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Title | The Golden Door
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Author | Emily Rodda
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Cover Art | Alan Daniel
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Publisher | Penguin - 2012
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First Printing | Omnibus Books - 2011
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Title | The Silver Door
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Author | Emily Rodda
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Cover Art | Marc McBride
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Publisher | Penguin - 2014
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First Printing | Omnibus Books - 2011
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Title | The Third Door
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Author | Emily Rodda
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Cover Art | Marc McBride
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Publisher | Penguin - 2013
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First Printing | 2012
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Category | Middle grade
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Rye, Dirk, Sholto, Sonia
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Main Elements | Magic
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Website | The Emily Rodda Website
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The Golden Door
Three Magic Doors you here behold
Time to choose: Wood? Silver? Gold?
Listen to your inner voice
And you will make the wisest choice.
Rye has lived all his life in the walled city of Weld, and every year he and his family (his mother and two older brothers) have endured the terrifying attacks of the winged Skimmers, with their taste for human meat. But the attacks are getting worse, the Warden seems indecisive, and Rye's brothers speak of the need for change - maybe even rebellion.
When the Warden calls for volunteers to find and destroy the enemy who sends the Skimmers, red-headed Rye and his widowed mother watch in silence when first bold Dirk, then subtle Sholto, go forth into the unknown. They do not return, and Rye realizes that to save his family, if not his city, he must go in search of his brothers. Young, unskilled, innocent and sensitive, Rye is motivated not by the desire for fame or glory but by the desperate need to ease his mother's grief - and his own.
Lying about his age, Rye signs the volunteer statement. There's no turning back. He finds himself in a large stone chamber, facing three doors. As he tries to decide which one to go through, there is a scrabbling sound and a cloud of ash. Sonia, an orphan girl, bursts into the chamber and begs Rye to take her with him, threatening to reveal Rye's true age. And so begins a Tolkien-like journey for Rye and Sonia - complete with tests, signs, magic tokens, and curious helpers.
The Silver Door
Danger lurks behind the silver door!
Rye has only been outside the walled city of Weld once in his life. He left through the Golden Door, one of three magic Doors that are the only way in and out of Weld, and the journey nearly killed him. Rye and his travelling companion, Sonia, managed to return alive - but their mission was a failure. Although he rescued his oldest brother Dirk, Rye was unable to find the enemy who has been sending flying beasts to attack the innocent people of Weld.
Now Rye and Sonia must venture outside of Weld once more - this time, by choosing the fearsome Silver Door. They must find a way to survive the dangers that await them...because if they fail again, all of Weld will pay the price.
The Third Door
The last chance.
Three magic Doors are the only way in and out of the walled city of Weld. The Golden Door is grand and majestic - a Door for heroes. The Silver Door hints at mystery and knowledge - a door for schemers. But the plain Wooden Door has always held the most appeal for Rye and his friend Sonia. And now, at last, they have they chance to open it.
They city of Weld is under attack from skimmers, flying beasts that terrorize the night. If Rye and Sonia can't discover the enemy sending the skimmers in time, Weld has no hope. Twice before, Rye and Sonia left Weld on a quest to save it. Twice before, they failed.
Now there's just one Door left - one last chance to save the people of Weld. Rye and Sonia know everything depends on them. But nothing can prepare them for the horror that waits behind the Wooden Door.
I actually won an uncorrected and unpublished proof from Penguin, so I'm probaly one of the few people in North America who has read this book even though it's been out in Australia for about a year. I'd never heard of Emily Rodda before, but the book itself was exactly the kind of thing I would have enjoyed while in elementary school...and even now as an adult.
The story starts in a town called Weld surrounded by an enormous Wall. It's been there so long people no longer know what's on the other side, in fact a good portion of the population dedicate their lives to making it bigger still. But then the Skimmers started flying over the wall at night, devouring anyone they could sense through sound or scent. It was decided to started sending brave young volunteers on quests outside the Wall to find out where they were coming from and to destroy the source. But no one who went through the Wall ever came back.
Rye's two brothers had left years before and were presumed dead. When the Skimmers destroyed the Bell Tree from which he and his mother made their living, he volunteered to find the Skimmers, but in fact went in search of his siblings. What he didn't expect was to have an orphan girl (with a bit of an attitude) tag along for the adventure.
It's been a while since I've read a book like this (mind you I'm not the target age group) but I truly enjoyed reading it, and I know that if I were still in grade school, I would have loved this book. When I thought of it from that perspective I had to make a four start rating a five. Rodda's writing was a pleasure to read and the characters were fun and interesting. It's a wonderful coming of age / quest story with some magic and mystery mixed in. In fact I'm so intrigued by the mysteries (what are the Skimmers, what are the magical items in Rye's possession, who is Sonia, what is the history of Weld, and what is behind the silver and wooden doors?!?) I'm going to have to go out and read the rest of the series! Hopefully I won't have too long a wait for them to be published here.
September 2015
Though I gave a pretty rave review of the first book, I wasn't quite as impressed with the next two. The second one in particular I found just too weird for comfort, with people living in horrible conditions collecting the bones left behind by carnivorous snails, animal was well as human. And the third one started off ok, then started to drag, then got really confusing, until all was explained.
Must admit that explanation was quite the twist, I hadn't the slightest inkling of how the story was going to resolve itself. Just for that it was worth reading through all three! It made cause and consequence be something so much bigger than one could ever expect. It made who was good and who was bad also not what one expected. Frankly, it was so twisted and complicated that I think it would have been hard for a middle grade reader to sort it out, I know I had trouble. But then I've was reading Lord of the Rings in elementary school so never underestimate your middle graders! And if you read it through twice, then it would probably make a whole lot more sense. Definitely have to give the author credit for a major undertaking in these three novels.
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