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The Vale: Behind the Vale
Brian D. Anderson. Longfire, $3.99 e-book (412p) ASIN B079J3YVYS
In this formulaic but well-executed dystopian fantasy, which opens the Vale series, Drake Sharazi, a disgraced royal guard turned bounty hunter, is tasked with rescuing the crown prince from a rebel group and becomes entangled in a vast political conspiracy. Nine years earlier, Drake was falsely accused of murder and exiled from Troi, the capital of Vale and the only city flourishing in a time of famine. He is called back into the fold when Prince Salazar, his former friend, is abducted by the radical group Exodus. Drake is joined by a revolving rogues’ gallery—Bane, a volatile mage; Linx, an adolescent grifter; and Princess Lenora, with whom he had a forbidden affair and for whom he still pines—as what begins as a simple rescue mission brings to light past betrayals and ongoing schemes that endanger everyone in Vale. Drake himself is a sympathetic badass, but the minor characters, especially the women, fall into cliché. The twists and turns of Anderson’s plot are familiar but capably written; less demanding fantasy fans will find this a perfectly acceptable work. (BookLife)

Reviewed by Publishers Weekly on 07/06/2018

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