The Valley (Linkville Horror#2) by Mike Salt

Hi everyone!

You’ve stumbled across my first Mike Salt book review. In this review, I will share my thoughts and opinions on The Valley by Mike Salt.

Here is the official synopsis from Amazon.

Sypnosis

“When Conrad and his wife set out to meet their friends for a simple weekend retreat, all they wanted was an easy weekend full of catching up and drinking. But when the group discovers a map that shows them the location of a hidden waterfall, hidden in the heart of an uncharted valley, they can’t help but jump at the opportunity to rediscover it.
What they don’t expect is to find an abandoned ghost town—hidden away from the world with an evil secret.
Now Conrad and his group must do whatever they can to stay alive as they are hunted by an entity that feeds off the horrors that occur in the Valley. A horror they are doomed to repeat for eternity.“

Winner of the Inkshares 2018 Horror Competition, Mike Salt brings the reader into a dark world and never lets off the throttle.

The book

The Valley is Mike Salt’s second book in his Linkville Horror series. It is a horror anthology with common themes, including the namesake town of Linkville, Oregon. So far, I’ve read the first three books, this one being the more separate entry.

This book is a very interesting take on the horror genre. It shares some mystery, suspense, and some lingering questions throughout. But, without spoiling anything, it delves into some paranormal stuff mixed up with some time loops. The end result is a very unique tale. Like the symposia above, the story follows four couples on a discovery trail, looking for an escape and some much-needed adventure.

Characters and Setting

The characters, to me, were okay. Some clearly stood out more than others, as expected from the principal (s). The others were pure cannon fodder and meant to add death. There was one character I was glad they died. While there was another character, I didn’t expect to die. I did not like most of them, though; all of them were flawed. I think that was the intent.

The town’s setting was described well and carried a very eery, creepy, and lonely atmosphere—enough to convey an intense setting. Even with a backstory provided, the entity itself was challenging for me to envision, for it was described to me as something I could conceive on my terms. So I thought of it kind of like a dementor from Harry Potter. Don’t judge.

Some opinions.

I loved the first half of the book. I enjoyed the second. And this is why. Mike does an outstanding job setting up the characters, the story, and the purpose during this first half. I wanted to go on this journey to this “waterfall” on the map. By the time they set to go, I was already making predictions. The banter was good, and the journey itself was great. When they entered the fog and arrived inside the town, that’s when things took a turn.

It took me a bit of time to understand what was happening. Like the characters, I was clueless going into this town, not knowing what to expect. There was a small amount of drag here, slowing the story a bit. But not enough, in my opinion, to kill the mystery. I wanted the entity to start killing quicker, lol. But, like any author, hiding the monster till the right time is crucial in creating dread and anticipation.

The time loops and events that started taking place started to make sense to me as the story went along. I was not expecting such a hard ending. It just ended for you without expectation. I understand this is one of the consensus points among readers. I went back and read that one chapter again. Then I understood without spoiling anything. It was nicely done. The whole thing was… very clever.

I will tell you, though, this book, I hope, gets revisited with a sequel. I had too many unanswered questions, especially regarding a particular door.

So, who is this book for?

I’ve read enough of the reviews for other people’s thoughts and opinions to get a general feel. This does not affect my opinions in any way, and I wanted to see if people shared my thoughts. Some of them did, others didn’t.

This is a book that I was hooked on from the beginning; I finished it in three sessions over a week. So, for me, this book was worth it. I enjoyed it because I enjoy the paranormal, time loops, and horror. But, I also recognized that this book is not for everyone. And although the synopsis teases “to repeat for eternity.” You still don’t know what to expect. If you enjoy everything mentioned earlier or anything related to Mike Salt, this book is for you.

If you don’t like the above, you feel unnerved by the paranormal or easily confused by timelines. Don’t bother; you won’t grasp the book’s main points. This is a book you read with an open mind.

I got it; I understood it, for it was clever from the very beginning. But you won’t know until you finish it and start processing everything. Mike Salt, my man. Good stuff; thank you for being daring and unafraid to challenge conventions. It may not be for everyone, but for you, it means something, so kudos!

For more reviews, click here.

Review by Anthony Soto, February 29th, 2024.

Author & Book Data

The Valley was published on Amazon on April 5th, 2023
Available digitally and in paperback on Amazon.
Written by Mike Salt and published by DarkLit Press.

Check out his TikTok: @mike_salt.