The Maze of the Beast

Deltora Quest #6

by Emily Rodda

The next missing gem from the magical Belt of Deltora lies hidden in the underwater lair of the hideous and ferocious Glus. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine must summon all their strength and courage to make it through the Maze of the Beast.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Magic

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.

Reviews

[Tina Rafii➹ lives in Fandoms · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Golden Stars

I rounded up only because of Dain!

not least but not my most favourite book either.

the journey continues in west of Deltora, at the shores of the River Tor, with spies of the shadowlord everywhere, to find them, to kill them, or deceive them, the Ols are one of them.
hidden & disguised dangers, the separation.
Jasmine & Lief, brave, sweet & witty.
to the Maze of the Beast.

the ending was thrilling!
-
Plot: ★★★★/5
World Building: ★★★★/5
Characters: ★★★★★/5
Written style: ★★★★/5
General idea: ★★★★/5

[Sara Kamjou · Rating 4 out of 5]

سه واژه: خلاقیت، ماجراجویی و دوستی.
جنس دوستی توی کتاب مخصوصا توی این جلد برام خیلی لذتبخش بود.

[Nastaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

اگر بخوام این کتاب رو توی یه جمله توصیف کنم میگم«نفس‌گیر و پر از اتفاقات غافلگیر کننده»

[Deniiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had more twists and turns in the story compared to the previous books of the series. It really keeps the reader engaged on the edge. Loving the saga!

[Max Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be one of the better novels in the series. It had much mystery to it, as it was set out in a much unfamiliar environment to me (Underwater, Maze). Throughout the entire book, you could never really tell what was going to happen until the moment you started reading the exact situation. Even though you can't actually see what's going on, The mental image you can paint in your mind is so in depth, This is because the author Emily Rodda has worded the novel to make it extremely involving and detailed.

I was excited each time I turned the next page, as I was so mystified as to what was going to happen next. This was definitely one of the better novels in the series to read. I look forward to going through it again and I hope re-live all the exciting moments I had experienced the first time around.

[Tammie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read- May 2020 for Believeathon II and 24 Hour Raedathon (hosted by JadeyRaeReads)
- I think this is my least favourite book in this series so far.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alrighty, let's begin, shall we?
Ok, we're reaching the finishing line and our heroes know it and are cautious about the looming threat of being discovered by the Shadow Lord or his allies since the former is now aware that a man, a boy, and a girl with a bird are behind it all.

Jasmine comes up with a plan. Divide and conquer, separate from the guys, soon after Dain had rescued them from a scuffle with the Ol who are shapeshifters in league with the Shadow Lord.

Of course, this plan comes to fruition once Jasmine recognizes this side character as Dain, the boy who had served Queen Bee Cider to herself, Doom, Glock and Neridah during the Rithmere Games, once she leaves she hopes this plan works in their favour by confusing the Shadow Lord and his allies as they're on the lookout for a man, boy and a girl with a bird NOT a man AND TWO boys, of course, both Barda and Leif are reluctant of this plan for many reasons:

a) they've come to trust Jasmine and her instincts and realize they rely heavily on her abilities such as her almost supernatural ability with animals and communicating with nature to determine nearby threats

b) having Dain as a traveling companion instead of Jasmine, as they are very weary of letting anyone else in on the secret about their true mission: obtaining the lost gems of the Belt of Deltora and eventually finding the heir of Edon as they feel Dain is heavily influenced by Doom, whose back, who has a "Kill or to be killed" approach to things and hasn't proven to be very trustworthy in the first place.

Overall
This book had a bit more mystery, there were pirates involved, and Ol (the shapeshifters) and how all that came to a head at the Maze of the Beast in obtaining the 6th Gem, Amythest, was surprisingly well written.

As it was great to see some character growth in Barda, Jasmine, and Leif, trying to think three steps ahead and throw their enemies off the scent. While our heroes tried to avoid a trap laid out before them and how it ends up in their favour was cleverly done.

Now it's time for the 7th book!!!

[Caleb Likes Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid entry in the series. Not quite a favorite but not a least favorite either, compared to the other books. Each book in the series so far is unique in some way, but I particularly enjoyed the unique elements of this one. The group encounters interesting new enemies, allies, and parts of the world. I also really like how this book connects back to previous books; I believe the last book also did this, but the series at this point is really connecting things together and making the series feel more cohesive. Overall a very enjoyable one but not quite one of my favorites.

Rating: 8/10

[yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

current ranking:

1. dread mountain
2. the maze of the beast
3. the forests of silence
4. the lake of tears
5. the shifting sands
6. the city of rats

yayyyy another fun one hehehe

we started off strong with this one - the ols are such an interesting species (?) and actually so scary. they reminded me a bit of wendigos mixed with a boggart. knowing they can completely shape shift into another being, and MIMIC so well even just the grade ones. knowing grade twos can give off body heat and keep up the new figure for up to 3 days is so eerie. seeing that in an adult book would be very frightening (someone do it pls)

also grade three ols we haven’t even seen yet… im keeping my eyes peeled for you

i don’t really know how i feel about dain. he feels like a child to me, and i don’t really know why he is so desperate to go to tora. he’s a bit naive, and impulsive but i don’t think he’s evil. just an odd character, i feel similarly to lief about him where he just makes me feel uncomfortable

also lief got jealous over jasmine 🥹🥹🥹 i love them platonically butttt a little baby crush never hurt anybody

jinks PMOOOOOO, he really is just a jealous sly man who feels better by putting others down 🤢 not a fan of him and i was hoping he would die the second i saw him, give this man a heart attack or strike him with lightning, ill take anything

DOOM AGAIN - they can’t make me hate or distrust you. mark my words he’s going to come in clutch one day (right… he’s not the shadow lord right!!? 🤨)

jasmine leaving us behind to travel alone broke my heart. we already know i have an attachment to kree and filli, so seeing everyone leaving and not knowing if they’ll be safe made me sad. they broke the trio, i don’t want dain hanging out with us like that. i was grateful that we reunited fairly quickly on the ship

i love anything pirate related so having our location being on a ship with a morally grey captain was so funnnnn. i expected someone on board would have to be an ol, and was not let down when our pink lady turned out to be one (also her skinny partner as we see later on. not surprising, but good plot point nevertheless)

BARDA I WAS SO AFRAID - i still don’t know if emily rodd will kill of main characters but i was so worried that we lost him. only for us to think he came back but he was an OL🥲 we got the real him later regardless which i am very happy about, but i can believe we had an ol with us that whole time and didn’t realise (only were suspicious that he was nice to us😭😭 poor barda)

losing our belt is something that crossed my mind throughout every book so far. i was so surprised that we hadn’t been robbed or accidentally had it unclipped at some stage, but finally we got the plot point of us losing the belt. i will say, not having the belt with us made ME feel helpless and like part of me was missing and im not even there 😭

the glus ewwww the image i conjured in my mind of him is so gross. big slimy squishy slug yuck. not the most threatening villian we have seen thus far, but still an interesting one. he didn’t make me feel afraid. more just grossed out (also noting that he ate milne completely, licking his bones clean, also very gross). only when he started moving really quickly did he feel threatening, but even then he was only trying to close the hole we made to escape his maze.

TBH IDK HOW WE ESCAPED THROUGH THE BLOWHOLE - my mind can’t seem to picture it properly, and even the way finn and nak died by being sucked into it? i can’t visualise it but ill accept it for what it is

onto the last stone now. i am very excited hehe

[Clare rushby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure! This one was always one I was very interested in reading as a kid because I loved the cover. It did not disappoint!!

[Leni · Rating 5 out of 5]

pirates!!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 / 5

The quest for the gems of Deltora continues in this next installment, with Leif, Jasmine and Barda on their way to find gem #6 ;D

This book introduced a rather terrifying new creature to the story - that of "Ols". Doesn't sound too menacing, but considering it's basically a really evil freaking shapeshifter that works for the Shadowlord and takes joy in causing pain and death, and that depending on the grade (one being the lowest, three the highest) it can not only take the shape of any living creature - but also any non-living creation. Think you're safe in the woods with nothing but trees and animals around? Think again :|

Leif and co's journey here saw them travel along the River Tor on their way to the Maze of the Beast in order to get their next gem. As they had been warned that their enemy was on the look-out for three companions (a man, boy and girl) with a raven (and of course Filli, but they mostly hide so maybe the Shadowlord wasn't aware of them?) they decide to split up to cover the majority of their way and hopefully get there safe and sound, Jasmine with Filli and Kree (as the most obvious member), and Leif and Barda together with Dain (who saved them from the first set of Ols). However, after ending up on the same ship and being boarded by pirates, one of the other passengers on board turns out to be an Ol as well and after realising that all three were back together again, they are attacked by said Ols. Leif and Jasmine manage to escape the Ols (and pirates!), but Barda ends up overboard with carnivorous giant worms (ew) and Dain is captured by the pirates.

Leif, Jasmine and Barda are soon reunited and make their way to the cave, only to for Barda to be killed by... Barda... and for them to find out that the Barda they had been with was actually an Ol all along, attempting to take them off course and destroy them.

After being captured by pirates (the same ones who have Dain), Leif and co (with the exception of Kree) end up in the maze of the beast. The beast being essentially a giant carnivorous blind slug that finds its food via vibration and sound. Upon finding the gem, Leif is forced to split from Jasmine and Barda so that he can get the gem out while they lead the beast away from him. He manages to get it, and then finds a way out through feeling some nice sea breeze... and then essentially digging a hole and causing a flood. Our heroes are able to escape out the blow hole... and take out some unlucky pirates on their way. Then - it's on the way to find the lucky last gem; the diamond!

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I felt that for such a short book it really managed to pack in SO MUCH action (heck, just read above with how much I wrote and you'll see what I mean :P) and I just really enjoyed it. Things really start to come together in this book c:

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

maze of the beast was so good what the heck!!! i LOVE jasmine!!!! i love doom!! i wish soo much that Doom got like way more screentime tbh bc he is just so cool, like even as a kid i loved him but now like 15 years on i love him even more bc 1) im now better at spotting foreshadowing and plot twists to do w him, and 2) i understand politics now and headcanon doom as an anarchist revolutionary xoxo

the plot twist that barda was replaced by an ol for part of this book was so good, and i had completely forgotten that it happened !!! AHH!!!

also is it a thing that the themes of the book parallel what the gem found in each book will be ?? must investigate

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to believe how consistently good each book in this series is! This one was no exception. New monsters, different landscape, clever treachery, a harrowing finish, a new friend and returning characters make this a satisfying book.

[Mahshid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Dain I hope he stays alive I wanna read more of him

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sixth book in the Deltora Quest series. If you want to see how the journey started, be sure to read the previous books, The Forests of Silence, The Lake of Tears, City of the Rats, The Shifting Sands, and Dread Mountain, prior to reading this one.

In The Maze of the Beast, the trio splits up on the way to the maze, as their accomplishments thus far have garnered them notoriety in the eyes of their enemies. The atmosphere has also grown dark and grim, with the introduction of new foes, such as the Ols. These creatures are able to take on the forms of living beings, such as people, making the trio second guess themselves and those that they encounter along their way towards the maze.

Without giving away any spoilers, the trio may or may not have been betrayed. It's darker and more serious than the previous books, but far more interesting.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

در جستجوی دلتورا داستانی فانتزی و متشکل از سه مجموعه، نوشتهٔ امیلی رودا نویسنده ی استرالیایی است. داستان درباره ی سه همسفر است که سرزمین تخیلی دلتورا را به دنبال تکمیل کمربند دلتورا و شکست خادمان ارباب سایه‌های اهریمنی زیر پا می گذارند. نخستین نسخه ی مجموعه ی اول در سال ۲۰۰۰ میلادی در استرالیا به چاپ رسید و اکنون نیز در ۳۰ کشور به فروش می رسد. در فوریه ی ۲۰۱۰ این مجموعه در کل ۱۵ میلیون و در استرالیا ۲ میلیون نسخه فروش داشته‌است. سه مجموعه شامل ۱۵ کتاب می‌شوند که ۸ کتاب اول در جستجوی دلتورا، ۳ جلد بعدی سرزمین سایه‌ها ی دلتورا و ۴ جلد آخر اژدهایان دلتورا نام دارند. تمامی کتاب‌های این مجموعه در ایران با ترجمه ی خانم محبوبه نجف خانی و توسط انتشارات بنفشه به چاپ رسیده‌است . انیمیشن و بازی رایانه ای در جستجوی دلتورا به ترتیب توسط تلویزیون ژاپن و شرکت نینتندو دی اس نیز ساخته شده‌اند.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

SN: I remember loving this series when I was a kid but I don't remember if I actually finished it. I might have moved on to another series by the time the last book was published. So here goes my attempt at rereading the entire thing!

Meh, this one was never my favorite and I think this was actually the one that I stopped on when I was kid. The introduction and all of a sudden heavy focus on the shapechangers called Ols feels like too much too late. Also, there's just waaay too much going on in this one in comparison to the others. However! I still enjoyed the actual finding of the gem + the maze portion along with how the whole group is functioning as they start attracting more attention.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume in this series. Once again, this opens up more of the land of Deltora, and also introduces us to more characters and enemies. The introduction of the Ol was amazing, adding so much suspense. When anybody you meet can be an enemy, how safe are you really?

With Jasmine striking off on her own for a time to keep the others safe, it gave Lief and Barda more room to develop as characters, and the author took the chance. The scenes on the riverboat are colourful, and the danger with the pirates so well told. All of this leads to a gripping conclusion, as the heroes try to outwit and outfox their enemies to retrieve another of the gems of power.

This book is thrilling.

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. I kind of felt like nothing happened? I think having the resistance stronghold entrance and then immediate exit without any follow through messed with my perception of the pacing of the book. Also - the polypan?? Biological essentialism of “monkey-like” slaves who are implied to be addicted to some whacky toffee drug and are super good at thieving?? THE ALARM BELLS THAT ARE RINGING IN MY MIND,,,,,,,

In good things - having them lose the belt was some excellent stakes-upping though. Good stuff. Also I love a good old fashioned labyrinth with a monster. The milk on the walls turning into stone as people rest against it to trap them in was an excellent touch.

[Lidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS ONE ATE!!! YOUR HONOUR. Ugh big slug was so slippery and slimy and kinda slayed. She was fr so scaryyy. Loved how Rodda keeps adding a new group of people to the story, the introductions of the ols were super creepy cause the trio are becoming more and more aware of how keenly they're being watched and how the Shadow Lord has many, many ploys to try and capture them. EEEEE. Lief is also getting kinda jellyyy heeheh

[ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one as much as the others :)). I think Dain was a great addition, and the Ols were very well done and threatening. (The fake Barda was a highlight for me.) I think Jasmine choosing to split up at a point, as well as the Belt being stolen were interesting changes of pace. Lief's budding feelings for Jasmine add another layer of emotion to their relationship and his development.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie porwał mnie kompletnie ten tom. Nie wiem, czy nawet nie pokuszę się o stwierdzenie, że nie jest najgorszy z serii, choć może po prostu już wyrosłam z tej serii? Trudno powiedzieć, ale ten tom po prostu był, zero emocji.

[Ms Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book, really liked it

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - English Ebook

Review follows later.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single character in this book (except for Jasmine) would perish without Barda.

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lagi-lagi pertarungan hidup-mati yang menegangkan. Glus, monster siput yang ada di kover ini benar-benar menyebalkan! Belum lagi para perompak, dan monster Ol yang bisa meniru wujud mereka. Hiiii!!!

[Jacqui Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic read. Darkest, most engaging book of the series yet. Barda was not useless for once!

[Anahita Solot · Rating 5 out of 5]

حرفم رو پس می‌گیرم، این جلد فیوریتمه. داستان هیجان‌انگیز و جذابه و پیچش‌های جالبی داره. تازه اتفاقاتی که با ال‌ها افتاد هم خیلی جذاب بود. برای خوندن ادامه هیجان زده‌ام.

[Kimia the girl who lives in wonderland · Rating 4 out of 5]

همیشه خوندن دنیای دلتورا یه حس خاصی داره جایی هست که میدونی با تلاش و مبارزه خوبی میتونه به بدی پیروز بشه. و
دلتورا پ�� از معماهای قشنکه
خوندن مجدد این کتاب حس خیلی خوبی داشت