Scott Alexander Howard (UK); (US))
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard is an unusual and deeply enjoyable time travel novel. It was published early this year, and sadly I didn’t review it then for the simple reason that I had no idea it existed. Fortunately, now that I have had it recommended to me and have actually read it, I have special permission from my editor at ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ to travel back in time and celebrate its publication.
Advertisement
The premise of this superb debut is simple yet complex. We are in a valley not unlike an ordinary valley on Earth. It has a semi-rural, small-town vibe. But there is nothing ordinary here. If you were allowed to walk east over the mountains into the next valley, you would find yourself 20 years into your future. Walk even further, into the valley beyond, and you would be 40 years ahead. Walk on and it would be 60 years, and so on.
Walk west out of your home valley, however, and you would find yourself travelling back 20 years into your past. Walk on further, and you would be 40 years back in time… You get the picture.
If people were free to wander between the valleys, meeting their younger or older selves, collapsing timelines willy-nilly, it would cause a lot of chaos. So the valley we find ourselves in is surrounded by fences, and these borders are guarded by gendarmes.
Some foot traffic is allowed, however, on compassionate grounds. Under special circumstances, with the approval of the Conseil, the ruling council, you are allowed to travel into the neighbouring valley that is behind in time so you can view deceased loved ones who are still alive in that valley. This viewing of the dead is carefully policed, since any information leakage between past and present could cause who knows what devastation.
It is a mark of how very good this novel is that I never found myself questioning these elaborate rules and processes, or worrying about the physics of this strange series of valleys or how the Conseil might have come to be. That’s because, as well as being beautifully written, The Other Valley is a rip-roaring yarn, told with such conviction and elan that I found myself simply accepting the premise and diving right in.
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ book club
Love reading? Come and join our friendly group of fellow book lovers. Every six weeks, we delve into an exciting new title, with members given free access to extracts from our books, articles from our authors and video interviews.
Our hero is a schoolgirl called Odile, and she is 16 when the book opens. Quiet and socially awkward, she is tougher than she realises and her mother wants her to join the Conseil.
If Odile manages to make it through the cut-throat assessment process, a job at the Conseil would give her real power. She would be the one who would decide who can leave the valley. Plus, the job comes with a nice house.
Soon Odile’s Conseil prospects are looking good, and her social life also begins to bloom. She is included in a social group and takes the first steps into a relationship with a young man called Edme, a violin virtuoso. But then a chance sighting changes the course of Odile’s life forever – and the book takes off with a roar.
I won’t say more about the plot because it would be a shame to ruin any of it for you. This is a complicated, jumbo jet of a story, but the author brings it in for its final landing with incredible aplomb, no mean feat when you are juggling multiple timelines and causality.
The Other Valley is a thought experiment, but it is one with huge heart and hope at its core and I do, however belatedly, recommend it to you.
Emily also recommends…
Annalee Newitz
Orbit Books (UK); Tor Books (US) If you enjoy time travel twisters, this novel by my fellow ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ columnist – telling the story of a group of time travellers trying to make the future better for women – has all the time travel and twists you could hope for.
Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ and the author of the Sumerians trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. Her second book in the series, Gilgamesh, is out now. You can find her at emilyhwilson.com, or follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1
The art and science of writing science fiction
Take your science fiction writing into a new dimension during this weekend devoted to building new worlds and new works of art
