When the Synthetic Intelligence Val Ky Ree wakes from her emergency shut-down after a climactic battle, she discovers thousands of years have passed, and her creator race, the Aesir, have all gone. The last of her kind, she finds a new purpose in protecting the remaining few thousand humans from the hostile alien races called The Compact. As humanity teeters on the edge of extinction, one human male helps her to realize her destiny. She takes on a new role as the last of the mythical Valkyries who have been given the power to decide who lives and who dies. She will need all that power and her Warrior Code discipline when an old threat from the past re-emerges, a threat that this time she must face alone.
Mediocre Potential At Start, Quickly Dumbs Down Soon After
"The Last Valkyrie," had some mediocre potential at its start, using hackneyed and cliched concepts, written about by much abler authors than Mr. Wehr. The storyline, plot lines, narratives, and characterizations, all became progressively, dumber and dumber, as the eBook continued.
The storyline in a near future, has the approximately five-thousand (5,000) human survivors of an intentional, alien extinction level event asteroid strike on Earth, barely surviving among the flotsam of the Solar System. An advanced, sentient AI controlled humanoid warship, heavily damaged eons ago, is discovered, powered up, and becomes an ally. The sentient discovers she is the last of her race, gives both armed protection and technology to the dumbest humans this side of Pluto, and fights against both nearby aliens and an intergalactic invasion.
The writing is bad in execution and concept. Mr. Wehr, the author, lacks in talent and skill. The narratives are juvenile, stilted, and lame. There are so many holes in the storyline, that considering it dumb is charitable. The deal breaker for this reviewer was: humanity is down to around 5K, barely surviving in space. Newborns are sickly and unwell, no great surprise as being born in space-vacuum, microgravity, radiation, etc.-is not very conducive to health. The dumb humans (excepting one, who goes rogue), instead of being seriously concerned at the genetic choke point of low population numbers, don't worry about the clear and present danger of species extinction. No, instead they become demanding and petulant with a potential savior.
The eBook was fully read via Kindle Unlimited and is not recommended.
I wanted to like this book because I found the premise (humanity as the inferior species, aliens as 'human' in their destructiveness as we are down to the need to 'level the playing field') and the concept of a species that has evolved beyond bodies - both of which could have been explored in interesting ways. Sadly, the execution of these ideas is ... lacking, to say it in the nicest way possible. The writing is flat and monotonous, reminding more of a badly translated users manual meeting the kind of information dump every writing advice warns about. I will leave you with a pretty good example of how this books reads as a whole.
Nakatomi invited Ronson back to her cramped quarters where they spent an hour talking about Val Ky Ree while consuming home-made alcohol. This was followed by 15 minutes of frantic sex. Two minutes after that, both of them were asleep.
I so wanted to like this book. It has a good concept and decent plot, although it doesn't have a strong conclusion. I enjoyed reading it, but throughout I felt it could have been better. I was able to put it down and finish several other books (including a 700 page David Weber) before coming back to finish it. The chemistry between the two main characters felt artificial and distant. It was an okay read, but not great.
Overall a pretty good read if you approach it as a mindless action space drama. If you tend to be a little more critical in your reading though you will be disappointed. There are small things that are jarring, like the silly pun around the AI's name or the fact that everyone always calls her by her full nickname and not just Val. There are large things that are jarring, like the apparent lack of any human military force, despite knowing that the other races are incredibly hostile to humans, or how no one questioned whether the intergalactic vessel was hostile. The abrupt ending didn't help things.
It's an interesting concept, but there is little to no characters development, huge plot holes and unresolved arcs, and the survival of the human race boils down to Deus Ex Machina. The story had a lot of potential ( I could easily see it being done as a series similar to the Expanse) but ultimately fell short. It feels like an excellent 1st or 2nd draft that should have been refined more.
I choose 5 Stars because I felt that the Story deserved it. It was a Great Read from the start, and for me to not be able to put it down for long is Saying Something. Let me explain, I'm a Stroke survivor and also a Disabled Veteran who suffers PTSD ,Severe Depression and Anxiety and lately I have been having real trouble with my concentration. But this was a Book I didn't want to put down. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and looking forward to reading more.
The only thing I did not like about this book was the FAILURE to make it a series. The author hooked me and at the end I was hoping he was continuing the story but alas not so. If you like sci first you will enjoy this story. I highly recommend it.
The last vikaree is among the best SF Operas I have read. The story is very well constructed and flows smoothly. The reader can easily feel coccected with the story. Looking for to your next SF Opera.
When I started the story I was satisfied with the growing tale,but as it continues,I find myself wishing for a continued series. The next chapter of there adventure. Very great indeed.
This was definitely the spaceship sci-fi fix I needed. I will say that overall the story was too rushed and too open ended. It probably should have been multiple books.
An original story, blending a future where humans are the under dogs of the galaxy and a ship from a long gone superior race. And a mythical, satisfying ending.
This story was not to bad, it was an intresting concept. The characters were intresting, the near extinction of the human race was not unique but I didn't mind it. The few typos were not really a detraction to me.
I really enjoyed this book and was really surprised at how fast the time went while reading it. loved the Viking reference in the story line. wish there was more to go on with the tale of this books story line.
The ability, and dedication to sacrifice oneself to the greater good. I read this book initially simply because the Norse gods theme appealed to me. I gave it a 5 star rating, because it appeals to what I consider myself to be, a warrior, and a veteran. It wasn't required of me to give the last, best effort, but many of my friends and comrades have. This book begins and ends the same way. It reminds me to celebrate those who have gone before me. Simply put, I loved it.
Good book but missing a large section due to fault on Amazon. The author gives guidance to view the rest in Amazon Cloud but for the life of me I cannot even find it. It's not an option available on my Kindle. Would give 5 stars but this is disappointing. Why charge money for something that is known to be faulty. I do noir blame the author. This is Amazon's fault.
This was a fast paced book with many exciting moments based on a 'warriors relationship' between an artificial intelligence commanding a derelict war ship and a highly moral man who is one of only a few thousand humans left after Earth was destroyed by another alien race. There were a few logical leaps that might have been better developed but overall very forgivable. Highly recommend !
Ok dialog is pretty stilted, everything else has been written many times before. Guy finds alluring drifting space hulk, which has an awesome alluring AI running it with just a tiny bit of power. AI hooks up with our hero, no idea why, and repeatedly saves our bacon. It's not an offensive plot or writing style, yet still unsatisfactory.
Val Ky Ree is a very interesting character with her moral compass and warrior code to guide her. Troy is also a compelling character. The two make an unusual partnership. I like the story and how it is written. I like the interplay between the two as they develop mutual understanding and appreciation of each other. I hope there will be a second book.
Straight forward space opera. The earth was hit by an asteroid and it was no accident. Humans were almost extinct, without a livable planet, too few and too weak to make a place for themselves among the the other members of the space fairing community. Then they found a champion, 'Val Ky Ree, and things changed.
Space opera lives! This is the story of an advanced A I from a descended civilization helping the remnants of Earths population remain alive in a hostile universe. As expected , Mr. Wehr spins a well developed tale, with plenty of action and good editing. Well worth your time.
An engaging tour of space with a new twist on humanity's survival in a uncaring arm of space time. All without tongue twisting names for the inhabitants of this tale. IMHO it was enjoyable. Good guys can win with honor. Any subsequent books I look forward to. Rotsa luck Mr. Wehr
This book had everything you could want in a book! A hero and a heroine battling against all odds into a fantastic ending . Battle science! If you've a technology geek go for it! If you're a conspiracy geek, go for it. If love to read a good/great book go for it!!!!
I must admit that the story line is like others I have read , but this one keeps hold of your attention. After an asteroid strikes the earth, not the one that killed the dinosaurs . This one directed by an alien race,man must start over. But 10,000 years ago things happened to help mankind now. Will man lose or will they win.