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A review by holdenwunders_
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s always such a magical experience reading a book you love the entire time and fret the ending could ruin it and then it ends in a way that makes it perfection and The Other Valley just did that.
At first I thought this was very similar to the way that Blake Crouch writes but in the literary fiction genre and while I don’t dismiss that entirely, now I liken it more to Kazuo Ishiguro. Not to go on and on about an another authour but Ishiguro knows how to perfect the balance of science fiction centered world with characters that are more dynamic than the plot device. I bring this up purely because there are very few authours who are able to do it like Ishiguro and I truly believe Scott Alexander Howard was able to capture that balance and magic.
While I didn’t necessarily relate to our main character, I was rooting for her, shouting at her to stop making certain decisions, and begging her to do the right thing. And not once did I remember this young woman coming up was written by a man.
The Other Valley is a master class in literary fiction with science fiction aspects and absolutely beautiful prose. I’m completely enamored by this debut and cannot wait for this authours future works.
At first I thought this was very similar to the way that Blake Crouch writes but in the literary fiction genre and while I don’t dismiss that entirely, now I liken it more to Kazuo Ishiguro. Not to go on and on about an another authour but Ishiguro knows how to perfect the balance of science fiction centered world with characters that are more dynamic than the plot device. I bring this up purely because there are very few authours who are able to do it like Ishiguro and I truly believe Scott Alexander Howard was able to capture that balance and magic.
While I didn’t necessarily relate to our main character, I was rooting for her, shouting at her to stop making certain decisions, and begging her to do the right thing. And not once did I remember this young woman coming up was written by a man.
The Other Valley is a master class in literary fiction with science fiction aspects and absolutely beautiful prose. I’m completely enamored by this debut and cannot wait for this authours future works.