Customer Reviews

The Curse of Deadman's Forest (Oracles of Delphi Keep)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thirteen-year-old Ian Wigby (almost 14) and his 11-year-old sister, Theodosia, live in an orphanage called Delphi Keep nestled in the English countryside near the White Cliffs of Dover. In 1939, Ian and Theo discovered a box containing an ancient prophecy. The prophecy spoke of a Guardian protecting a special orphan called The One, and together they would gather six more gifted orphans by traveling through a magical portal. This team of oracles may have a chance to defeat the evil underworld god, Demogorgon, and his four children --- Magus (powered with fire), Caphiera (powered with water), Atroposa (powered with air) and Lachestia (powered with earth).

In the year since their discovery and first trip through the portal, Ian has accepted his role as Guardian, and Theo's as The One and the first oracle, the Seer. They and their loyal friend, Carl, another orphan from Delphi Keep, barely survived their portal trip to Morocco where they found the second oracle, the Seeker, a fellow otherwise known as Jaaved, and the second box. The box contained a magical sundial and the next riddle, neither of which they had figured out just yet, but are working on diligently. They do know that their next trip through the portal will be for the third oracle, the Healer, and that it will endanger Ian's life. With this bit of information, The Earl, who oversees Delphi Keep, has decided that Ian won't go through the portal when the time comes; to ensure his wishes, he has placed a locked gate in front of the portal.

But life is still far from boring for Ian. As they wait for the next step of the prophecy, Ian, Theo, Carl, the Earl and the professor travel to Spain to track down a clue in an old diary. During the trip, a pretty girl begins to come between Ian and Carl. She seems to like Carl, but Ian has trouble fighting the jealousy that sprouts up, threatening their very friendship. And then a stranger shows up at the orphanage claiming to be Theo's long-lost father and wanting to take her away to his home. Theo knows he isn't her father, but the man goes to court with his evidence. If he takes Theo away, Ian no longer will be able to protect her.

A further threat comes to Delphi Keep in the form of a polio outbreak. In a desperate attempt to save their friends, Ian, Theo and Carl sneak away through a secret passage in order to steal the key to the portal; they must find the Healer to save the polio victims. And despite his best intentions to avoid the trip, Ian goes through the portal as well. They end up in Poland, right in the middle of the forest where not only the dangerous Nazis are invading, but also one of the evil offspring is attempting to free his imprisoned sister, all adding up to a huge, catastrophic battle.

Victoria Laurie has a charming writing style that fits well with her 1940 English setting, and her characters are endearing and fascinating. The relationships between them tug at the heart, with the special bond between Ian and Theo, and the solid link between Ian and Carl. Laurie does introduce a tiny bit of romance in this book, creating some conflict between the best friends. The storyline constantly moves, sometimes deliciously inching forward a bit at a time, revealing another piece of the puzzle, other times flying forward with massive action and fantastic adventure. Laurie also cleverly weaves in some life lessons, like standing by your friends and making the right choices, no matter how difficult. Her imagination and storytelling talents are pure genius, and we look forward to future installments of this wonderful series.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT

I bought the first book in the series "Oracle of Delphi Keep" for my 12 year old daughter because I loved the cover art and I knew that I would be reading it after she finished it. We enjoyed the first book immensely and could not wait for "The Curse of Deadman's Forest". I enjoy this series because it is scary and thrilling without being too graphic. So many young adult books treat adults as bumbling fools while Ms. Laurie has chosen to allow her characters of all ages to work harmoniously and believably.
You can't help but enjoy the characters, their fears, their strengths and their quirks. In addition, the fast pace of the story, the excitement of the adventure and your love for the chartacters will leave you wanting more.
Don't make us wait too long!

Yes, I am a fan of Victoria Laurie's. She has shown her versatility by writing three series that in themselves are interesting and entertaining, and that, I can tell you, as a fledgling writer myself, is no small feat.

Ms. Laurie's second offering in her Oracles of Delphi Keep - The Curse of Deadman's Forest continues where its debut stopped. In ancient Phoenicia, a talented and good prophetess writes of young people in our current time to help them from dark forces taking over the world. Those children are Ian Wigby and Theodosia. Through finding magical portals in Dover, prophecies that fortell of dangerous and wondrous things. It is up to the group to help deter the bad from happening.

With the help of gentry in an estate nearby, they start their destiny.

This second entry continues the magic, and the chemistry of all the characters. Although there is a shadow that Ian's life is in peril, how can the children and their adult friends not go on with their quest to help the world?

Ms. Laurie writes with such ease that kids of all ages enjoy and cannot stop turning pages to see what will happen next.

Then comes the end of the book and you cannot believe you have to wait until the next entry! Aarg!

If you haven't jumped on board with this series, do yourself a favor and read this series. It is based on stories told by Victoria Laurie's grandfather, and as I said in the first novel's review, he is mighty proud of her.

Well done!

Wonderful Book, I can't wait to share this book with my nephew and start the next one in the series!

I have enjoyed getting to know Ms. Laurie's characters and the adventures that they have. I think that this will be something that my daughter will enjoy, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series...

I am a fan of Victoria Laurie. She has shown her versatility in writing three series that are interesting and entertaining all at the same time.

I bought the first book in the series "Oracle of Delphi Keep" and enjoyed it immensely and could not wait for "The Curse of Deadman's Forest". This series is scary and thrilling without having too much graphic violence. Ms. Laurie's second offering in her Oracles of Delphi Keep continues where its predecessor stopped. This second entry continues the magic, and the chemistry of all the characters. Although there is a shadow that Ian's life is in peril, how can the children and their adult friends not go on with their quest to help the world?

Ms. Laurie writes with such ease that kids of every age will enjoy and be unable to stop turning pages to see what will happen next. To many young adult books treat adults as bumbling fools while Ms. Laurie has chosen to allow all her characters to work well and believably together. You can't help but enjoy the characters, their fears, their strengths and their quirks. In addition, the fast pace of the story, the excitement of the adventure and your love for the characters will leave you wanting more and you can't believe you have to wait a year!

If you haven't started with this series, do yourself a favor and get started NOW! It is based on stories told by Victoria Laurie's grandfather to her as a child. I hope the Audio version will be released soon. I have the first book in both formats and it's enjoyable both ways.

Very Well done!

I read this second book in the series (Oracles of Delphi Keep) before reading the first. The author has done a fairly good job of bringing a novice reader up to date without hindering the action of its sequel. However, the first half of this book is lifeless. Dialog is pedantic and descriptors vital to characters, scenes and plot enhancement are missing from the beginning of the book, where a reader needs the prompts to set his imagination going. The scenes which pertain to the adult sorcerer children of the underworld god are tedious. Credit should be given to the second half of the book which involves a rather interesting story and showcases the human children.

I found myself having difficulty getting into this one at first. I bought it months ago and started reading immediately. Unfortunately, it didn't hold my interest enough, so I picked up some other books and put this one aside. But, then I needed a book to read during vacation so I took this one with me and I found that it became quite interesting. By the time I got to the halfway point, I found I couldn't put it down. Without giving anything away, I did enjoy some of the interesting twists and revealings about the characters' pasts.

Looking forward to the next installment!

This series is so good that I had to write both reviews to make sure people know that they should read it. Spread the word! This series is great. Victoria Laurie writes in an captivating manner that wraps you up in mystery and excitement. I can't count how many times my heart caught in my throat, or I felt tears in my eyes, or I almost yelled out in my room, "RUN!". The pace was perfect, the plot twists are intricate and intriguing, the characters are lovable and brave, etc.
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book and hope that it will be a long series yet to come!

I've been waiting for this book to come out for almost a year now (the first book was one of the first ones I read when I started reading children's/YA books). Finally it's here and I'm a little torn. It isn't as awesome as I had hoped for and makes me think that perhaps the first one wasn't as awesome as I initially thought. Not to say I don't like it, but just that now I have read a lot more books in the same category so I have a better comparison base.

Theo and Ian discovered a silver treasure box that reveals a prophecy made by the last great oracle: they must find six gifted children (in addition to Theo) in order to fight a great evil that is coming. Ian is meant to be Theo's guardian throughout this journey, but what if it means his death? The prophecy certainly seems to indicate that he will die if he goes to Morocco to help them find a child with the ability to heal. What good is a guardian who cannot be there to protect his charge? Nonetheless, no one wants to risk it, but circumstances leave them no choice. Can they find this child before disaster strikes and can Ian escape his doom?

My two biggest issues with this series are the slightly awkward dialogue (maybe that's just how British people speak?) and the overwhelming number of characters. There's Ian, Theo, Carl, Jaaved, the Earl, Professor Nutley, Thatcher and Perry Goodwin, Demagorgon and his four children, the other children with abilities, plus a list of allies and enemies along the way. It's hard to keep track of everyone and really get to know them. It feels like just as we're getting to know something about the people, they are left behind in favor of introducing new characters. I think that in some ways, Laurie has simply tried to do too much.

Even with these issues, the story remains intricate and exciting. You never quite know what will happen next and I for one am looking forward to the next book in the series, whenever it comes out.