Review of The Vale

[Rayasaurus]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Vale" by Evelyn and Lloyd Songy.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Vale by Evelyn and Lloyd Songy is a fantasy coming-of-age novel featuring a young girl tasked with saving the world. For eons, demons have been crossing over into the world from another world long past, though usually in small amounts. However, once every three hundred years, the worlds become closer and allow floods of demons into the world of humans. The god of this world has not left the humans alone to be destroyed. Instead, he has provided his daughter, Becky, as a warrior to keep the demons at bay. Becky, a young girl abandoned to the streets, must wrestle with her past, her relationship with her father, and the forces inside of her. Becky must assemble her sisters and brothers into an army that can rival the massive flow of demons. Luckily, a secret organization has prepared for her arrival from the shadows, but the work is far from over.

In my opinion, the best aspect of The Vale is its premise. A lot of excellent, classic tropes are used to bring familiarity to the narrative, but there are plenty of fresh twists to keep things interesting. For example, the classic trope of a prophesied savior is given fresh life through the savior being a very young, constantly underestimated girl. Few readers might suspect Becky’s ultimate destiny. Another positive point is how conversation between Becky and her father is formatted. It is a very unique style of formatting, and I believe that it shows how unique those conversations are.

Unfortunately, as interesting as the initial premise is, there are many substantial flaws in the book. The most glaring issue is the fact that spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors abound in practically every page. Run-on sentences are the most common error, but the errors in general are so copious that at times the novel is difficult to read. The paragraph breaks and lack of proper dialogue tags makes it difficult at times to pin dialogue to the character speaking. The point of view character switches very quickly and without warning sometimes, and a distinct lack of foreshadowing gives every scene roughly the same amount of tension. A final problem is that many of the major characters lack distinguishable features, so they are difficult to tell apart. This book would be well served to get an editor.

Despite the initial premise’s intrigue and the fresh twists it introduces to old tropes, the grammatical errors and other flaws make this book a difficult read. I give The Vale 1 out of 4 stars. If the book had been more easily readable, I would have given it a fair rating instead. However, I cannot recommend this book in its current state.

This book is suitable for adults who are fond of fantasy novels, religious characters, and epic battles. I would not recommend this book for people who dislike sensitive topics such as sexual content, sexual assault, profanity, violence, somewhat abusive relationships, and child soldiers.

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The Vale
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[Balebi Alexis]

The vale by Evelyn and lioyd is a novel book after my review I have remarked that it relates to adult people who do not dislike sensitive topics such as: sexual assault, profanity, violences...

[Rishi_reviews]

I was intrigued by the story at first but after going through the whole review I think I'll skip this one. Thanks for the honest review.

[kittykat6132]

I love novels with supernatural creatures. Who knows, the universe is vast and mysterious, they might actually exist.

[Uchechukwu Okereke]

This is one sad instance where a book is so dear to me but beyond my reach. I can relate to the storyline a lot because it bears a very near semblance to one of my favorite movies of all time. Unfortunately, I do not think I have the patience for a book with a lot of grammatical and spelling errors.

[Tarie07]

The storyline is captivating. I would like to find out how a young girl who is constantly looked down upon saves the world. Thanks for the informative review.

[Lucy Vera]

I already feel excited to read the book from this review. You did a great job, I'd love to read the book.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a draft rather than a finished work. The consequence is that a good idea is not properly developed, so the author needs to do some real editing, possibly with the help of a professional editor. Thank you for a honest review!

[Immaculate06]

The book is a pure work of fantasy and it involves the supernatural. Good review.