- ^ How the quest was won at smh.com.au
- ^ Q & A with Emily Rodda at Scholastic.com.au
- ^ a b c d e Fantasy Writers :: Sunday Profile at Abc.net.au
- ^ At Shop.Scholastic.com most of the Deltora books are listed as recommended for readers aged 9-12 except for The Deltora Book of Monsters (8 and up), The Cavern of the Fear (8-12) and The Isle of Illusion (9-14).
- ^ Deltora Quest 3 - Books Reviews at abc.net.au
- ^ Deltora Quest 2007 at deltoraquest.jp
- ^ Deltora Quest at bombom.kodansha.co.jp
[edit] External links
- Australian Deltora Quest website
- US Deltora website
- Emily Rodda's official website
- Deltora Quest anime website
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