Daring Do and the Wooden Mask is the fifth book in the Daring Do series originated by A.K. Yearling. This book is noteworthy for the introductions to Outback Jack and Desert Rose as well as for being the first book to give fan-favourite Herpy a sidekick role, and for breaking numerous records for pre-orders after the announcement of Herpy's sidekick status.
Short Summary
Daring Do's assistant Herpy purchases a tribal mask while accompanying her on a trip, little knowing that it's part of Ahuizotl's plan to turn Daring Do to the dark side.
The Applewood film adaptation stars Harerion Trot as Daring Do, Shia La Buck as Herpy, Ellen De Jennet as Coco Pie and Pigroot Cullen as Ahuizotl, with Caitlin Stirrup and Summer Billet making their screen debuts as Outback Jack and Desert Rose respectively.
Daring Do and the Wooden Mask contains examples of:
- Artifact of Doom: The mask.
- Ascended Extra/Breakout Character: Herpy, having gone from The Ghost to the Deuteragonist in five books.
- Blind Alley: Dashing into one of these to escape a swarm of bees leads to Daring's Dungeon Bypass.
- Brutal Honesty: Outback Jack establishes herself as such, showing a complete lack of sensitivity to Desert Rose's concerns about her treatment of Billabong.
- The Corruption: The eponymous Wooden Mask. It does some...interesting things to Daring. Rest in peace, Tennis Set.
- A Day in the Limelight: After three chapters of Daring being manipulated and subtly controlled by the mask, "Disappearance" and most of the rest of the book focuses on Herpy's attempts to find Daring.
- Dungeon Bypass: Daring manages to bypass most of the traps in the temple by forcing her way through a locked door in what was supposed to be a dead end.
- Durable Deathtrap: Unusually subverted, as the lock mechanism on one of the doors failed, leading to a surprisingly easy path through the temple.
- Fighting from the Inside: The only way to overcome the Wooden Mask is to let it take control of you - and then defeat it with the Power of Love.
- Genre Shift: Chapter 4, "Disappearance" is much more Noir-like than the rest of the book, with Herpy aggressively trying to find any lead-ins to Daring.
- Made of Evil: The eponymous Wooden Mask.
- Dear Celestia, What Have I Done?: Daring's reaction to learning what the mask made her do.
- Noodle Incident: The battle between Outback Jack and Billabong, which somehow spanned eight days and five nights.
- Nothing Is Scarier: There are hints in the book making it appear that the Mask is actually very self-aware, but this fact is never elaborated upon in full detail.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Both Coco and Chocolat' are unmistakably terrified by the Wooden Mask.
- The Power of Love: How Herpy breaks the hold the mask had over Daring.
- Precision B Strike: Desert Rose, of all ponies, gets one during an argument with Outback Jack over her treatment of Billabong. After getting sidetracked by Outback's reference to the Noodle Incident mentioned above, she snaps "That's not the bucking point!"
- Tranquil Fury: Desert Rose's reaction to Outback Jack's (as she sees it) brutality towards crocodiles.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Desert Rose's reaction to how aggressively Outback Jack deals with wild crocodiles on her adventures.
