Valiant

A Modern Tale of Faerie

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Renee Raudman

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

When 17-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and shoots up a shimmery amber-colored powder that makes the shadows around her dance. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. And then there's Luis' brother, timid and sensitive Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who turns out to have goat hooves instead of feet.

When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been dealing, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honorable. And as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

Best-selling author Holly Black follows her breakout debut, Tithe, with a rich, harrowing, and compulsively readable parable of betrayal, abuse, friendship, and love.

©2005 Holly Black (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Company

Critic reviews

"Beneath its darkness, readers find well-rendered characters, a gripping plot, and pure magic." (School Library Journal)
"Exotic, sexy undercurrents....deliciously overripe writing, and [an] intoxicating, urban-gothic setting." (Booklist)

Val Story

earlier work from Holly Black the Queen of all Fairy nice to go back in time and relearn about this series next Ironside after finishing about Val Story

One of her best

Out of this trilogy, this is my favorite. It might be my favorite of all HBs books. It just magical.

best subway reread for 30 somethings in NYC

If your into ya fantasy and nostalgic for something from your youth this is always a solid Subway read it's short and it's got some great visuals for New Yorkers.

A gritty magic story with a tough female lead

The book is very gritty and has a lot of dark themes. I enjoyed it up until the end when it got a bit cliched

love the story, the narrator was not for me.

This is one of my all time favorite book series (Tithe, Valiant and Ironside) and really wish all three were here for listening. Unfortunately I can not stand the Narrator. I hate to frame it like that, I'm really not trying to be mean, but it was not good. The voices she puts on for the characters are the worst part. really broke the story for me. But if you can get past that this really is a story worth listening too.

horrible narrator, lovely story

this series has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. it blows that there's so much erasure of Irish and Scottish culture where the fairies are concerned but it's not as bad in this one as in the first. a more relatable story about being a teenager than anything else I was reading at 15, it helped me feel seen and still does

Faeries are everywhere!

This is a dark and hope filled fairy-tale. I’ve read the previous story written by Holly Black called Tithe, also a very good tale, but I don’t think it’s necessary to read her works in order. This novel stands alone. It’s a wonderful fantasy of a runaway teen finding love and redemption in the reeling squalor of faeries run amuck in the iron poisoned city. The plot is highly inventive, the descriptions glaringly real and overall, it’s truly original. I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it to those interested in the genre.

Great for teenage girls

The narrator felt a little over acted at first but she grows on you. I read this book traditionally when I was 17 ( the same age as the main character) and I loved it. I feel the narrator over exaggerated some of the attitude from a few of the characters. That being said the message still gets across.

The lore in the novel holds true. No wispy floaty shiny fairies here. There is some swearing which I personally feel makes it out to be that much more real. Vivid story telling.

Very crisp yet colloquial writing. Strongly recommend when you 17 and if you love it then read it again in your mid 20s. Still a lovable story and worth the time.

love

great improvement on voice actress-
I've always loved the stories, though I feel like some of it is still missing.

excellent story of rebellious youth

really enjoyed this tale of runaways living on NYCs subway tunnels, while actually being a tale of betrayal, magic, family, fear, courage, venality, mystery, thrilling derring-do, and unexpected romantic love.