Deltora Quest, by Emily Rodda
Shadowgate
Series Three (Dragons of Deltora), Book Two
Format: New, Paperback, 183 pages.
ISBN: 9-781865-046143 / 186504614-0
Book Summary
The Four Sisters, evil creations of the Shadow Lord, are poisoning Deltora and starving its people. Lief, Barda and Jasmine have found and destroyed the first of the Sisters. Now they must find the second, hidden within the mountains that border the Shadowlands itself. And they know that only the Dragon of the Emerald can help them.
The Shadow Lord is now aware of their quest. Deep in the Shadowlands, he plots their destruction. Hidden enemies and trickery await as the companions travel towards the Sister of the North and its terrible guardian, the dread place called Shadowgate.
Series Summary
Lief, Barda and Jasmine face a terrifying race against time to find and destroy the Four Sisters, evil creations of the Shadow Lord's sorcery.
The Enemy has been exiled, but he has not yet been defeated. Thanks to an ancient plot, his shadow still stretches over Deltora.
For centuries the vile Sisters, hidden in the four corners of Deltora, have been spreading their poison and singing their songs of death and despair. Now, their work is nearly done. Deltora is free, but it is dying. Only weeds and monsters thrive. The people are starving. And the Shadow Lord gloats in his stronghold beyond the mountains, planning his triumphant return.
In secrecy and in haste, guided only by fragments of an ancient map, the companions plunge headlong into a quest that takes them to the wildest places in the kingdom, and puts them face to face with fearsome enemies. They soon learn that even the magic of the Belt of Deltora is not enough to combat the power of the Four Sisters. Their only chance is to use a dangerous secret weapon. They must wake Deltora's last seven dragons, which have been deep in enchanted sleep for centuries. Only when the mysterious power of the dragons joins with the magic of the gems of the Belt of Deltora can the Sisters be destroyed.
Emily Rodda
Emily Rodda is one of Australia's most successful, popular and versatile writers, and has won the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award an unprecedented five times.
A former editor of The Australian Women's Weekly, Emily is also the best-selling author of adult mysteries under her own name of Jennifer Rowe. Among the many children's books she has written are Crumbs!; Finders Keepers; The Timekeeper; Rowan of Rin; Rowan and the Travellers; Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal; and Rowan and the Zebak. 2003 saw the release of the final book in the Rowan series, Rowan and the Bukshah.
Rowan of Rin was the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 1994. Rowan and the Keeper of the Crystal was short-listed for the 1997 CBCA Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers. Rowan and the Zebak was short-listed for the same award in 2000.
Emily also wrote Teen Power Inc, a mystery adventure series that attracted a devoted following of young readers. Her most recent picture-book titles include Game Plan and Where Do You Hide Two Elephants?
First published in 2000, Deltora Quest has become a favourite with children around the world. Deltora Quest is consistently short-listed for children's choice awards, winning the 2002 YABBA and KOALA awards in the younger reader categories and the 2002 Peter McNamara Convenors' Award for Australian Speculative Fiction.
Emily comments on Deltora Quest:
I was really excited when I thought of the idea of writing Deltora Quest. At first I wanted to write a serial-type quest, a story that would go over several books. The Rowan of Rin books, which have always done quite well and which I love writing, are complete, without a continuing storyline. I really wanted to write a classic quest in stages, culminating in a final book. I had the idea of a quest involving three heroes and had worked on the manuscript for quite a while before I took it to the publisher, Scholastic Australia. I wanted to see what they thought of it and it turned out that they thought it was a great idea.
Other Deltora Quest Books
Series One
1. The Forests of Silence
2. The Lake of Tears
3. City of the Rats
4. The Shifting Sands
5. Dread Mountain
6. The Maze of the Beast
7. The Valley of the Lost
8. Return to Del
Series Two, Deltora Shadowlands
1. Cavern of the Fear
2. The Isle of Illusion
3. The Shadowlands
Series Three, Dragons of Deltora
1. Dragon's Nest
2. Shadowgate
3. Isle of the Dead
4. Sister of the South
Shadowgate, Deltora Quest Series Three (Dragons of Deltora), by Emily Rodda
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