“The Other Valley” had me at its premise:
A quaint town lies snuggled in a picturesque valley, bordered on both sides by beautiful mountain ranges. On one side of the town — across the mountains to the west — is the exact same town with the same people, but 20 years in the past. To the east is another valley, and it’s the same town 20 years in the future.
That’s all I needed to know about Scott Alexander Howard’s novel, and it’s really all you need to know if you enjoy speculative fiction and love mysteries to unfold with each turn of the page. Thankfully, Howard’s writing and character development live up to the promise of his premise, making “The Other Valley” a debut worth checking out.
Our main character is 16-year-old Odile, who lives with her mother and decides to compete for a seat on the Conseil. This is an esteemed group of people who control the strictly regulated travel between valleys. Residents can apply for rare looks back or forward in time, but the trips pose threats to the travelers themselves and anyone they might see along the way.
Howard uses simple prose to relate a complex story, and the result is reminiscent of Margaret Atwood or Kazuo Ishiguro. “The Other Valley” is part science fiction, part coming-of-age tale, as characters grapple with belonging, identity, and the repercussions of their actions.
There were times during my reading that I thought of Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film, “Inception,” with its dream-in-a-dream-in-a-dream structure. Howard builds a world that is astonishing and thought-provoking, and a story you’ll want to discuss with friends.
