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Chasing The Valley (2013)

by Skye Melki-Wegner(Favorite Author)

4.1 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Random House Australia

series

Chasing the Valley

review 1: It took me long enough to read this, but man am I glad that I did! This is a fast-paced fantasy adventure, filled with cool characters, terrifying 'bad guys' on the hunt and a murderous royal family. What more could you want? Unknown emerging powers? Tick. Teenagers on the run, desperate to find a place they've only ever heard of in story and song? Tick. Enough twists to keep you interested but not give you whiplash? Tick tick!As I said, I'm really glad I read this. Chasing the Valley is a nice, refreshing addition to the TA fantasy genre, and I'm already looking forward to getting my hands on book 2!
review 2: I received an uncorrected eARC from the publisher, Random House, via NetGallley, in return for an honest review.CHASING THE VALLEY tells the story of Da... morenika Glynn, a scruffer (indigent person) from the dark streets of Rourton, a city characterised by extremes of wealth and poverty. Danika lost her family to an air raid, some 9 years before her novelistic present, and she has survived by her wits ever since. On the night her story commences, the bombs start falling again.CHASING THE VALLEY tells the story of how Danika and five other teenagers escape from Rourton and head across country to find the magnetic valley - the only place where they will be safe from the military (commanded by a despotic King).What I enjoyed about this book was its world-building. The author, Ms Melkie-Wegner, certainly knows how to string a sentence together. Her prose is light and deft, and her characterisation is solid - there are a couple of flaws, but overall the characters and the situations in which they find themselves are believable (well, as believable as any world where witchcraft and alchemy reign alongside science and logic). I felt a couple of gaps in some of the characters, but hopefully this will be fleshed out in the following two novels. I'd like to see more on what motivates our characters - the threats, for some all-encompassing, seem a little understated for others.All in all a very worthwhile book and an astounding debut effort. I will certainly be recommending this novel to young adult readers and I cannot wait to see how the story unfolds in books two and three. less

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