OFFICIAL REVIEW: The Valkyrie by Deborah Davitt

[DiDonovan]

The Valkyrie (The Saga of Edda-Earth Book 1) is a long, epic fantasy, suitable for readers who like their stories sweeping, their protagonists believable and compelling, and their fantasy worlds well-detailed and intricate. It's based on two historical concepts: what if Rome never fell, and what if magic was a real part of human experience?

Against such a backdrop is, predictably, the specter of war - and also within such a scenario dance a cast of characters who represent interplays between magic and science: Trennus, the son of a king; valkyrie Sigrun, scientist/magician Minori; and a cast of military, spiritual and political figures steeped in the aura of ancient Rome - but with a difference.

Be forewarned: this is no light, easy read. It takes a few chapters to fully absorb a cast of characters with different names and purposes, and a setting that is at once quite different from our world yet replete with similarities, right down to the blue jeans.

Readers who look for sweeping sagas embracing political, historical and social change will welcome Davitt's approach to creating a more complex set of scenarios than the usual fantasy story offers. Think 'Tolkien' when placing her works into a similar category; because her attention to details of place, time, and the politics behind confrontations is just as well-wrought.

The Valkyrie is world-building at its highest level: as such, its readers shouldn't be ones looking for a light fantasy adventure, but those who root out the few Tolkien-like epics in the fantasy genre, there to live amongst gods, monsters, and brave adventurers who traverse a dangerous world with purpose, courage, and visions of creation, recreation, and change.