The Forests of Silence
The Forests of Silence starts with the king’s childhood with his friend Jarred. Everybody seems to be living peacefully until The Shadow Lord invades the land of Deltora and the king and Jarred have to leave the castle and hide.Some years later, Lief, a young boy who lives in a village near the castle, starts a journey to recover the seven stones of the magic Belt of Deltora, a powerful belt that will help the next king defeat the Shadow Lord.
The plot was nice and I enjoyed it. At first I was a bit confused, because from what I understood by reading the summary, the main character was supposed to be a boy named Lief and not the king or Jarred. But everything makes sense as the plot develops.
The first half of the first book is an introduction to the series and the world of Deltora. It is told from Jarred’s point of view and we learn that the inhabitants of the castle are isolated and believe Deltora is a peaceful and happy place and that the future king, Endon, is not allowed to go outside. It is very different from the life of the people who live outside the castle. They are starving and think the king doesn’t care.
The second half of the book starts with Lief’s birthday and we find out that he is Jarred’s son.
This series is aimed at children or younger teenagers, so the bad people are bad and the good people are good. But this does not mean that the good people are perfect. Endon doesn’t believe his friend when Jarred tries to tell him that he suspects the king has been murdered and doesn’t realize that the person he trusts has been ruling over Deltora and nobody has noticed. When he becomes aware of his mistake it is already too late.
Although I enjoyed this book I have to say that it was a very light reading and that the plot was predictable. The vocabulary was also very easy. But this is my point of view as an adult; younger readers might not mind this so much.
