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Does anyone else feel like Vala could have been done more justice as a character? After all, she's the eldest daughter. It doesn't seem like she was very important. She was only there long enough to be viewed as a form of insurance by the Roman's. There is only enough information to say that Vala is the oldest, she isn't very pretty, and she prefers the company of other women.

Yes, I thought the author could at least have brought more favorable qualities about Vala, especially noting that she is truly the King's seed unlike Catrin. The author seems to bring her up to be a contrast to the more comely Catrin which I think is a bit unfair to her.

I wonder if this is strategic on the author's part, where the character is just mentioned to establish a presence in book 1, and then will be more integral to the plot in the sequels.

juliamenez wrote: ↑18 Sep 2018, 11:02 I wonder if this is strategic on the author's part, where the character is just mentioned to establish a presence in book 1, and then will be more integral to the plot in the sequels.

I thought the same thing. *****spoiler**** They still have to get her back, as they never got her back at the end I think this may be a huge part of one of the upcoming books and her character will get explored further at this point.

I definitely wish she had been integrated into the story more. And it is even more tragic that at the end of the story, they've gotten everyone back except for you? And it kind of bothers me, too, that Catrin is portrayed as small and beautiful yet Vala is described as large, tall, and ugly. And with those descriptions, at least from the way I read them, it sort of implicates that it's the size that indicates that fact. But for being the eldest daughter of a king, I would have expected her to be in it far more.

Quinto wrote: ↑18 Sep 2018, 08:41 Yes, I thought the author could at least have brought more favorable qualities about Vala, especially noting that she is truly the King's seed unlike Catrin. The author seems to bring her up to be a contrast to the more comely Catrin which I think is a bit unfair to her.

I think you have this backwards. Catrin is the only real daughter of the king. The queen was pregnant by Trystan with Vala when she married King Amren. The second daughter was also sired by the queen's lover. The king tolerated this because of the curse Rhan put on his next child.

I assume Vala will come into play later in the series, but she was barely portrayed at all in this book. I don't think we were missing much, though. She doesn't sound like an interesting character.

bb587 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 13:29 I assume Vala will come into play later in the series, but she was barely portrayed at all in this book. I don't think we were missing much, though. She doesn't sound like an interesting character.

What's not exciting about an illegitimate, Celtic lesbian warrior princess stuck in the clutches of misogynistic Roman war camp?!?! It has interesting time written all over it!

CommMayo wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:08

bb587 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 13:29 I assume Vala will come into play later in the series, but she was barely portrayed at all in this book. I don't think we were missing much, though. She doesn't sound like an interesting character.

What's not exciting about an illegitimate, Celtic lesbian warrior princess stuck in the clutches of misogynistic Roman war camp?!?! It has interesting time written all over it!

Now that you put it that way, Vala could be the most interesting character yet.

Zain A Blade wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:43

CommMayo wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:08

bb587 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 13:29 I assume Vala will come into play later in the series, but she was barely portrayed at all in this book. I don't think we were missing much, though. She doesn't sound like an interesting character.

What's not exciting about an illegitimate, Celtic lesbian warrior princess stuck in the clutches of misogynistic Roman war camp?!?! It has interesting time written all over it!

Now that you put it that way, Vala could be the most interesting character yet.

It is all about putting it into perspective!

I really hope her character will be explored in Book 2. Vala is presented to be a soldier as strong as a man. I would like to read about her fighting skills and love life.

CommMayo wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:08

bb587 wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 13:29 I assume Vala will come into play later in the series, but she was barely portrayed at all in this book. I don't think we were missing much, though. She doesn't sound like an interesting character.

What's not exciting about an illegitimate, Celtic lesbian warrior princess stuck in the clutches of misogynistic Roman war camp?!?! It has interesting time written all over it!

I'm with CommMayo -- this is a novel premise in itself. That said, I think Vala is sort of a foil for Catrin: the more fully "warrior" type, dutiful, not pretty, not mystical, not tied up with a male love interest who would be an erratic chaperone, like Mor with Belinus. And of course, not Amren's child...

CommMayo wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:46

Zain A Blade wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:43

CommMayo wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:08

What's not exciting about an illegitimate, Celtic lesbian warrior princess stuck in the clutches of misogynistic Roman war camp?!?! It has interesting time written all over it!

Now that you put it that way, Vala could be the most interesting character yet.

It is all about putting it into perspective!

Love this train of thought. When I read the book I felt the author had written Vala off as unimportant, nearly invisible. Now I wonder if she could hold her own against the Romans!??!

juliamenez wrote: ↑18 Sep 2018, 11:02 I wonder if this is strategic on the author's part, where the character is just mentioned to establish a presence in book 1, and then will be more integral to the plot in the sequels.

I agree with this as well. Vala is a character who could become very important in the next book, and perhaps the little we know about her will prove to be important to the continuation of the plot.

DC Brown wrote: ↑23 Sep 2018, 00:22 Love this train of thought. When I read the book I felt the author had written Vala off as unimportant, nearly invisible. Now I wonder if she could hold her own against the Romans!??!

I think that Vala could totally hand those guys their butts. Perhaps she does end up with a love interest in the camps. Hopefully she will be fully explored in another book.