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A review by kchisholm02
The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater
2.0
Thank you Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.
Overall, I feel a bit let down with the path this novel took towards its conclusion. The novel's description promised myth, magic, monsters, and a strong female lead. I was excited to read something new. A new take on Sci-Fi and fantasy. As I read on, though, it grew harder and harder to stay engaged with the book. I didn't have a need or desire to keep reading and get to the end to discover how it all worked out for the characters.
Things I wish were more developed within the novel:
--Sadie's character--As a reader we never truly feel connected or sympathetic with her. We could possibly share similar experiences, i.e. losing a loved one, isolation from community, but the emotional connection does not go any further between character and reader. Sadie comes off to the reader as impulsive and lacking a wide range of emotions including concern for others, concern for self, love, joy, and anger. As readers we don't get to know Sadie personally. Event after event takes place, and our ability to create a connection becomes stunted because we are continually moving on to the next step in the story.
--The boundaries of magic--There were many instances I caught myself saying "How did that happen?" or "How would that be possible?" when there was magic involved in the novel. As a reader, it never felt as if we were completely informed of how the bounds of the Red Valley functioned. When I had to ask myself these questions, it stopped the flow of consciousness of the story, and I found myself focused more on the "how" and "why" rather than the actual story taking place.
--The urgency behind the goal--Throughout the whole novel, as a reader I never felt there was any sort of urgency taking place or that Sadie created an atmosphere where we needed to read on to see what her outcome was. If I put this book down, the scene taking place did not create enough emotional distress to cause me to immediately pick it back up at my next available time and start reading. I wanted more anticipation and more fear throughout the novel. There were monsters and magic and the King you shouldn't cross; I needed the emotional atmosphere to match it.
--The monsters--Walter Goodwater had a phenomenal idea with his characters the Laughing Boys, the Crying Boys, the Long Shadows, the Hunter, the King, and the River. I loved the idea behind them and their place in the story. What I needed, though, was more of a background on them. We learn how Laughing Boys come to be, but there is little included on the others. These characters are hard to care for and fear because they don't possess qualities a reader can imagine and interpret and then come to associate with evil. They would become stronger characters had we as readers been given more details on their own origins.
This novel had a lot of good pieces to it, but there were sections that fell short. It read as if there was too much going on, and it was difficult to keep every event and detail straight. I was truly excited to read the story of the Red Valley and the Liar, but this novel just didn't grab my attention as I had hoped. When I finished the novel, I was left unsatisfied. I didn't really believe the novel was over because it felt unfinished and abrupt.
I really wanted to like this novel, and I tried really hard to get into it, but in the end I just felt I was missing too much to truly enjoy reading it.
Overall, I feel a bit let down with the path this novel took towards its conclusion. The novel's description promised myth, magic, monsters, and a strong female lead. I was excited to read something new. A new take on Sci-Fi and fantasy. As I read on, though, it grew harder and harder to stay engaged with the book. I didn't have a need or desire to keep reading and get to the end to discover how it all worked out for the characters.
Things I wish were more developed within the novel:
--Sadie's character--As a reader we never truly feel connected or sympathetic with her. We could possibly share similar experiences, i.e. losing a loved one, isolation from community, but the emotional connection does not go any further between character and reader. Sadie comes off to the reader as impulsive and lacking a wide range of emotions including concern for others, concern for self, love, joy, and anger. As readers we don't get to know Sadie personally. Event after event takes place, and our ability to create a connection becomes stunted because we are continually moving on to the next step in the story.
--The boundaries of magic--There were many instances I caught myself saying "How did that happen?" or "How would that be possible?" when there was magic involved in the novel. As a reader, it never felt as if we were completely informed of how the bounds of the Red Valley functioned. When I had to ask myself these questions, it stopped the flow of consciousness of the story, and I found myself focused more on the "how" and "why" rather than the actual story taking place.
--The urgency behind the goal--Throughout the whole novel, as a reader I never felt there was any sort of urgency taking place or that Sadie created an atmosphere where we needed to read on to see what her outcome was. If I put this book down, the scene taking place did not create enough emotional distress to cause me to immediately pick it back up at my next available time and start reading. I wanted more anticipation and more fear throughout the novel. There were monsters and magic and the King you shouldn't cross; I needed the emotional atmosphere to match it.
--The monsters--Walter Goodwater had a phenomenal idea with his characters the Laughing Boys, the Crying Boys, the Long Shadows, the Hunter, the King, and the River. I loved the idea behind them and their place in the story. What I needed, though, was more of a background on them. We learn how Laughing Boys come to be, but there is little included on the others. These characters are hard to care for and fear because they don't possess qualities a reader can imagine and interpret and then come to associate with evil. They would become stronger characters had we as readers been given more details on their own origins.
This novel had a lot of good pieces to it, but there were sections that fell short. It read as if there was too much going on, and it was difficult to keep every event and detail straight. I was truly excited to read the story of the Red Valley and the Liar, but this novel just didn't grab my attention as I had hoped. When I finished the novel, I was left unsatisfied. I didn't really believe the novel was over because it felt unfinished and abrupt.
I really wanted to like this novel, and I tried really hard to get into it, but in the end I just felt I was missing too much to truly enjoy reading it.