“Be a chef, not a cook.” Who here knows the difference?
That very question was posed by the ever-great, and incredibly prolific, author Brandon Sanderson during one of his lectures at BYU.
*Sidebar. How great is it that students at BYU can sign up and get credit hours for listening to Sanderson talk for an hour each week?*
If your initial response is “They’re the same,” then you’re certainly no owner of a Michelin-rated French restaurant.
A cook is any old shlub with a pair of tongs and a disheveled spice rack following a recipe and preheating the oven when the YouTube video reminds them.
A chef is someone who takes the crap left over in the fridge or pantry and whips up something new, fresh, and satiating.
Flour, egg whites, sugar, and warm water aren’t just a means to an end. They’re building blocks of a dozen different avenues that visit a multitude of destinations, each leaving you with the burning desire to book your next trip.
Poppy Orion, and her Top Faved Vella, The Valmoran Chronicles, have the attributes of a chef and her signature dish. The only question is, will she be Michelin-rated, and how long in advance do you need reservations?
This review is part of an ongoing series on my website where I specifically review serials from Kindle Vella. As always, no major spoilers beyond what you can already read in the free Episodes, or in the description. This review encompasses the first 200-ish tokens of the Vella. I like to review around this length because new readers to the platform are gifted 200 tokens from which they must decide whether or not to purchase more tokens and invest in the platform. So, it’s a good barometer.
The tokens spent on this venture were my own.
The Valmoran Chronicles (henceforth referred to as TVC) is a Science Fiction-Fantasy epic that intertwines modern humanity with a distant, advanced alien civilization of deeply
religious beings. From the outset, Orion’s writing ability seems to be in sync with “Sanderson’s laws.” In the first few paragraphs, you know this story will be special.
The story centers around eight heroes and their whirlwind lives, slowly building to a mystery stemming from a super cure “Microbe X” and the strange, taboo “Syndrome Q” that seems to be linked to it. How does this super cure, and the illness it seemingly spawned, relate to the Valmoran Republic and its Temple of the Seven on its prime planet, Kronai?
One thing Sanderson preaches is the ability to “go deep, not wide” in reference to world-building. It’s better to go into great detail over a few key elements of the world so that the reader can have an immersive understanding of it, rather than pepper the reader with a smorgasbord of random details. Orion seems to live and die by this edict, executing it with perfection.
TVC delivers one of the better lines I’ve read or heard from a character in quite some time. “A wise man knows to seek guidance, and who best to provide it.” Sage advice akin to Proverbs 1:5 from a fictional character in a Science-Fantasy epic is not something I would’ve had on my bingo card, yet here we are. It’s not just the fact that this is a wonderful line applicable to anyone about to blow their top while on a job, or thinking of asking that stripper to marry them, but it’s attributed to a quote written on the religiously sacred “Tomb of the Obelisks.”
Just…what? Are you kidding me? It’s this type of cultural painting that is stroked in a smattering of colors ALL OVER this Vella. It’s a thing of envy that makes up for a few of the story’s weaker attributes in the early goings-on and keeps you reading.
You’ve got the HIX implants that intertwine the lives of Valmorans with space-age tech and artificial intelligence. Religious ceremonies dictate the lives of a galaxy-spanning civilization. Even the mating cycles everyone fears yet yearns for, and the great shame they feel if they don’t live up to expectations is as immensely palpable as an emotional pilgrimage to Mecca, or a mask you MUST wear lest you be accused of trying to kill grandma. The tension between the different races and species of Valmorans seems ripped from our history books.
It all jives. It all makes sense. You believe it. You live it. Then…you go to Earth.
As much as I loved the Valmoran plot and am genuinely lingering on the next word during those episodes, I found myself equally bored with the human plot. Granted, I’m sure a lot of that has to do with what seems like redundant POVs (a problem I’ll address later), but at least early on, not much is happening.
It’s hard to go from a shiny new civilization, making me feel like I’m Indiana Jones with a dirt brush examining ancient relics of long-lost people, all the way to A Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, instant messaging apps, and Nerf guns. The world-building of the Earth storyline banks on the reader’s familiarity with designer brands and pop culture in lieu of building something new. A familiar crutch and a useful tool for a chef to use. However, the problem arises when TOO much of the ingredient is thrown into the bowl with not enough variation.
Yes. I know this review only encompasses the first 200-ish tokens. The human story is likely building to something. That’s clearly the case by the Vella’s Top Faved status and hardcore following. But that’s part of the game, and new readers should know what to expect.
When doing my first go-through of these episodes, I immediately thought of a space-age Game of Thrones.
1. Big Cast: check.
2. Immersive POVs: check.
3. Culture, traditions, intriguing world: Half-check.
4. Gripping problems and reasonable stakes driving the opening act: Sort-of.
5. A cohesive thread between POVs: No.
While I find Orion’s writing far more entertaining than Martin’s (yes, I think he’s slightly boring and tedious, and the show did a better job with the source material than he did, though the show was WAY better WITH the source material than without), the one thing she didn’t do was weave together some connective tissue between the episodes and POVs to help the reader get their bearings.
No. This isn’t a problem of keeping up with lingo, or a failure to keep up with large casts. It’s just a weak point of jostling between too many disconnected POVs early on.
In Game of Thrones, the reader has immediate stakes. A man of the Knight’s Watch abandoned his post, and now Bran, a young boy, must watch him die. All this on the day the King of Westeros, and his family, are due to arrive at Bran’s home after the King’s main confidant at court has died (likely of foul play). The Stark boys find a pack of dire wolves, which happens to be on the Stark family coat of arms, and there’s enough for each kid to take one, even the Bastard son. It all revolves around Ned Stark, who will be this book’s protagonist (more on this soon).
While the Book’s first 5 chapters swap between 5 different POVs, four of the chapters all deal with the same storyline, and they all relate in some way or another to the book’s central character, Ned Stark. The solitary Danny chapter is extensive, and it even deals in some regard with the history of the Iron Throne, the main thing at stake in the Stark storyline. The four Stark chapters all pick up where the previous one left off, so you have a familiar thread guiding you through the different POVs, all of which are building into the same conflict and stakes: will Ned join Robert in King’s Landing, leave Winterfell where Starks are at their strongest, split their family across the Kingdom, and leave them vulnerable?
We get all of that, and the main plot hasn’t even kicked into high gear. Because the POVs are all intermingling, you get to meet Catelyn Stark through Jon’s eyes and feel her disdain for the boy. You get to understand Catelyn’s misgivings about Robert’s court coming to Winterfell. You understand Ned’s frustration with the opulence of Robert’s court arrival and Bran’s nervousness about watching a man die and getting wolves.
Large-ensemble stories are at their best when the many strong narratives get to interact with one another, and you see the varying ways each of them views each other. TVC
has strong narratives with characters you want to know more about, but they don’t get to interact with each other early on. So, each is left to carry its own plot, and there’s simply not enough at stake between them all to keep it going, or to keep one on your mind when it’s away. Like an infant believing their parents vanished from existence when they simply go take a piss.
This is why the strongest Episodes are the ones centered around Callum (the best character, but not the protagonist) and Matthai (the definite protagonist, or at least should be). The two episodes featuring both Callum and Matthai together are spun of pure gold. They delivered the amazing line I wrote about earlier. You see Matthai and Callum not just for who they are, but for who they believe the other is. And there’s also a central problem that both must face. They have obstacles. They have prejudices. They both have something immediately at stake, and they have to rely on one another.
Meanwhile, the three women on Earth are pretty much interchangeable. Each is stricken with the same illness. Each is pretty and in touch with their femininity, but not too much lest you think them a weak woman who needs and man to help them in the world. They’re all smart and incredibly witty, with sass. They all work in the medical industry, and their jobs have all been affected by the advent of Microbe X. One is bossy. One is athletic. One doesn’t care if her hair and makeup look like shit, whatever, but it’s going to be done to perfection anyway…because.
Screenwriter Jill Chamberlain says 99% of screenplays all suffer from the same problem: they're just situations. She reasons that if you can take a protagonist out of their story and swap them with any other character, and nothing about the narrative changes, then you don't have a story, you have a situation. With our female leads, we have situations. I know, this might seem unfair because it's so early on in a door-stopping epic, but that's the risk of running 5 disconnected POVs in the series' first 9 episodes.
So, let’s talk protagonist. The obvious candidate is Matthai. He’s not only the figure taking center stage on the Vella cover, but he gets two of the first three episodes dedicated to him, and then he figures prominently in some of Callum's episodes.
I know this series boasts “8 heroes,” but really, it’s conflating the idea of a hero or main character with the story’s protagonist, as do many books and films.
All narratives are essentially about one thing: motif. What is the story trying to say? The character is the vessel through which the prevailing motif is decided, and the plot is their journey between competing ideas. When you have more than one character pulling for a motif, you don’t have multiple protagonists. You have a protagonist and multiple antagonists. An antagonist isn’t just a villain. It’s a competing idea to what the protagonist must discover.
In the first book of Game of Thrones, the central storyline has ONE protagonist. Ned Stark, and he loses. Whatever motif he was championing died. So, we’re left wondering, can good men succeed? The answer would be no.
Even the later books chiefly revolve around a main protagonist, even though there are multiple disconnected stories. At least ONE main story has a through-thread and reaches a conclusion. But Martin has cultivated a problem he can’t seem to solve. In trying to create a massive, in-depth, life-like world, he can’t get across the finish line.
This is why films that try to have multiple protagonists often do one of four things.
Fail miserably like Batman vs. Superman.
Have Protagonists that act as one unit pushing the motif like Harold and Kumar
They actually just have one protagonist with a strong supporting character like Lethal Weapon
The “second” protagonist is just a very detailed and liked antagonist like in The Prestige.
So, let’s examine our candidate, Matthai, and evaluate if he’s a worthy protagonist the story should (or hopefully does) focus on by utilizing Sanderson’s method of creating likable characters (with a few additions and modifications from yours truly).
1. Uniqueness: Is there a reason we should want to hear his story?
a. Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive spider and now has superpowers.
b. Ned Stark is the patriarch of one of the oldest houses in Westeros and is regarded as its most honorable man.
c. Matthai is next in line to become High Priest due to his birthright, essentially making him the most influential figure in the Valmoran Republic.
2. Brains/witty: Is he smart, or at least above the typical intelligence for someone in his position?
a. Peter Parker makes his costume. Makes his webs. Knows how to develop film. Utilizes experiments to solve crimes.
b. Ned Stark knows how to use a sword. Others come to him for advice. He’s best suited to fix Robert’s financial problems.
c. Matthai is well-read. Knows his customs inside and out. Knows how to talk and relate to others he’s just met by studying them first. Is highly trained in combat for someone in his position.
3. Proactive: Are they making things happen or waiting for things to happen?
a. Spiderman actively investigates crimes. He sets traps. He gets himself into personal binds because he’s hyper-focused on doing good.
b. Ned Stark figures out the truth about Joffrey’s parents. He takes personal responsibility in executing those who flee the Knight’s Watch. He actively tries to save Robert’s court.
c. Matthai initiates contact with Callum to discuss his problem. He engages the strange visitor in his room.
4. Sympathetic: Do we have a reason to want their situation to improve?
a. Uncle Ben dies because Peter Parker failed to act, and now he’s guilt-ridden. And he’s picked on before getting his powers but doesn’t abuse them once he gets them.
b. Ned Stark is an honorable man looking to do his duty for his King, country, and family. He doesn’t just preach being honorable to his kids, he lives it.
c. Matthai was not initially the first in line. He is taking up the mantle because of his family obligations. He wants to be with his love who is somewhere in the galaxy, in trouble.
So, what’s the verdict?
I will certainly be continuing the Valmoran Chronicles. The world created is too intriguing to put down. I could see this on something like Amazon Prime. After all, they did do the Rings of Power, and I could barely get past that incoherent first episode.
Seriously, #cancelRingsofPower ought to gain steam. It's a dumpster fire.
In a world filled with overdone tropes, and remakes, reboots, sequels, and prequels we didn’t ask for, it’s nice to see a new franchise breathe life into otherwise underutilized genres like Science Fiction. You either get a surface-deep blockbuster franchise or a high-brow yawn fest indie production.
Matthai is a worthy protagonist, and I hope he’s allowed to shine and push the plot while the other POVs try and come into their own. While the scatter-brained treatment of the POVs early on only appears to be getting more complicated in the immediate Episodes, this issue will hopefully be resolved, and the different storylines start coming together.
Since this review can only take into consideration the first 200 tokens, I give the story 4 out of 5 stars. While Matthai and Callum are great characters, and the world-building and pacing are superb, the seemingly redundant scattering of disconnected Earth POVs made for a frustrating end and beginning of each episode.
If you haven't tried TVC, you should. You have nothing to lose. The first three Episodes are free, by the way. My hunch is, for the cost of a caramel macchiato at Starbucks, you'll be hooked on the culture and characters of TVC.
If you liked this review and want to see more like them, check out my reviews for Reverse Ella and Squared Circle which are also on my blog.
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