Stories from the Vale Series by Kathy Ann Trueman
Generations ago, ships full of refugees from a vast war accidentally blew into a narrow, sheltered harbor between the cliffs of two mountain ranges. The people called the vast and fertile valley beyond the harbor the Vale and settled there. The Vale was also home to wild animals, dragons, and magical creatures called elves…and magic.
As the years passed, humans with no actual magical talent came to be born with a Gift–a single ability. Among the Gifted, only healers are widely accepted, but for others fear and distrust has led to prejudice, persecution, and even murder. Although elves, humans and dragons essentially live in peace together, the nearly immortal elves are intent on preserving the Vale’s isolation from the rest of the world. At any cost.
Stories from the Vale: The Path of the Dragonfly
Shak is anything but a simple soldier with a clear-cut mission in life. He’s consumed with the relentless need for revenge against a man who was once his best friend. But that obsession is far from his only. Shak can’t forget he’d abandoned two helpless children during a battle. Though the deed that he can’t forgive himself for happened in the past, far from changing, he can’t get past it…until his grandmother, a witch, offers him the chance to redeem the dishonorable act.
Those same children he’d left to their fate are in dire straits. To rescue them, he must travel to the mysterious and treacherous Crystal Valley and then find a way to get them back where they belong. Further complicating his life, the Crystal Valley holds a secret that threatens two armies, and Shak alone can save them. With an unequivocal mission staring him in the face, he discovers his enemy is close by–actually following him–and vengeance could at last be his.
At a crossroads, he has no choice but to determine which task he’ll undertake… and which to give up forevermore.
Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 155, 908
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5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book
This was a fabulous read. It is a complete story, but I hope it is a series. In any case, I hope there are more coming from this author.
Pamela L.
April 5, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Great book, very good character development. keeps you interested from start to finish.
Selene Rising
August 2, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT your run-of-the-mill fantasy
If you are looking for the usual comfortable, rote, cliche'd fantasy story, then look elsewhere. Kathy Trueman has created a unique world with characters so real you'll think you grew up with them. They are believable, flawed, endearing, and surprising. Nothing is as it seems, and the surprises keep coming. Her elves are a wonder, and a refreshing change after reams of Tolkien-esque elves we all know so well that they've become a little dull and predictable. Not so the elves in the Vale! I'll say no more. It's the rare story that can make me feel real empathy with its characters, but one of the climactic moments (no spoilers!) between two childhood friends turned enemies had me tearing up. Ms. Trueman has made her characters so real, so relatable, that they will get your mirror neurons firing with a fury! This is a first rate novel, well written and engaging. I can't wait for more stories from the Vale.
HunHare
March 6, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars I’m only sad that it’s over.
“Stories from the Vale” is an epic hero story with memorable characters and a fast moving plot that makes it hard to put down. Dragons and elves, magic and old vendettas, it is sure to satisfy any fantasy reader. Highly recommended.
Mika Spruill
February 18, 2019
Stories from the Vale: Path of the Dragonfly--full of memorable characters and an exciting plot
I've read many fantasies lately and have enjoyed few as much as this book. I expected it to be an anthology of short stories, but "The Path of the Dragonfly" is actually a complete book--"Stories from the Vale" seems to be a series name (yay! I want to read more from this author.) We join the hero, Shak, right after one of the lowest points in his life (in a life that has been a series of lows since the death of his wife). He has just been released from prison. His magical and somewhat scary grandmother decides he needs a quest and forces him to take one on -- delivering two war orphans whom he abandoned seven years earlier to their rightful homes. It becomes obvious even before this that Shak is a pretty honourable guy -- in fact, it was his integrity that really hooked me into the story -- although he is not in the least warm and fuzzy. (Or * thinks * he isn't.) The two young teens escape the fiction-convention-horror of being brats and are wonderful, complex and unique characters in their own rights. Kathy Ann Trueman's elves are equally unique, and both alien and terrifying -- a rare feat, considering all the tired elves and anti-elves in fiction today. And her animals are a delight. Having read two books in a row that featured unexpected mass slaughters after the MC transformed into something horrific, this one was pure bliss. The transformations are so satisfying, and everyone's individual story wraps up nicely. It is an emotionally satisfying fantasy with lots of twists and memorable characters.
MF Miller
October 31, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Path of the Dragonfly
This is a fabulous book. Ms. Trueman's characters are well developed and true. At first, I thought Shak would be a normal fantasy protagonist, but I found soon that he was deeper than that. I really liked his relationship with his grandmother as well as his relationship with the children, Celia and Falin, who he must deliver to their ultimate destination. Magic is used in the story, but it is not the inexhaustible, destroy everyone in proximity type. It is limited and has a cost. Shak's ongoing "deathmatch" with Sefal is interesting and interrupted several times during the story. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes traditional fantasy. It is definitely a good read and I look forward eagerly to the next installment.
Robin L. Loehr
October 20, 2018
Stories from the Vale: Gifts of the Elven
The Vale is home of The Gifted, those born with magical talent that manifests in unpredictable ways that many look upon with suspicion and fear. Even as the Vale’s king works hard to teach citizens truth and tolerance concerning the gift of magic, the process is slow and politically risky. Many of the Gifted have no choice but to seek shelter in the stronghold city of Safehold. But is safety possible even there?
Sixteen-year-old Arlin is a nobleman’s son, grandson of the king of Vale. Handsome and spoiled, he was born to warrior parents with older siblings who outshine him in every capacity. Misunderstood, his sullen attitude alienates his family. With the sudden appearance of wings on his back–a very rare and visible magical Gift–Arlin has no choice but to, literally, take flight to protect himself and his grandfather’s reputation as an impartial judge of Gifted rights.
Fiella was adopted as an apprentice to the local bookmaster, where she discovered her passion for books and talent for sales. Her parents were killed when she was only seven–an event she witnessed that led to her desperate regret and longing to help others. While traveling on her first book-circuit as a journeyman, she impulsively offers to help Arlin get to Safehold, a sanctuary for Gifted, not realizing the danger she’ll be placed in by doing so. Not the least of her worries is the secret she’s been carefully hiding: She, too, is Gifted.
Shonwin is heir to the lordship of Kuturan. When he was a child, his father was murdered by his own wife. Living with a mercilessly cruel parent led to Shonwin’s single-minded devotion to Kuturan. When the king heard of the ruthless horrors practiced there, he tore away their income and livelihood, denying them the rights other lords of the land were entitled to. To rebuild his heritage and birthright, Shonwin means to have his revenge. Arlin’s Gift will enable him to not only discredit and disgrace the king but strike at the king’s protection of the Gifted and his own beloved grandson, Arlin.
GENRE: Fantasy Word Count: 131, 016
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