The Shifting Sands (Deltora Quest, No 4) [Paperback]

Emily Rodda (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Deltora Quest

The quest leads to the harsh, barren landscape of the Shifting Sands in the fourth action-packed Deltora Quest adventure--now with an amazing lenticular 3-D cover!

When the seven gems of the magic Belt of Deltora were stolen, the evil Shadow Lord invaded the kingdom and enslaved its people. Determined to rid their land of the tyrant, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine are on a dangerous quest to find the lost gems, which are hidden in fearsome places throughout the kingdom.
The time has come to seek the fourth gem, kept jealously by an unknown guardian in a barren wasteland. Separation, confusion, and strange, terrible enemies await the three heroes in the harsh landscape of the Shifting Sands.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439253268
• ISBN-13: 978-0439253260
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The thrilling Deltora Quest series continues., June 9, 2001

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shifting Sands (Deltora Quest, No 4) (Paperback)

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine have left the City of the Rats behind. Now they trek across the endless, barren plain outside the city, determined to find a village so they can obtain the food and supplies needed to travel on to their next destination - the Shifting Sands. They are lucky enough to find a village - but Rithmere is a very strange village. There, the three companions enter a contest in the hopes of winning money to purchase supplies - unknowing that they have entered a brutal fighting match. Even if they emerge triumphant, they will have to evade capture by the evil Shadow Lord's Gray Guards, and, worst of all, face the terrible danger found in the Shifting Sands. The thrilling Deltora Quest fantasy series continues with this exciting book. I can't wait to read the next story, which will take Lief, Barda, and Jasmine to Dread Mountain, where the fifth gem of the Belt of Deltora will be found. I reccomend this book to all readers who enjoyed the first three books in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How whoud you like to be in a desert full of monsters?, February 7, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Shifting Sands (Deltora Quest, No 4) (Paperback)

Lief, Barda and Jasmine left the city of rats in flames, they have to go to the Shifting Sands. I liked it because the gradian is with them at all times. The Gery Guards fellow them in to The Shfiting Sands. Lief most be brave to risk his life for Del.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting pattern, October 15, 2011

By 

Pop Bop (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shifting Sands (Deltora Quest #4) (Paperback)

I particularly liked books one and two of this series, but I was a bit disappointed by book three, ("City of the Rats"). It seemed that book three sort of wandered around with odd sub-plots, until it all came together nicely at the end. Having just finished this volume four, I see the interesting pattern that Rodda is following.

Like book three, this one wanders away from the main storyline about one-third of the way in. There is then a very lengthy portion that is just totally tangential to the companion's quest. Then, there is a wham-bang ending, where what happened in the middle comes back to illuminate the closing action. Very clever and very satisfying.

The beauty of this is that it breaks the possible tedium of "kill the monster, get the gem" that would have set in book after book. After all, we need to find and defeat seven monsters. It's hard to keep that interesting. But Rodda, by putting an apparently unrelated and diverting adventure in the middle of each quest, has managed to avert that tedium, and provide for satisfying surprise endings. Pretty cool and very impressive.