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A review by ribbenkast
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was such a great read! For a debut it's really strong. I read this in one day and I could not put the book down.
Small notes: It could've done with some quicker pacing in the second half of the book. The stylistic choice (?) of not adding quotation marks anywhere was a bit weird and made it hard to read sometimes.
However, the premise was really strong and the plot did deliver on said premise. The world building seems really thoughtful, I love it when authors think the consequences of their magical world through and present us with things like folklore and sensible governing structures.
Despite the setting, I liked it that the story mainly focused on the people. Odile is a great and complicated character, very well written.
If you like timeline fuckery, this one is for you.
Small notes: It could've done with some quicker pacing in the second half of the book. The stylistic choice (?) of not adding quotation marks anywhere was a bit weird and made it hard to read sometimes.
However, the premise was really strong and the plot did deliver on said premise. The world building seems really thoughtful, I love it when authors think the consequences of their magical world through and present us with things like folklore and sensible governing structures.
Despite the setting, I liked it that the story mainly focused on the people. Odile is a great and complicated character, very well written.
If you like timeline fuckery, this one is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, and Sexual harassment