This was an amazing book, with very likeable characters (despite their numerous faults!) and interesting events. It was written beautifully and had many elements of an old tale being told, the simultaneous legend of the "heroes of the valley" at the beginning of each chapter, and to a lesser extent, the story itself. I found the beginning a bit jumbled, since you weren't really sure who the story was about. But once it got started, I liked it more and more. The main character, Halli, seemed too unpredictable and bratty at first, but when he starts out on his adventure (the first one), you get to know him better and he is such a fun character to follow. One thing I didn't like was that pretty much all the young characters are brats, such as Halli's siblings, and Ragner, who reminded me of Draco Malfoy. Halli and Aud are too, but they have other noble qualities that make up for it. There were also so many insulting characters, especially insulting toward Halli for being so short and stout, which was alright overall, but got to be a bit too much at times.It was, however, a really fun story to read, and I laughed a lot! The world of the story, which is reminiscent of Viking-era, is unique and well-crafted, centering on the valley, but there is the recurring question of what lies beyond the "boundary". This does, however, get addressed at the climax, if only partially, but I think satisfactorily for the story.The end of the story was very unexpected (I won't give it away), but in a sense, it came back full circle with the beginning and connected to the parallel tales of the heroes of the valley.The narrator was also great (I listened to the audiobook version), so if you can listen to it, it's worth it. I am a huge fan of the Bartimaeus triloy and I picked this one up for solely that reason. While the book was engaging and wonderfully written, it was just that - a good read. Definitely recommended, the characters were great, the story is great. It's great. But I'll only give it three stars because well, I was hoping for another hair-gripping and hilarious masterpiece like Amulet of Samarkand and this just wasn't the same.
What do You think about Valley - Tal Der Wächter (2009)?
Entertaining story taking place in Viking period. Would recommend to teenagers.
—yherrin
Expected something more from the author of the Bartimeaues Trilogy.
—mal
