Book Review: The Forests of Silence

[Shiloh Adlar]

Title of the book: The Forests of Silence
Authors: Emily Rodda
Series: Deltora Quest
Genres: Children's Fantasy

Short summary of the story: The kingdom has always been defended from the Shadow Lord by the Belt of Deltora but as the ruler begins to unknowingly fall into the Shadow Lord's trap, the Shadowlands creep in until they have taken over once more. The Belt of Deltora holds seven gems which are what protected the people of Deltora from the Shadow Lord, and when he has the gems dispersed to secret places across the land, Lief is sent on a quest by his father to find them and the heir to the throne so they can save Deltora once more.

Good points / bad points: This story reminds me a lot of The Quest for Camelot which is a movie I used to like as a child. It is a true quest series, and each book seems to focus on finding one gemstone each. Some good points are that if you like reading these types of books, it follows the questing part perfectly. However, as an adult reader, the book was too young and simple for me. The quests aren't truly as dangerous as they might seem to little kids and it was extremely rushed. Everything happened quickly and the quest for this first gemstone, the trials they faced and how they got out of them were easy. I have a feeling if I would continue reading this series, I would be able to call everything that would happen correctly, and I like guesswork in my books. If I get it right in the end, awesome, but I don't like knowing that I'll get it right from the very beginning.

I would recommend for a younger child who likes the idea of going on an adventure to save an entire kingdom, but those who like a little more action in their stories would be better off looking elsewhere.