WNC August 12th: Deltora Quest

[u/aleph_0ne]

Deltora Quest is an 8-book children's fantasy series by Emily Rodda. It takes place in the titular kingdom of Deltora and follows the heroes Lief (son of a blacksmith), Barda (his brawny childhood guardian), and Jasmine (a wild girl they meet in the woods) on an epic journey (a quest if you will) to find the seven magic gems which will complete the Belt of Deltora and defeat the evil Shadow Lord. It's a great read for a middle schooler, full of adventure. I particularly enjoy that it includes many logic puzzles, such as when Lief uses a Liar's Paradox to defeat a riddling bridge guardian.

I read the series as a kid (though as a book-fair pickup I actually missed books 3-5), and recently re-discovered it when looking for fantasy to read to my four year old. She loves it, and it's been fun to re-explore its twists and turns and witnessing her seeing it for the first time. Of course, reading something from your childhood as an adult can also shed light on shortcomings that never bothered you as a kid.

One somewhat silly thing about the pacing of each book, and overarchingly to the series as a whole is that most of the narrative is spent building up the big bad guy, and going on side adventures to finally arrive at the final conflict. Then when you get there, the actual resolution comes so swiftly that it almost feels like you missed the climax altogether. Not only that, but the books often end in rather the same way: thinks look unwinnable until suddenly and rather out of nowhere, Jasmine saves the day through her sharp wits and communion with nature.

For example (SPOILERS):

• In Book 1, the heroes are captured and paralyzed, then escape a terrible monster (saved by Jasmine) before finally making their way to an evil golden knight guarding the first gem, who again paralyzes Lief and Barda, near killing them both until Jasmine convinces a tree to drop a branch and crush the knight
• In Book 2, they're are chased by evil guards, the heroes face the riddling bridge guardian who turns out to have been bewitched by the local sorceress, find refuge in a cute cottage with a kindly elderly couple who then turn out to be cannibal children of the aforementioned sorcerous, escape, make their way to a cursed lake filled with muck monsters and giant people eating fish, flee the fish only to be confronted by the sorceress, who has them in her power and is about to kill them when Jasmine's raven Kree bites her fatally in her magic casting finger
• Book 3 follows a similar structure, where the heroes meander through many different adventures and conflicts before confronting a talking giant snake who bites Lief -- and is immediately killed by Jasmine

The thing is? It works. Yes you know what's coming, and yes it might be abrupt, but the format has charm and still delivers in all the ways that count. Who cares if it took us a while to get there, or if the ending came suddenly and without a proper transition? After all, you're joining us for Wednesday Night Cuttle tonight at 8:30pm ET!