Vallista

How it reads

Vallista is fantasy (comic sword-and-sorcery, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in no single period, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are identity, power and politics and friendship. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 328 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.