New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Path of the Dragonfly by Kathy Trueman; Powerful New Fantasy Novel is Aided By Four Memorable Leads That Form A Family

New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Path of the Dragonfly by Kathy Trueman; Powerful New Fantasy Novel is Aided By Four Memorable Leads That Form A Family

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: If I were to take a poll over what is the most popular genres for new writers, I would bet Epic Fantasy would be number one. So far three of the new books that I read and reviewed were right in that genre. What is it about this genre that so many budding authors want to experience? Perhaps it is the highest level of creativity; the author not only has to create characters, plot, and conflict but they have to build worlds. They have to consider the sociopolitical structure, the flora and fauna, the races, religion and how these characters fit in their world. Perhaps it is personality. Authors are by definition largely introverted imaginative people so they are often attracted to Epic Fantasies, like Lord of the Rings, The Shannara Chronicles, The Dragonriders of Pern, and so on. They want to write the stuff they like to read. Then again it could just be marketing. Many Epic Fantasy Series have been bestsellers like Harry Potter, Song of Ice and Fire, and Lord of the Rings and have made box office success. Authors often put their fantasy novels into series, requiring the Reader to buy more volumes. Either way it's a genre in which many love to play and fortunately for me, many do a good job.




Case in point: Kathy Ann Trueman’s Stories From the Vale: Path of the Dragonfly. Trueman's book is your standard fantasy road trip filled with Lords, ladies, cheerful inns, magic users, and fantasy creatures like elves and dragons. However, what makes this book stand out is the rich characterization in which she provides four brilliant leads that form a family in times of trouble.




Shak, a retired soldier has had enough of bloodshed. He is haunted by memories of his deceased wife and scenes of brutality such as the time when after a battle he abandoned two children inside a temple. He is only motivated by one thing: to kill Lord Sefal, a former childhood friend turned enemy whom he blames for his wife's death.

Shak's magical grandmother gives him a request: He must find two orphaned children and take them to a magical place called the Vale where they will find their families. Shak agrees and meets two children: Falin, a boy who has the ability to freeze time and was raised as a thief and Celia, a human girl with telepathic abilities who was raised by elves to learn magic. It doesn't take long for Shak to realize-small world-these are the same two kids that he abandoned at the temple.




Most of the book is centered on the journey that Shak, Falin, and Celia take and also with Lord Sefal's attempt to follow him with as equal a vengeance mindset as Shak's. While the journey could be a typical one, Trueman's writing provides deep characterization that keeps the book from being too formulaic.




Shak is a memorable protagonist. While sometimes he comes across as the standard “gruff soldier/hero softened by a child’s love,” he is never written to be hard hearted in the first place. He is someone who was fond of children but never got the chance to father any of his own. As soon as Falin and Celia are in his life, Shak goes into protective father mode. He rescues them from danger when they are kidnapped by bandits. When the elves’ magical training caused Celia to suffer what amounts to a near breakdown, he is there to comfort her. He tries to straighten out Falin's behavior so he isn't so impulsive and headlong. He is a warm father figure and his moments with the kids are truly touching and heartfelt.




Shak is not a character without flaws. He is very stubborn and persistent particularly in his hatred for Sefal. He blames the Lord for his wife's death based on circumstantial evidence that most would question, but as far as he is concerned only certifies his already growing hatred for him. Shak takes the two kids out of their way so he can mount his revenge in a mano-y-mano fashion at first without realizing that if he fights Sefal and gets killed, then he will leave those kids abandoned anyway. It takes well into the book before he realizes the truth about his wife's death and even longer still before he can forgive Sefal or himself for it.




Falin and Celia are also terrific characters. At times they come across like a comedy team such as when the proper literal Celia acts like a Lady when they visit an inn and the feisty argumentative Falin is irritated with playing the part of her servant. Other times they act like loving siblings like when they protect each other after getting captured and display their unusual talents-Falin's ability to freeze time and Celia’s mental communication with a dragon- to escape. Even though they are about thirteen, Trueman's tactfully avoids any romance between the two allowing them to emerge as friends and family.




Some of the more gripping moments involve Falin and Celia's pasts and their returning memories of what happened to them. They both reunite with long lost family members and feel love and acceptance for the first time in their lives whereas before Falin was an abused thief with no purpose and Celia was manipulated and controlled to follow her sinister elvin guardians’ orders. Once they emerge from the journey, they not only find their families but Falin finds a new direction in his life that allows him to grow into a better person and Celia finds a calling in which she doesn't have to be a puppet for other's machinations.




Trueman's talent for writing believable characters is not just limited to her protagonists. It's also seen in the way she writes her antagonists, most notably in Lord Sefal. While Shak hates him and is filled with vengeance and vice versa, Sefal is never written as an irredeemable character. Instead he is sort of like a Medieval Yuppie, a poor boy made wealthy by making powerful alliances and an advantageous marriage but realizes too late how lonely he is at the top. His marriage is crumbling and he is grief stricken over the loss of a child. As the book goes along, it’s clear that he envies what Shak has: friends, family, and two children who look up to him.




Sefal also goes through a transformation especially when he finds out about Falin and Celia's identities. He becomes driven to protect them almost as much as Shak and redeems himself in a way that isn't phony or overdone. Instead it is true to a character who is surrounded by wealth and power and realizes almost too late how lonely he really is.




The plot moves along as revelations are made which make sense to the characters and their world. The climactic final battles at the Vale fit the overall style and tone of the book particularly when Falin and Celia play key parts in taking down their enemies. Kathy Ann Trueman is a brilliant author in the Epic Fantasy genre and if this book is any indication, I look forward to another trip to the Vale.