History Literature / DeltoraQuest

In 2012, a second series set in the same universe was released. This series, titled ''The Three Doors'', shares many of the plot elements and mythologies of the first series, and directly references the past history of Deltora.

A third series has also being added to the continuity. This series, titled ''Star of Deltora'', takes place [[TimeSkip about a decade after the end of ''Deltora Quest 3'']] and is initially set in Del, but promises to visit other lands across the sea.

The first series, ''Deltora Quest'', follows our heroes as they journey to [[GottaCatchEmAll find the seven]] [[PlotCoupon long-lost gems from the Belt of Deltora]] and search for the [[RightfulKingReturns heir to the throne]] so that the [[TheGoodKingdom land of Deltora]] can be freed from the reign of [[EvilOverlord the Shadow Lord]].

''Deltora Quest 2'', alternatively called ''Deltora Quest Shadowlands'', further chronicles these adventurers as they journey to [[GottaCatchEmAll find the three]] [[PlotCoupon pieces of the long-lost Pirran Pipe]] to rescue Deltorans held captive in the [[{{Mordor}} Shadowlands]]. Notable for making the third-person narration sympathetic to Jasmine's thoughts almost as frequently as Lief's.

In ''Deltora Quest 3'', also known as ''Dragons of Deltora'', our heroes must journey across Deltora to awaken the seven sleeping dragons of Deltora and destroy the Four Sisters, which are secretly poisoning the land. Notable for ramping the NightmareFuel up to eleven in its last book, where seemingly everything that can go wrong at once ''does''.

* ''The Golden Door''
* ''The Silver Door''
* ''The Third Door''

* ''Shadows of the Master''
* ''Two Moons''
* ''The Towers of Illica''
* ''The Hungry Isle''

Currently has a [[AnimatedAdaptation anime adaptation,]] a manga adaptation and also a game on the DS. The anime has aired around the world, on Creator/TheHub, on Creator/{{ABC3}}, and in Italy.

* SquishyWizard: Exaggerated with Sorceress Thaegan. She has the power to make an entire species mute, turn a whole town into the Lake Of Tears, and made some very strange and powerful children... And she can be defeated by [[spoiler:getting a cut on her finger which [[OneHitKill instantly kills her]]]]. Also averted, strangely. She can be killed by drawing a single drop of her blood. Knowing this, she magically armors her body to the point of complete invulnerability... except the finger she uses to cast spells.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Jasmine and Doom. There's a reason for it...

* ClingyCostume: In ''Shadowgate'', [[spoiler:the Masked Ones' masks of adulthood turn out to be this, as they're permanently fused to the wearer's skin--unfortunately for Lief, who as a favour to Bede, put on one...]]

** Knowing that [[{{Shapeshifting}} Ols]] exists will lead to this.

* TimeyWimeyBall: [[spoiler:The Three Doors Trilogy turns out to be this. The Golden Door leads to the past while the Silver Door leads to the future. The Wooden Door just leads to the present outside of Weld. Actions made by those in the past change what happens in the future. Those who have travelled through the doors are [[RippleEffectProofMemory seemingly immune to the changes and retain memories of alternate timelines]].]]

*** That Doom refers to his wife as "dear heart" points to [[spoiler:him being Jarred, not Endon, if one recalls the prologue. Once you realize that Doom is Jarred, it then follows that Lief's parents are not who everyone thinks they are.]]

* TheBadGuysWin: After years of sabotaging the Royal Family by causing their own people to lose faith in them as well as destroying their alliances and finally temporarily destroying the Belt of Deltora for a short amount of time, the Shadow Lord is able to perform a hostile takeover with not much resistance. It isn't until sixteen years later that his reign of suffering and terror ends.

** The Shadow Lord's plan in the third series turns out to be one of these. [[SpannerInTheWorks He just didn't count on]] [[spoiler:the dragons being convinced to come together. Although he ''did'' try to kill them off anyway, fortunately [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Doran the Dragonlover]] prevents this]]. Best summed up by the Shadow Lord's own words, "I have plans within plans."
** Oh so many plans indeed. Just looking at the first series: not only was there the main plot of scattering the gems of the belt, but also [[spoiler: the lie about the Guardian of the Diamond being King Endon to demoralize would-be heroes]] and [[spoiler: the fake bodies of Endon and his wife and child, again to demoralize, and the gripper field itself]] and [[spoiler: sending Dain to fake being the heir, Ichabod and other Ols adding further tricks and threats]]. The second series shows even more of his plans, both those to bait the king, and the nasty new creatures he's cooking up. Then there's the third series... as mentioned above, it deals with the last of ThePlan. The epilogue deliberately restates that he will never, ever stop planning and plotting.

* ClarkesThirdLaw: A fair amount of what the Shadow Lord does sounds more like our technology than magic. From the lights in the Gray Guard growth building, to the "sparking rods", to the reference to the power being cut, it's easy to conclude that he's using electricity, which the heroes have no way to distinguish from magic. Whether the generation of Gray Guards is magic, science, or a bit of each is hard to say.

*** In the first series, the heroes briefly ponder why the Shadow Lord wanted to drive the citizens out of what became the City of the Rats, instead of enslaving them there. [[spoiler:Back then, they probably weren't expecting the answer to be "because he wants to implement GrayGoo there."]]

** Had Prandine not murdered Min [[HeKnowsTooMuch because of what she had accidentally learned and tried to warn Endon about]] not even an hour later that resulted in her son fleeing from the palace, her former charge would have never suspected something was wrong, which would lead to him sending a secret message to his best friend who had been forced to flee. As a result, even though it was too late to fight back against the Shadow Lord and his ilk, the King and Queen as well as Jarred were able to flee the castle and pave the path for the next generation to fight against the Shadow Lord and win.

* SigilSpam: The Shadow Lord brands everything with his mark. Equipment, [[{{Shapeshifting}} Ols]], loyal servants, insurrectionists, evicted houses, the night sky above his domain, etc.

* SorcerousOverlord: The Shadow lord fits this better than EvilOverlord alone since he is also a powerful sorcerer and in fact derives much of his power from that fact.

* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler: The [[BigBad Shadow Lord]] is revealed to be this. His original form, Malverlain, presumably died centuries ago, before even the time of Adin. The only thing left of him was his will to rule over Deltora, Dorne and [[TakeOverTheWorld pretty much everywhere else]].]]

*** The final tablet dares the king to "win or lose" or "lose and win". Turns out, it's not just meant to be sound poetic. [[spoiler:Lief can defeat the Sisters and thus activate the Shadow Lord's final trap, or he can accept that Deltora will never be fully free of famine but prevent the ultimate end.]]

** Min, the former caretaker of Jerrod and King Endon had tried to warn the latter about a conspiracy and how something was going to happen during the night of the Shadowlord's takeover only to be brushed off. Not even an hour later, she was found dead and her death was claimed to be the result of falling down the stairs. King Endon, however, realizes that she was likely killed because of what she knew, a theory that his wife Queen Sharn and later his best friend Jerrod agree with. Especially since her son, a palace guard, also fled the same night of her murder.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The only reason Jarred survives after fleeing the palace and the Belt is repaired is because Jarred and Endon were taught smithing as part of the Rule, a series of traditions set down by the Shadow Lord's servants, the Chief Advisors, as a way to weaken the royal family.