Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
Heroes of the Valley is a book based on vikings about about a young boy named Halli Sveinsson who, surprise, surprise, is not content with his lot in life. He’s a second born son, and is to inherit less-than-desirable property and so, of course, he sets off to break all the rules.
I loved the first half of the book. Halli is not a goody-two-shoes and it’s difficult to relate to him at times. There are no clear-cut right and wrong decisions to be made and that makes Halli a very real character in a story that could have been real.
But about half-way through the book it started to struggle for me. Things became too fantastic and the surprise twist of events seemed.. cheesy. I started to lose interest and really had a difficult time picking up the book and finishing it.
I loved the stories of Svein and the other warriors. I loved the premise of clans of people dealing with boundaries and wanting to break free. Unfortunately, the book really didn’t deal with that and instead went to the more fantastic, fantasy-fiction side leaving me with a somewhat sour taste in my mouth.
I appreciate that Stroud was aiming to create complex characters and in a way, I feel as if he was wanting to shatter the “fairy-tale” nature our heroes have a way of being, but I think he went a little too far to the other side.
(I know, I know.. I’m late to the game on this one, I love this book, just have never bought it for myself!)
