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The Three Doors Trilogy #1: The Golden Door (2000)

by Emily Rodda(Favorite Author)

4.06 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Scholastic Australia

series

The Three Doors Trilogy

review 1: Rye lives in the town of Weld, which is protected by a huge wall. But the wall is no obstacle for the skimmers. Tired of the fear, of the wings overhead and claws scratching on rooftops, tired of waiting to be eaten, Rye's older brothers volunteer to leave Weld and deal with the menace at its source, wherever that may be. But when they don't return, Rye goes after them and finds himself in an adventure stranger than he ever imagined.This book struck all the right notes with me. The story draws on a lot of classic folktale patterns. Three brothers leave one by one, with the youngest responsible for setting everything right. The doors themselves are in gold, silver, and wood, which argues that the wooden door is the correct choice---though Rye isn't seeking for himself, so h... moree ends up choosing what he figures his brother would have chosen. The treasures Rye receives come in such ordinary disguises, yet have such amazing power.Although there is much of the expected, for those familiar with folktales, this is a folktale brought to life and with plenty of surprises. I liked both of Rye's brothers, Dirk and Sholto. They are well-defined in ways that make them step outside of cliche, like Sholto's ability to press through his grief enough to secure the house against the skimmers---always thinking, always logical, but still mourning. And Rye is set against these two defined, distinct personalities as the boy who doesn't really know himself, nor what great feats brotherly love will enable him to do.I like the sense of place, both within Weld and without. Weld could easily become yet another dystopian society, and there are certainly elements of that, but Rye's early life with his family is both peaceful and relatively happy. Even when Rye finds a truly oppressed people, he still finds kindness and beauty and hope.I also like the slowly unfolding magic. Rye's power could easily consist of nothing more than his trinkets, but there are promising hints that who he is will eventually become more important than any trinket he possesses. It is, after all, his own dreams that lead him to Dirk, and his own gut instinct that leads him to the perfect position to pull off a rescue.This is a strong opening to what is presumably a trilogy. If you like folktales, like the kind told in Andrew Lang's colored fairy tale books, and wanted one fully fleshed out into a longer story, look no further. I rate this book Highly Recommended.
review 2: After my not-so-reluctant-anymore reader devoured the Harry Potter series, I kept presenting him with something else to try. Riordan, Tolkien, Morpurgo? No luck. Then I plonked him at Bookaburra for two Saturdays before he presented me with this. Yes, it's a winner! Looks fairly easy to read, with fantastical creatures in a made-up world. We're new to Emily Rodda but we're certainly going to check out more of her books!Ok, I have just finished reading my 9-year-old's copy. This book pushes all the right buttons with young readers - a quest fraught with scary monsters, threat of death, but also kind strangers who offer a helping hand. I would like to have seen more of that "second layer" I always talk about for the adult reader, most often in witty lines or a more complex plot. But hey, I shouldn't be sticking my nose into these books and judging them against JRR Tolkien anyway. A clean, exciting read for boys and girls aged 8 and up. less

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