When 17-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system. But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and shoots up a shimmery amber-coloured powder that makes the shadows around her dance. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. And then there's Luis's brother, Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who turns out to have goat hooves instead of feet. When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been working, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honourable, and as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between affection for him - and fear of what her new friends are becoming because of him.
Valiant (Modern Tale of Faerie)
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About the Author
Holly Black spent her early years in a decaying Victorian mansion where her mother fed her a steady diet of ghost stories and faerie tales. An avid collector of rare folklore volumes, spooky dolls, and crazy hats, she lives in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with her husband, Theo. Together with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, she is the creator of the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles series of children's books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By weechelle
Format:Paperback
Having little interest in young adult stories, I surprised myself by buying this, and was even more surprised when I started reading it and found myself hesitant to put it down come tea time.
The story starts bad for Valerie Russell which leads her to make a big change in her life, that change leads her to a life completely different to anything she knew before, where trolls and fearies take the lead, and where she meets Ravus.
This story has a definite 'Beauty and the Beast' feel about it, with a mixture of real life and fantasy mixed in, and the relationship that grows between Val and Ravus gives it a charm I find completely warming, something I haven't felt from many books that I've read.
I'm glad I took a chance on this one.
The story starts bad for Valerie Russell which leads her to make a big change in her life, that change leads her to a life completely different to anything she knew before, where trolls and fearies take the lead, and where she meets Ravus.
This story has a definite 'Beauty and the Beast' feel about it, with a mixture of real life and fantasy mixed in, and the relationship that grows between Val and Ravus gives it a charm I find completely warming, something I haven't felt from many books that I've read.
I'm glad I took a chance on this one.
Format:Paperback
First of all, I was surprised that this book held only a small appearance of one of the characters who was introduced in Tithe. I expected this to continue that story, but it didn't though the faerie realm was the same. Whilst I was disappointed that the plot from Tithe wasn't continued, I found this book to be more accessible and an easier read thanks to the slight improvement in writing - it seemed to flow a lot better. I don't think that the plot was exciting as Tithe but I did prefer the characters in this one. I don't feel that Black was trying too hard to portray a teenager, like she did with the previous book. Overall, I preferred the plot of tithe but the characters and writing of Valiant. An easy to follow read.
By TG
Format:Paperback
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this novel at first. Val running away from home and immediately taking up with alternative street kids seemed a little too cliché for me. Also, the life Val slips into, sleeping in the New York City sewers, is so filthy and squalid that I found it pretty unpleasant to imagine.
However, I was intrigued by the glimpses I was getting of the magical world beneath the surface and where the story finally got me was when Ravus was introduced. I thought the haunted troll, banished from the Seelie Court, was a great character and I totally bought Val's feelings for him. Pairings either work for me or they don't and this one just worked for me. The blurb describes it as Beauty and the Beast and that description works if you think of Val as the beast - she's the pissed-off one who wants to fight back at the world and Ravus is the one who calms her and loves her, flaws and all.
The fairy-tale details that Holly Black decorates this story with are just beautiful to picture (presumably the squalor of the sewer-life is done deliberately to contrast with this). Ravus tells Val about his past by creating images from the smoke of a candle, there's a harp that's strung with strands of hair from the dead, and their ethereal voices can be heard when a strand is plucked. These were my favourite moments in the book; gorgeous and heart-breaking.
The plot kicks into high gear in the last 100 pages and it was then that I found I couldn't put the book down until I finished. And I got an ending I liked - it's not too prettily tied up and there are consequences for the characters, but it was happy enough to leave me with a smile on my face.
However, I was intrigued by the glimpses I was getting of the magical world beneath the surface and where the story finally got me was when Ravus was introduced. I thought the haunted troll, banished from the Seelie Court, was a great character and I totally bought Val's feelings for him. Pairings either work for me or they don't and this one just worked for me. The blurb describes it as Beauty and the Beast and that description works if you think of Val as the beast - she's the pissed-off one who wants to fight back at the world and Ravus is the one who calms her and loves her, flaws and all.
The fairy-tale details that Holly Black decorates this story with are just beautiful to picture (presumably the squalor of the sewer-life is done deliberately to contrast with this). Ravus tells Val about his past by creating images from the smoke of a candle, there's a harp that's strung with strands of hair from the dead, and their ethereal voices can be heard when a strand is plucked. These were my favourite moments in the book; gorgeous and heart-breaking.
The plot kicks into high gear in the last 100 pages and it was then that I found I couldn't put the book down until I finished. And I got an ending I liked - it's not too prettily tied up and there are consequences for the characters, but it was happy enough to leave me with a smile on my face.
By A Customer
Format:Kindle Edition
Steadfastly and resolutely sitting in my top 3 favourites. Not to be thought of as a sequel, but rather a parrallel to the world explored in Tithe. Highly recommended for young adult reading.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By reader
Format:Paperback
Don't read this if you like cats. I wish I hadn't. Plus,there isn't really any character development or depth to the characters. Personal taste maybe or maybe you have to be under 15 to enjoy this.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By humanitysdarkerside
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Black's books are about faeries of the not so cuddly kind. Like many others, she sees the faery world pretty much as the human one, a mix of good and bad people, with most being a combination of the two.
This could be considered a continuation of her previous book, "Tithe". I consider "Tithe" a better book than this one, but probably better suited for younger readers.
For the young reader, this is a brutal book. I agree with the advisory warning on the back of the book. I realize that many young readers are well immersed in the world of fantasy, and not necessarily the jolly kind. They will most likely not be affected a great deal by this story. Children who are not used to rougher content (in this book - frightening scenes), should probably stay away from "Valiant". Older children, teenagers and adults would most likely be the ones who would benefit the most from reading "Valiant".
Valerie (or Valiant) is a teenager going through a rough phase in her life. The faeries are part of her transition to adulthood, and many of her experiences are brutal. She discovers the dark side of life in a manner she had not previously expected. That along with her disappointment in her mother and boyfriend is almost enough to undo her.
Enjoy! I certainly did.
This could be considered a continuation of her previous book, "Tithe". I consider "Tithe" a better book than this one, but probably better suited for younger readers.
For the young reader, this is a brutal book. I agree with the advisory warning on the back of the book. I realize that many young readers are well immersed in the world of fantasy, and not necessarily the jolly kind. They will most likely not be affected a great deal by this story. Children who are not used to rougher content (in this book - frightening scenes), should probably stay away from "Valiant". Older children, teenagers and adults would most likely be the ones who would benefit the most from reading "Valiant".
Valerie (or Valiant) is a teenager going through a rough phase in her life. The faeries are part of her transition to adulthood, and many of her experiences are brutal. She discovers the dark side of life in a manner she had not previously expected. That along with her disappointment in her mother and boyfriend is almost enough to undo her.
Enjoy! I certainly did.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I continue to enjoy Holly Black's gift for imagery (which this book gives full rein to) but whilst there is more story to this book than there was to Tithe, it does suffer from the same character relationship problems and I think this is really down to Black putting so much effort into her main character of Val that the side characters remain nothing more than ciphers when they should be rich and satisfying. Take Luis for example, he should be fascinating given that he has Sight, has already lost one eye to a faerie, clearly mistrusts them and yet bound himself to serve a troll in exchange for his brother's life. In practice however, he is never more than a checklist of attributes, which prevents him from leaping off the page. Ditto Ravus (who reminded me far too much of Roiben in Tithe but with longer teeth, ditto Lolli (who was too irritatingly shallow to ever be believable) and ditto Dave and Mabry. In the latter two cases, this really affected my enjoyment of the story because if they're the central bad guys, they need to have more of a motivation than a desire to shag Lolli senseless (in the case of Dave) and to gain revenge on Ravus (in the case of Mabry).
I've also noticed that for a second time, Black uses a somewhat improbable set-up to kick-start the heroine's adventure - the main character's sudden and somewhat soapy discovery that her mum is having it off with her boyfriend. Whilst I have no doubt that there are mothers who like to bonk their teenage daughter's boyfriend, this is so briskly dealt with and so totally lacking in credibility, that I found myself wishing that Black had found a less contrived way of sending Val running off into the city.
Valiant is a much darker book than Tithe.... Read more ›
I've also noticed that for a second time, Black uses a somewhat improbable set-up to kick-start the heroine's adventure - the main character's sudden and somewhat soapy discovery that her mum is having it off with her boyfriend. Whilst I have no doubt that there are mothers who like to bonk their teenage daughter's boyfriend, this is so briskly dealt with and so totally lacking in credibility, that I found myself wishing that Black had found a less contrived way of sending Val running off into the city.
Valiant is a much darker book than Tithe.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
If you like animals, dont read this book,(unless you like nightmares).
What a really nasty little book, largely about foul, cruel, sadistic people. It is however, a good study of what happens to some people when they get addicted, but did I really... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Pandorapus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valiant (Modern Tale of Faerie) - Excellent
Enjoyable read! Excellent for teens! The story runs alongside Tithe and Ironside - but tells the story of Luis and his brother Dave. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2010 by L. Herbert
5.0 out of 5 stars
it was good
it was a very good book, if you liked it you should read tithe, by holly black. wicked lovely by melissa marr or my personal favourite city of ashes by cassandra clare.
Published on 20 April 2009 by Elsa Brittain
5.0 out of 5 stars
Valiant
I absolutely love the description of the city setting in this book - it really does leap off the page and I can see it right in my mind's eye. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by myrmidryad
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