Shadowgate

Dragons of Deltora #2

by Emily Rodda, Marc McBride (Illustrator)

Sinister twists and exciting turns await Lief, Barda, and Jasmine as they head to the haunted mountains to continue their dragon-aided quest.

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. 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 in the dread place called Shadowgate.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.

Reviews

[Sara Kamjou · Rating 5 out of 5]

تقریبا تا اواسط کتاب با ریتم مشخصی جلو می‌رفت که غافلگیری‌ها شروع شد. امتیازم بهش ۴.۵ بود با ارفاق پنج دادم.
سوال‌های بی‌پاسخ زیادی برام باقی موند که باعث می‌شه بخوام جلدای بعدو هم زود و در اولین فرصت بخونم.

خطر لو رفتن داستان: تنها نقطه ضعف کتاب برام این بود که وقتی باردا و جاسمین مثلا مردن هیچ اضطرابی پیدا نکردم و این نشون می‌ده نویسنده یه کم رو بازی کرده.

[Z M · Rating 5 out of 5]

کلا تو هر داستانی ردی از اژدها هم بیاد، یهو زیباییش چند برابر می‌شه، چقدر این موجود خوبه آخه 😍

[Zahra Labbafan · Rating 3 out of 5]

اینکه روند بالغ شدن و با تجربه شدن شخصیت ها تو کتاب ها به وضوح دیده میشه قشنگه
و خوب داستان نقابداران و مشکلاتی که لیف و بقیه سر راه داشتند بامزه بود
شخصیت استیون جز شخصیت‌های مورد علاقه ام تو این مجموعه هاست و اینکه دوباره تو این جلد بود دوست داشتم

[Emily Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would I be a horrible person to say that until this book, after so many Deltora stories, this is one of my absolute favorites? I was absolutely enchanted with the imagination of Rodda in this book as the takes on several different settings--the smalltown, folksy feel of a village, a wondrous traveling circus with a secret, and of course that classic scary ol' castle.

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine, whilst searching for the village known as Shadowgate, find themselve in the company of a group of performers known as the Masked Ones, acrobats, magicians, etc. who all wear the stunning masks of animals and hide a terrible secret as they do so.

As she did in "City of the Rats", Rodda cleverly examines a culture who do things without knowing the truth of what they do and people who would dare step outside the norms.

Like a scary clown story, this olds the eerie magic of a circus combined with classic horror and all-around imagination.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

This book is, I think, my favourite of the entire series. The suspense of the book, the riddles, the wonder what the importance is of The Masked Ones. People die, people get injured, it's a wild adventure, a secondary villain is introduced to the book (who will play a bigger role in the next book), and there were a lot of dragons, all distinct, and all rather unlikeable. The Ruby Dragon is a bit calmer, the Lapis Lazuli dragon is impulsive and the Emerald dragon is honourable, but also just a d*ck in this book (and the next one, I can see the future).

The best part of this book, as previously mentioned, is the suspense. At the start of this book, we know that they had to go to the Shadowgate. But who is the guardian? In the last book, it was could be easily pinpointed in that book. In this book, it wasn't as easy. There is The Masked One (not plural) that is established early on as being the guardian. But who they are will remain a mystery until, like, the second to last chapter. During their stay with The Masked Ones, several hints are given who the guardian could be, and when they're getting close to the Shadowgate, your suspicion is almost confirmed. but it turns out, the foreshadowing is misleading . Maybe I should find more mystery books if I wasn't such a baby.

[Minouch_dahri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book i read in English language i like this types of books the story is imaginary.the description is good
I like it

[♡☆Fatima☆♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ The whole mask one's scene (so like the entire book) freaked me out. Ain't no fucking way you can pay me all the money in the world to wear a sweaty, stinky, REAL animal head for days😖😖😖 This took me forever to get through cause I felt like no progress was made at all from 1 to 9. By the 10th chapter, something was changing and can finally move on. Just the overall thing made me so uncomfortable as well. After taking a huge break to then coming back, I started to like it more when they finally left the circus act.

I'm still to this day gonna be confused about how they rescued Barda because they were at a flow with solving a hidden message on the notice board to then Barda being back in the carvan safely. And then when he asked what happened, it didn't even tell ME what happened. like girl- I wanna know too. Did I miss something 😭 speaking of which, who the fuck is laughing Jack and why are we acting like we met him before? Cause I haven't. I know I took a big break, but I'm not that forgetful when they didn't leave the campsite for DAYSSS. I'm actually glad they never made this, and the other sets into an animated series at around the same time the original stories was animated cause this shit would would keep me up at night for days and probably traumatised me. Especially this particular book😭

Anyways I'm looking forward to the next two adventures. Gonna be really sad fully finishing this😭😭😭

[Dorianne Vervoort · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
It took quite long to get to the main plot. I did like all the riddles and plottwists though. This book was set up really well.
Kinda disappointing: there were less dragons than in the first book ☹️

[Mahdi Fattahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy F Shit.

[Ashley Case · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this one had a few more plot holes than the first dragons of deltora.

[Emma Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lief, Jasmine and Barda head North in this, the third installation of the third Deltora Quest series. Having defeated the Sister of the East, their spirits are high, but will this quest be too much for our heroes to handle?

I think, out of all the Deltora Quest stories, this one may be my absolute favourite. I remembered the story clearly before picking it up once again, but failed to realise that it was a Deltora Quest book I was remembering. The new characters, new subplots and new villains, along with Lief, Jasmine and Barda's continuing struggles was completely enchanting.

I loved the story of The Masked Ones and revelled in the numerous plot twists that kept me on my toes throughout the entire story. In a way, this is also one of the scariest Deltora Quest stories, where a fate worse than death stares Lief right in the face.

[Sonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

after defeting the first sister, lief ,barda,and jasmine must go to shadowgate, in the far north of deltora, in emarald territory. will the emarald dragon help them? and what will they find in shadow gate? answer these burning question and more in shadowgate.

[Brant Hudgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the fourth or fifth time that I've read it, I think that's enough to indicate how much I love this book.

[Brittney Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Rating: 5 stars

Note: This is the 2nd book in the Dragons of Deltora series and the 13th in the overarching Deltora saga so this will not be an in-depth review.

As I have stated multiple times before, I have been systematically re-reading a lot of childhood favorites so that my Goodreads will be a good representation of my reading journey, and the one I was able to re-read most recently is Shadowgate, book 2 in the Dragons of Deltora series and the 13th overall in the Deltora series. This one tells the story of Leif, Barda, and Jasmine as they try to awaken the seven gem dragons of Deltora and enlist their help to defeat the last environs of the Shadow Lord, the Four Sisters, thus securing the safety and prosperity of their land.

First off, I need to make a statement about this series, in that, it is an excellent way to introduce your young readers to the fantasy genre. It introduces young readers to world-building, magic systems, politics, and complex characters in a way that isn’t over-whelming, but instead, steadily gains complexity and depth over the course of the series. It also has fun puzzles and riddles to keep them engaged in the story as they feel like they are participating in the story, instead of just watching it unfold. These books were one of the series that kicked off my love of fantasy, a love that still exists to this day, if you need any more reason to use it as a gateway book for your child.

This series focuses on how history can be hidden, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and what effects it can have on the people involved with it. For instance, Deltora has been ruled over by an evil tyrant called the Shadowlord for the last couple decades, and although, he has now been conquered and the actual ruling family has been reinstated, there is still a lot of recovering and strife to work through. At this point, Deltora is going through a famine, and the ruling family is being blamed, although it is the lingering effects of the Shadowlord’s rule and magic that are the issue. I bet you’re wondering how that scenario relates to the concept of hidden history, well, it stems from the fact that, in order to solidify his rule and keep his iron-clad influence, the Shadowlord systematically destroyed all evidence that could potentially lead to his downfall. This is a great theme to explore with young people because it can lead to you being able to discuss topics such as censorship and why it’s bad and even times in our own history when the scenario occurred (ex: Nazi Germany).

All in all, if you want a fun series to introduce your child to new concepts and genres, then this may be a good option for you. It was for me! 5 stars and remains a favorite! (Sometimes childhood favorites hold up!!)

[Jay Wagemans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dit boek viel me helaas echt enorm tegen. Het voelde helemaal niet als Deltora. Toen ik Vrees las van de Chemical Garden serie, had ik er ook al last van: ik heb gewoon niks met circusachtige verhaallijnen. Heel jammer, maar niks aan te doen. De verhaallijn rondom de Gemaskerden vond ik niet zo interessant en heel voorspelbaar. Ook zonde dat er niet de moeite is genomen om verschil te maken tussen 'De Gemaskerden' en 'De Gemaskerde'. Waarschijnlijk om een plot te voeden, maar dat had voor mij helemaal geen meerwaarde. Daarnaast kan ik me er niet zo in vinden dat heel Deltora Quest 3 lijkt te gaan over mensen of mensachtigen die magische krachten hebben gekregen van de Schaduwheer in plaats van bewakers die zelf gave, bijzondere wezens zijn. Dat maakt het toch minder indrukwekkend. Het voelt een beetje alsof er niets gebeurd is in dit boek.

Dit is allemaal niet per se een dealbreaker voor mij, maar waar ik wel echt moeite mee had, zijn de volgende punten:
- De werkwijze van 'de fantoom' was voor mij precies hetzelfde als die van een Ol en dat vond ik heel erg jammer. Ik wil niet spoilen, maar als je het einde gelezen hebt snap je nog meer waarom.
- Waarom neem je de moeite om een regel neer te zetten (draken verlaten hun territorium niet), als je hem bijna meteen gaat verbreken? Was nergens voor nodig geweest...
- Het was zoooo duidelijk dat er wat met het medaillon aan de hand was, terwijl er niet echt een logische rede voor werd gegeven. Waarom sloeg Jord dat ding niet meteen kapot? Als ik dacht dat het een bron van magie zou zijn waar de slechterik uit put, had ik hem meteen vernield! Nu was de ontknoping heel voorspelbaar.
- Ik had niet verwacht dat de tweede Zuster er zo uit zou zien en dat viel me tegen. Vond het niet heel origineel ook als je Deltora Quest 2 Isle of Illusion gelezen hebt. Het eindgevecht vond ik verder niet zo bijzonder. Voordat ze de toren in gingen, vond ik het heel erg spannend, maar toen het eenmaal duidelijk werd dat dit verhaal wéér over slangen ging, was het voor mij een beetje klaar. De opbouw van spanning was eruit en er gebeurde verder eigenlijk niet zo heel veel meer. Snap ook niet helemaal waarom het hele gebouw tot stof gereduceerd moet worden.

Maar goed, genoeg gezeur. Dingen die ik wel kon waarderen: Steven! Natuurlijk, heel leuk dat hij weer terugkwam. Ik had de plottwist in het kasteel van de bewaker echt niet zien aankomen en ik kon die wending enorm waarderen. Ook ben ik benieuwd naar wat er met Jaap gaat gebeuren. Dat vond ik zeker een interessant (en walgelijk en naar) personage. Next!

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Closes book*

*Takes a deep breath*

*Starts screaming*

This book was amazing! I mean, I'm just in shock about some of the stuff that happened! Every time I think Emily Rodda has reached her pinnacle, she does it again! This has to be one of the best books in the franchise. And by that, I mean not just the series, but the other Deltora series as well (Deltora Quest, Shadowlands, etc.).

First, the Masked Ones were super-creepy. Not just in the "taxidermy is creepy" way, but that was definitely a factor. It was also because of the ominous distrust of outsiders, the way that Bess was totally convinced that Leif was her missing son, Bede, and the whole creepy way she got him to wear Bede's "adult" mask--WHICH THEN MELDS ONTO HIS FACE THOSE MASKS ARE PART OF THEIR FACES!!!!!!

Also, Kirsten and her creepy castle! What the heck?? The walls absorb people, Bede is sending coded messages in his songs, there's a SNAKE PIT and the hideous sister of the North is writhing at the bottom! That whole ending scene was so intense. Sometimes, I forget that I'm reading middle grade fiction!

And of course, on a more positive note, I was thrilled to bits to see that Steven and Nevets were back! I was really hoping I'd get to watch them completely wreck Laughing Jack, but there's still time. I eagerly await what comes next!

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second tale of the Four Sisters raises the stakes yet again. It also introduces a completely new cultural group into the stories. The Masked Ones. Who are kind of cool (in that they seem based around the idea of gypsies). But also incredibly creepy. And almost evil in what they do – but you’ll just have to read this novel to find out why they give me such a mixed reaction.

The evils of love and lust are explored in the second Guardian – in a way that is kind of completely unpredictable. Although, as with everything that Rodda writes, there are great little hints throughout which highlight who the real evil is – and the trap that is being laid by the Shadow Lord. There is a feeling that the trap is far more complex and sinister than just the four sisters.

I love how each of the dragons in this series emphasises the characteristics that the gem of their territory highlights. In this tale, there is the singing Lapis Lazuli dragon, and the honourable (albeit grumpy) Emerald dragon. The distinctness of their characters makes me wonder what the next three dragons will be like…

[Jelena ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot twists!!! And so many questions that need to be answered!

"He saw the vile thing at the bottom of the pit writhing in a pool of emerald fire. Again the dragon roared, and again, till the pit was a furnace of swirling flame. The rock blackened, then began to glow. Searing heat billowed upward. Lief cringed away from it, tried to roll himself into a ball to escape from it. But still he gripped the dragon’s talon with his left hand, and the great emerald with his right. And still the power owed through him from one to the other. And still the dragon roared, and the pit burned.
The song of the Sister of the North rose to a cracked, piercing wail. It faltered. It stopped. A blinding ash of white light burst through the emerald flame. There was a moment’s breathless silence, as though the land was holding its breath.
Then there was a long, low groaning sound. And the next instant,
the air was filled with dust—blinding dust as fine as powder, swirling in the wind."

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

در جستجوی دلتورا داستانی فانتزی و متشکل از سه مجموعه، نوشتهٔ امیلی رودا نویسنده ی استرالیایی است. داستان درباره ی سه همسفر است که سرزمین تخیلی دلتورا را به دنبال تکمیل کمربند دلتورا و شکست خادمان ارباب سایه‌های اهریمنی زیر پا می گذارند. نخستین نسخه ی مجموعه ی اول در سال ۲۰۰۰ میلادی در استرالیا به چاپ رسید و اکنون نیز در ۳۰ کشور به فروش می رسد. در فوریه ی ۲۰۱۰ این مجموعه در کل ۱۵ میلیون و در استرالیا ۲ میلیون نسخه فروش داشته‌است. سه مجموعه شامل ۱۵ کتاب می‌شوند که ۸ کتاب اول در جستجوی دلتورا، ۳ جلد بعدی سرزمین سایه‌ها ی دلتورا و ۴ جلد آخر اژدهایان دلتورا نام دارند. تمامی کتاب‌های این مجموعه در ایران با ترجمه ی خانم محبوبه نجف خانی و توسط انتشارات بنفشه به چاپ رسیده‌است . انیمیشن و بازی رایانه ای در جستجوی دلتورا به ترتیب توسط تلویزیون ژاپن و شرکت نینتندو دی اس نیز ساخته شده‌اند.

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you asked me what Deltora was missing, I wouldn't have said "sinister masked carnies", but this was my favourite Deltora book yet, even with its extremely low monster count. It more than makes up for it with extreme puzzle and sign density, good minor villains, and some nice horror theatrics at the end the snakes climbing up the guardian's rapunzel braid was as good as any moment from the first eight books. Hopefully the mystery of whatever it was Jasmine saw in the waterfall doesn't end up being a wet noodle. After a trilogy premised on Jasmine being too distrustful to tell the others about her thoughts and fears, I'd really hope Rodda doesn't do that again.

[ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one of the best installments of the series!

The Masked Ones were a great addition to the series. I enjoyed the concept of the masks melding themselves to the wearers face- permanently- and experiencing it through Lief (and seeing the effects on Bess was creepy).

The dragons were definitely a highlight, as expected. Wish they were in it more!

Bess was a very interesting character, and Bede is one of my favorite characters in the entire series! His song and the plot twist with Kirsten was so well done.

[CodeBlue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting new experiences await the heroes. Mostly in the guise of a caravan of mask-wearing individuals. The 'villain' in this part took a while to develop. I find it more interesting that during their initial travels there was no word of these powerful entities, nor did they help out the shadowlord. Lief shows development as a human and a king as he has to decide whether or not to ask a dragon to break it's vow.

[Vecinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author has an imagination I envy. Her ideas are so rich and unique, I truly have not read or seen anything like them. The novels in this series seem simple at first, with elementary vocabulary and easily digestible prose, but Rodda’s descriptive talent, interesting mysteries, and unmistakably novel beasts being life to this story! I am having so much fun rereading these books from my childhood and am excited to watch the show based on them.

[Tatum Juberien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being the second book in a series and following a book that was full of mystery, deceit, and magic this book was a little disappointing. This book was still very mysterious and magic based but, I find that I’m left wishing it was just a little more intense. I can’t wait to read the third one all the same.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

You would reckon the shadow gate would precede the shadow lands as an entry point, but no the shadow gate comes two books after shadow lands as Deltora Quest #3 hits the half way mark, and the saga continues. Saga is an overused word, but if you get to book thirteen, even if they are all under 200 pages, the word saga begins to apply.
Deltora Quest #13
Emily Rodda #20

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Делтора” е фентъзи свят, който за мен вече може да се сравни с Четирите земи на “Шанара”, Мидкемия от “Сага за Войната на Разлома” и вселената на “Белгариад” и “Малореон”. Радвам се, че открих Рода, макар и да съм преминал идеалната за четенето й възраст.

Ревю на тази книга може да прочетете на линка:
https://citadelata.com/shadowgate-dra...

[Brittney Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, as usual. I don't have much more or less to say about this one than the others. I'm 12 books in, so I'm running out of unique things to say. 😅

It was neat how they had to do without the dragon for a while this time.

I REALLY liked the ending. What a crazy twist!

[Bruno Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a banger! Rodda explores again the aspects of a weird ignorant society being controlled by manipulative leaders. There are multiple plot twists and it seeps from the rich lore built along the Deltora canon. The suspense is the driving force of this installment, it is hard to not binge read through it all!

[McKenzie McIlrath · Rating 1 out of 5]

My girls brought home this book from the neighbors garage sale and wanted me to read it out loud to them. It was a struggle to get through the book, lots of difficult names and a lot of jumping back and fourth between settings

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was less excited about this book than the first of the series. I felt it was less compelling. Despite that, the Deltora books are a great series of books. Very fun. Full of action and clever puzzles. Great for kids who like adventure.