Cindy Borgne

Borgne's world building is fantastic. Her characters are complex and real, the details about Mars rich. She really got it right with Ian's character. He was smart but a bit naive about the realities of life on Mars. He is at the age where he has two things on his mind: girls (especially the one in his dreams), and questioning everything. His confusion and pain as the story progresses is also real. I found myself wondering how he would find Kayla and Borgne didn't use any of the ways I show more thought up. I love it when I guess and am wrong.

The turns and twists are wonderful, the fight scenes great. One of the themes I really enjoyed was one of forgiveness and acceptance. There are lots of things that could stand in the way of Ian and Kayla's happiness but they both have a forgiving heart and are willing to accept other people. Sometimes this is what gets them in trouble, but it also shows the hope and potential for the people of Mars.

The only thing that bothered me, and it wasn't a big deal, was that I'm not sure I understood the two opposing views. One wants to go back to earth and one to another planet? I missed why they couldn't go back to earth and why would you have to choose one place or the other? I'm guessing it's tied to the resources available, but I wanted to know more about the other planet and why they want to go there so bad. show less

Borgne's world building is fantastic. Her characters are complex and real, the details about Mars rich. She really got it right with Ian's character. He was smart but a bit naive about the realities of life on Mars. He is at the age where he has two things on his mind: girls (especially the one in his dreams), and questioning everything. His confusion and pain as the story progresses is also real. I found myself wondering how he would find Kayla and Borgne didn't use any of the ways I show more thought up. I love it when I guess and am wrong.

The turns and twists are wonderful, the fight scenes great. One of the themes I really enjoyed was one of forgiveness and acceptance. There are lots of things that could stand in the way of Ian and Kayla's happiness but they both have a forgiving heart and are willing to accept other people. Sometimes this is what gets them in trouble, but it also shows the hope and potential for the people of Mars.

The only thing that bothered me, and it wasn't a big deal, was that I'm not sure I understood the two opposing views. One wants to go back to earth and one to another planet? I missed why they couldn't go back to earth and why would you have to choose one place or the other? I'm guessing it's tied to the resources available, but I wanted to know more about the other planet and why they want to go there so bad. show less

Ian Connors, whiny psychic extraordinaire, works for (read: is unknowingly enslaved by) the biggest company on Mars, which is using him to get back to Earth. Then he has a vision of a beautiful girl and blah, blah, blah.

Let's start with the dialogue.

"'And Connors, this isn't the last of your punishment,' he said low with a menacing tone."

I read that and CRINGED. Not because of the low, menacing tone, but because, gods above, that was possibly the cheesiest, most predictable thing he show more could've said. And c'mon, "low with a menacing tone"? Geez.

"'Thanks for being so kind. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but ever since I had the vision. [...] Ever since then I've loved you.'"

Okay, he's a sixteen-year-old in love. I get it. But does he really have to sound like the lyrics out of some horrible boy band song?

These two examples are typical of the dialogue in Vallar: clichéd, emotionless, and juvenile. These make the characters seem such.

Most of the characters are one-dimensional. You can't get to know them because, of course, they're the enemy. Oh wait, no, they're not, but let's just shove them in there anyway. There's no story to them because they're not real people; they're cardboard cutouts of Justin Bieber with mustaches drawn on his face so they look different. Or so I assume.

Even the protagonist didn't really have a story, and his story WAS the story. There was no character development, let alone any way for me to want to like him. A flashback or two is all we get.

I did like Sonny. He was pretty awesome. He had a story, he had emotions, he developed as the story progressed. He should've died.

As this was a science fiction novel, I would've liked to have gotten a better picture of the environment. All I got was "bio-dome" and "rocks" and "sand." Oh, and adjectives abound. Sorry for all the people who like "show, don't tell" or "wow, I feel like I'm really there!"

In addition, this needs to be proofread. If it has been, I'm assuming the person who did the proofreading has no idea how to use commas. Plzlearnkthx.

Despite all of these shortcomings, and yes, there are a ton of them, the story was pretty intriguing. It had to be, because I hated damn near everything else, but I didn't put down the book. If there's a sequel, I'll read it. show less

On Mars, various organizations and colonies have risen, their ultimate goal to get back to Earth, or Hinun. Thus far, the strongest faction has been a militaristic group, called Marscorp,that uses psychics to show them how to defeat and absorb rival colonies. Alliance is not an option. It is within this milieu that Ian Connors, a growing psychic, discovers the love of his life via visions. The problem? She's on the enemy's side. In his quest to find her, Ian comes face to face with the show more brutality of war and is forced to make a choice: to save lives or to destroy them.

Vallar is a fast-paced tale, designed for the young adult reader. It is good about playing to one's sense of righteous indignation and the frustration of being ignored and misunderstood. While the forces at work are portrayed in a very uncompromising light (Beacon = evil, Vallar = good), this is the sort of black-and-white worldview that caters to adolescents, even if it doesn't challenge them. In that sense, Ian's limited emotional range is appropriate for the novel, though older readers might crave a little more depth. As for me, I can let it go; my major issue is one common with young adult fiction: the bizarre suddenness with which characters fall in love. In some cases, authors are able to present enough chemistry to make it believable. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

Incredulity aside, I found this story to be quite diverting. I was quickly pulled into Ian's struggles and shared in his sense of impotence as the adults around him ignored his prognostications. It's a tale as old as time (see Cassandra and the Trojan Horse), but it still rang true and helped me to connect with the character. This, in turn, made his obstacles, triumphs, and failures my own. I wanted him to succeed, just as much as I wanted Beacon to receive his just desserts. In other words, the author successfully made me care about her protagonist and this fictional world.

One of the things that did draw my attention away from the story at hand was the plethora of typographical and grammatical errors. Were my copy a paperback, rather than an e-book, I may have been compelled to whip out a red pen to underline and circle my way along. As it stands, this is definitely not the worst that I've seen, but it was irritating all the same. Some critical proofreading would have benefited this work greatly.

Vallar is an easy, entertaining read for those looking for a quick read and conflicts with clearly drawn lines. For those who prefer subtle nuances and strong character development, this may not be the best fit.

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(Review copy provided by the author) show less