Vale… Is Not a Vampire?

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Muddy

• 1.02 — Of Little Girls and Slayers of Demons
  Dec 7, 2021
• 1.01 — The Farm That Lost Its Cat
  Dec 6, 2021
• 1.00 — Not Going South
  Jan 3, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• zekez22Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As we get to know the MC she is in denial as to who and what she is. I enjoyed her inhumanity and the way that as she “mimics” humanity she falls victim to human emotions and when she “sheds the pretence” she can operate on cold blooded logic until the emotions bleed back in unbidden.
• ErdosRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  As a prelude to my thoughts on the book, let me give you a taste for the writing itself, taken from the second chapter:
  "I worked my face into a genuine and gentle smile, safe in the knowledge that no matter how awkward I felt, unintended emotions would never show on my face. Unexpected embarrassment would never flush my cheeks red, sudden fear or startled surprise never widened my eyes, pain never made me wince. My face was a mask, and all it ever showed was what I wanted it to.
  All of me was a lie, and so Shae remained oblivious to my awkwardness."
  That amount of feeling is the book's most outstanding constant. It's written from the perspective of someone who has to think about what they are doing in any given social situation, which leads to detailed observations of how it all breaks down.
  This story is on a human scale. Vale's train of thought, conversation, action, are all on the scale of a girl lost to the world. Superhuman feats don't make it into the text often and are not treated as normal, despite it being a vampire story. It is human and intensely so.
  Almost 100 per cent of this book is character development. There is no overarching storyline. Not an overt one. Vale doesn't *go* anywhere, she doesn't *decide* anything. Not overtly. Yet all that is very much so deliberate. Told by an unreliable narrator, there are a thousand-and-one subtleties leading to action. Lies leading to decisions. Clarification absent to heighten the impact of the eventual pay-off.
  Due to that lack of clarifications, the book lacks a red thread the reader can follow, something to latch on to. That is, I think, the only fault to be found. Because of that the first half of the book can feel like it isn't going anywhere. The character comes from nowhere and doesn't aim to go anywhere either, it's easy to equate that with the story as a whole not going anywhere. Unjustified decisions feeling irrational.
  The author's trust in the reader surrenders the overarching theme. We just know too
• MecanimusRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The good vampire stories are always about mood. Dracula is an ancient warrior angry against god and grieving for his wife. Anne Rice's stuff is dark and romantic in the literary sense. Vale's story is that if a drifter craving for human interactions and acceptance. It is really, really good in every aspect.
  Style: the story is told from Vale's perspective and she has a very distinctive, very unique voice that would carry the story even if the rest was subpar (it isn't). Vale is a vampire with vampire instincts and a way to take in the world based on taste, magic, and noise. Interestingly, sight is made less important which I love. It permeates her perspective on one of the smoothest none human narration I've ever read. More importantly, Vale is slightly in denial especially on her intense craving for recognition and companionship. Honestly I wish I could give six stars. Combats are also amazing and visceral.
  Story score: well paced and well structured with world building introduced very slowly to push the spotlight on the characters. My only gripe is that I wish it could go faster and some interactions are less meaningful but it could be said I'm being imoatient because it's very good so far.
  Grammar: perfect.
  Characters: where the story honestly shines the most even if the slow pace means we have yet to see much but none of the characters are one dimensional so far. Hell, even the horse has a personality.
  That's it honestly I think the story could be published on Amazon as is and I'm eager to see where this is going.
• SepiRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is mostly going to be me rambling, so this probably won't help too much in telling you if you should read.
  Vale is not a vampire is about Vale, who very much appears to be a vampire, all things considered. It's mostly about her dealing with trauma and self hate, interspersed with various Vampire-y activities.
  Vale is written absolutely incredibly. The book is written in first person, with the characters thoughts leaking into the words. She reminds me of so many traumatized people I know, from the repression, self directed lies, detachment, forcing people away from her, etc. She has done something that few novels on this site have, which is to make me feel about the characters. God, this book was good. Please read it.
• Sondrex76Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I love this book so far.
  The main character is great, her inner struggle with trying not to allow her monstrous species to affect her, both psychologically, but also make sure it does not lead to her untimely demise, is both interesting and entertaining to observe.
  The main character is a very kind and caring person in many ways, but her instincts, as well as the habits she developed for her survival's sake, makes her interesting and ensure she does not become a Mary Sue.
  I am looking forward to see where this goes. Will it build more upon the village and have her become one of them? Will she go to new places and try to make friends while trying to stay hidden? I don't know, but either way, it will be a blast.
  EDIT: I would also like to add that to me this story is second only to A Journey of Black as far as vampire stories go.
• TilaztRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is such a weird one. There's so little action, but it doesn't feel dull. Vale is naïve, young(but not) and confused, but the story still feels very well connected and organic. The character is lost and she brings you with her but the narrative isn't if that makes sense...
  I don't typically like this type of novel but it is so well put together, the characters feel unique and have flavor to them, they seem alive, capable of thought and decision making, not just story enhancers.
  I guess I'm trying to say this is well written, and if you like emotional and soul-searching novels, you'll love this. If you don't... then be prepared for a surprise.
• readerpersonRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Manages to portray a main character deeply uncomfortable with themselves in a non-irritating manner, avoiding the pitfalls so common with such characters. Some of the most enjoyable character writing I have encountered on the site. Having read the first complete arc, I look forwards eagerly to the further adventures of Vale.
• Kay'oRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I only just realized that this story only has 10 reviews. Disappointing considering how good it is. I've probably reread it half a dozen times because of how charming all the scenes are. I've been looking forward to the next book for ages now. Give it a shot and you will too. Keep up the good work Muddy!
• FaeronRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Characters carry this, no doubt. I love and hate so many of them, and we see significant character development in the chapters already out. Maaaan some of them make me BIG MAD.
  The action is very well-written, and easy to visualize. The plot is entirely character-driven, and at this point I don't think there's a very clear overarching goal, but I think that's fine---it reads similar to a slice-of-life at this point, which I enjoy. There's a lot of mystery left in the setting, which I'm looking forward to exploring in future chapters.
  Keep up the good work, author.
  However,
  please drop the perjorative use of "retarded". That's straight up my biggest issue. Edit it out of every chapter. It sounds exceedingly childish and does not convey the meaning you're trying to convey.
• Lin0Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Fun story so far about a vampire pretending to be a monster hunter and trying to not think of people as food. My only gripe is the lacking world building. We don't even know the technology level. It seems to be medieval but there have been few descriptions of anything but characters so far.