Heroes of the Valley review

Without the recognizable name of Jonathan Stroud one might overlook Heroes of the Valley.  The title and the cover are not especially engaging, which belies the story within.  This is The Sagas of Icelanders written for young readers looking to escape the confines of typical hero stories, much like the main character.  Halli Sveinsson belongs to the House of Svein and believes all of the legends of that great hero, which makes his life as a second son all the more mundane.  Halli yearns to be a hero like Svein but doesn’t know where to begin, as the peaceful rule of law in the valley has rendered swords obsolete.  In true Norse fashion, Halli occupies his time with pranks instead.  When one of his pranks goes terribly awry Halli gets the chance to learn the truth behind the legends and what it means to be a hero.  The ho-hum title also takes on more meaning as Halli uncovers the history behind the legends.  Readers familiar with Stroud know to expect the unexpected and will still be caught off guard by the hazard Halli braves and the revelation that results!

The Comet’s Curse review

The Comet’s Curse is the first book in the Galahad series by Denver DJ Dom Testa.  The series has been acquired by Tor Books, which will release The Comet’s Curse on January 20th.  This is a science fiction series for young adults about 251 teenage colonists who depart Earth after particles from a passing comet pollute the atmosphere, poisoning all inhabitants over the age of 18.  With the little time remaining to the human race, a scientist leads a mission to construct a spaceship, the Galahad, capable of sustaining life for a five year journey, and to select the 251 teenagers capable of manning the ship and continuing the species on a planet in another solar system.  A global search for the best and the brightest is conducted, and a council is appointed to lead them.  The council is representative of the diversity of the crew, and are the main characters of the book.  If the ship’s five year mission and international crew remind readers of the original Star Trek series it’s probably not a coincidence!  And like Captain Kirk, the ship’s leader is involved in some romantic entanglements, but that’s to be expected from a 16-year-old girl sealed inside a co-ed space cruiser!  This is a book for teens who may or may not be fooled by the head fake Testa gives them during the first on-board crisis (I wasn’t).  It’s also a great lead off for a promising series.  The trip to their new home will take five years, but The Comet’s Curse covers only the launch and the first few months of the mission.  Testa has a steady hand with pacing, moving the story along without rushing the action, including the inevitable romances that will ebb and flow like lunar orbits.

Alcatraz is Back!

The anti-heroic autobiographer Alcatraz Smedry returns with a new supporting cast in Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones (ostensibly) by Brandon Sanderson!  There are new Smedrys with new talents – meet Kazan, the uncle with the ability to get lost, and Australia, the cousin with the gift of waking up looking hideous!  Alcatraz isn’t the only one with family members crawling out of the glasswork – Bastille’s mother Draulin is also along for the ride in the glass Dragonaut!  This motley crew travels all the way to the Library of Alexandria to face new foes, the ghostly curators of Alexandria and the ghastly Scrivener’s Bones, and to find Alcatraz’s grandfather, Leavenworth Smedry, who is on the trail of his long lost son Attica, Alcatraz’s father!  Can Leavenworth, whose talent is arriving late, catch up to Attica before he sells his soul to the curators in exchange for the stores of knowledge held in the Library of Alexandria?  Can Alcatraz escape from the insidious clutches of the Scrivener’s Bones without sacrificing one of his friends?  Can you wait for the third Alcatraz book to come out?