Books by Valerie Valdes
Valerie Valdes is an American fantasy and sci-fi author. Her debut novel, Chilling Effect, was shortlisted for the 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Award and was named one of Library Journal’s best SF/fantasy novels of 2019. Valerie is co-editor of Escape Pod, and her short fiction and poetry have been featured in Uncanny Magazine, Time Travel Short Stories and Nightmare Magazine.
“This…is a space opera that takes place after a war. The main character, Kel, is a refugee who has holed up on a planet, like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. She’s a hermit, and she doesn’t want to deal with anything. The love interest in this book is Dare. He is a former soldier, and eventually she discovers this. The two of them are very similar, in terms of having a stoic personality and a wry sense of humor that emerges at unexpected times. They tend to be very quiet, but in a fight, they will go all out. They both are sword fighters, but Dare is a brute-force, giant sword guy while Kel has a more sword-and-board technique using a shield. She is more of a bodyguard; he is more of a whirlwind. Unbeknownst to each other, they are enemies from opposite sides of the previous war. They do have to overcome their distrust and that underlying enmity while acknowledging their mutual attraction. And they have to fight back to back, because that’s what battle couples do!” Read more...
The Best Fantasy Novels With Battle Couples
Valerie Valdes, Novelist
“This is really good, fun, brilliantly well written, and the characters stay with you. One of our judges said that they went back and immediately started reading this one again—this, out of hundreds of books. So that’s praise.” Read more...
The Best Science Fiction of 2021: The Arthur C Clarke Award Shortlist
Tom Hunter, Journalist
Interviews with Valerie Valdes
The Best Fantasy Novels With Battle Couples, recommended by Valerie Valdes
The best kind of love involves supporting each other in battle with magical beings, says bestselling fantasy author Valerie Valdes. She recommends the five best fantasies where the couples that spar together star together.
Interviews where books by Valerie Valdes were recommended
The Best Science Fiction of 2021: The Arthur C Clarke Award Shortlist, recommended by Tom Hunter
Every year, the director of the Arthur C Clarke Award talks us through their six book shortlist. The 2021 crop of the best science fiction books features a “deliciously pulpy” space opera, a time travel story for young adults, and a cacophonous tale of talking animals. What they all have in common is that they are by debut authors, says Tom Hunter: they represent a new generation of sci fi writing.
The Best Fantasy Novels With Battle Couples, recommended by Valerie Valdes
The best kind of love involves supporting each other in battle with magical beings, says bestselling fantasy author Valerie Valdes. She recommends the five best fantasies where the couples that spar together star together.
