Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

In David Earl Williams III’s Valor Tale, Dew Wilder wakes in the SWAT TROOPER ELITE Academy Medical Clinic after an attack that left him badly injured. Rena Etteip, the scientist who saved him, has disappeared after leaving a note saying she has gone after Thornton, who is traveling with Rena’s daughter. Thornton now possesses three SKT virus vials, making the missing fourth vial vital to whatever comes next. Dew refuses to remain behind, rejoining his five companions as they leave the locked-down academy to search for Rena. Their route across Mesovilla takes them toward provinces marked by war, where the Bush of Life cult works toward the return of the Sōl Congruum. Dew’s search for Rena soon follows the same trail as the hunt for the final vial.

David Earl Williams III’s Valor Tale is incredible speculative fiction, and the author has built Mesovilla with an imagination that makes every province feel like its own. Elvir, Dew’s companion, is resourceful and remarkably capable, taking the helm of a patrol boat when no one else knows how to operate it, and earning the admiration of children at the Ganas Commune. I love Dr. Sloane, the Demmin weapons specialist, who demonstrates the Sky Warp by teleporting an apple across Mesovilla and has filled her workshop with inventions of her own design. The author’s world-building is massive, and much of it is through class and political power within Mesovilla. For example, Elvir’s wealthy father can buy off Anahit’s seneschal while residents in her old neighborhood face demolition with no compensation or relocation support. Still, it’s the near-cinematic descriptions of landscapes that steal the scenes, from Pomodoro Cay’s red sand beneath an energy shield, to an underground missile silo where a grated staircase drops thirty-five feet into orange light. Beautifully written and bold, readers who enjoy science fantasy adventures across visual worlds will adore this.