three doors – Aussie Reviews

Star of Deltora: Shadows of the Master, by Emily Rodda

And at that moment, Britta threw caution to the winds. She tore her eyes from the model ship and looked up at the old man staring at her so anxiously.
‘I will be at the Traders’ Hall tomorrow,’ she said. ‘How can I resist?’
‘Hooroar!’ Gaptain Gripp bellowed, punching the air. ‘Did you hear that, Bosun? She’ll try for it! An’ you mark my words, Bosun, she’ll do us proud! She’ll show those other traders’ daughters a thing or two!’

For as long as she can remember, Britta has wanted to be a trader like her father. But since his quest to find the Staff of Tier brought disgrace to his name and to his family left behind, that dream has seemed unreachable. Now, though, she has a chance. There is a challenge to select the apprentice to the Trader Rosalyn. and Britta is eligible – as long as the townspeople don’t realise who she is. Determined to be selected, Britta risks everything for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Shadows of the Master is the first in the new Star of Deltora series. Set in the same reality as the Rowan of Rinn and The Three Doors series, this new series promises to be as much loved as its predecessors. Readers will bond with the resourceful Britta and her efforts to follow her dreams in spite of her insecurities. Other characters are also intriguing, and it will be interesting to see how her fellow apprentices – three every different characters – develop across the series.

While young fantasy fans are likely to appreciate the book, it also likely to appeal to those who are perhaps less familiar with the genre, because it is both accessible and well-paced, at a length that is not too daunting.

A gripping introduction to what promises to be an excellent series.

Shadows of the Master, by Emily Rodda
Omnibus Books, 2015
ISBN 9781742990620

The Silver Door and The Third Door, by Emily Rodda

The Doors are magic, Faene,’ Rye broke in, as the young woman turned her repraochful gaze on him. ‘They could lead … anywhere. The Golden Door led Dirk here. But I am certain that Sholto would have chosen the Silver Door. So to be sure of picking up his trail, we must go through the Silver Door ourselves. Do you see?

Now that one brother is safely back from beyond the Golden Door, Rye is determined to do anything he can to rescue his other brother, Sholto who, he is sure, will be beyond the Silver Door. Only then will he be ready to venture beyond the third door, the wooden door, in a quest to rid Weld of the menace of Skimmers, creatures who come in the night to eat anything that moves.

The Silver Door continues the adventures of Rye and his new friend Sonia as they work through their dangerous quest. Weld has been under seige for too long and, for too long, the young men of Weld have ventured through one of three magical doors in an effort to discover the source of the Skimmers and thus destroy them. With both of his brothers gone through the doors, and his mother now forced into a pauper’s life of service, Rye is determined to reunite his family and find a way to free Weld.

In The Third Door the adventurers venture through the third and final door in their attempt to end the quest they began when they entered the first door.

Young fantasy lovers will delight in the adventures of Rye and his friends, with intriguing characters, twists and turns, magic and satisfying resolutions. Whilst each book is fairly self contained, they are best read as a trilogy.

The Silver Door , ISBN 9781862919136

The Third Door, ISBN 978186291914
both by Emily Rodda
Omnibus, 2012

The Golden Door, by Emily Rodda

Like all the other citizens of Weld in skimmer season, Lisbeth and her sons went to bed early. What else was there to do, when sound was dangerous, and the smallest chink of light might lead to a skimmer attack?
Rye lay in the room he shared with his brothers, listening to the rush of wings outside the shutters, the occasional scrabbling of claws on the roof.
He prayed that the wings would pass the house by. He prayed that he, his mother and his brothers would not wake, like those ill-fated families in Northwall, to find skimmers filling the house, and death only moments away.

Every night vicious flying creatures – Skimmers – attack the city of Weld, flying over its towering walls and eating anything alive they can get to. The people cower in shuttered, darkened houses, listening to the terrifying attacks, powerless to stop them. Then the Warden calls for volunteers to leave the walled city and find out who is sending the skimmers, and how they can be stopped. Rye is too young to go, but first his oldest brother, then the second one, leave and do not return. Rye believes that they are both out there waiting for help – and becomes determined to find them

The Golden Door is gripping fantasy by one of the finest creators for this age group, Emily Rodda. Rye is an unlikely hero – not strong, not smart, the youngest son – with the courage to try for the sake of his brothers, his mother and his city. He is accompanied on his journey by a girl who claims to be a resident of the Warden’s keep, but who readers will suspect is perhaps the Warden’s daughter. The tale is full of the things which Rodda fans have come to expect – weird and wonderful creatures, seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and lots of action.

The Golden Dooris the first in a trilogy. Readers will look forward to the next.

The Golden Door, by Emily Rodda
Omnibus, 2011
ISBN 9781862919129

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