|
Loading... Heroes of the Valleyby Jonathan Stroud
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendations
Loading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  fssunnysd | Dec 7, 2009 |  Hallie is a wonderfully flawed character who grows significantly in the course of the book, even though he lives in a world where people never act on curiosity, never take risks. With a sense of humor and incredibly well-developed characters, this book treats on the myths that guide our lives and decisions, and how they may or may not be serving us. (  ) welkinscheek | Nov 27, 2009 | I really enjoyed this story from the author of the Bartimeus Trilogy. The first few chapters set the scene in some detail so that we understand Halli's situation as a second son of one of the great, hero-descended families of the valley. Halli is not content to follow the traditions and dreams of living like the heroes of old. When his uncle is murdered Halli sets out on a journey of revenge. As the events pick up speed nothing turns out quite as Halli expected. The style reminds me of the old Icelandic Sagas. ( )1  ggslibrarian | Jun 15, 2009 | Halli is dark and short, as unlike his family, the descendants of the hero Svein, as it is possible to be. The second son of the Arbiter is not expected to do much besides farm a bit of land while his older brother, Lief, will someday become Arbiter and his sister Gudny will make a good marriage. But Halli longs for adventures like those of the twelve heroes, maybe fighting off some Trows. All he seems capable of, however, is mischief and getting into trouble. Each chapter begins with a story about Svein, one of the twelve heroes and founders of the valley. The interplay between fact and fiction in legend, and how stories dictated what the people of the valley did was a really fun part of this story. I enjoyed getting to know Halli, and was sorry when his story ended. (  ) bell7 | Jun 9, 2009 | Lady Wombat says: Not as good as Bartimeaus; the tone is entirely different. But Stroud is still interested in how the stories of our cultures shape us, and how we need to understand this in order to forge identities of our own making. Wombat | May 1, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:12 -0400)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but Halli's story was a pleasant surprise. Not only didn't it go where I thought it would, but I enjoyed the trip. Aud's a riot, and Halli's quite a character. It may be 500 pages, but it read much more quickly than its length would suggest. (