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The Valley
In 1863, a group of mercenaries are hired to help out a mining town in Montana. They arrive to find the town empty and some of the buildings wrecked and strewn over a wide area. A new cave leads them to a land that time forgot, a high valley full of animals that are extinct elsewhere, but have thrived in the remote environment. But something else is loose in the land, something even older that has emerged from the cave system.Soon the remaining men are fighting for their lives, and the lives of everything in the valley.
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2010
24 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
William Meikle
433 books1,851 followersI'm a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with more than thirty novels published in the genre press and over 300 short story credits in thirteen countries.
My work has appeared in a number of professional anthologies and I have recent short story sales to NATURE Futures and Galaxy's Edge. When I'm not writing I play guitar, drink beer and dream of fortune and glory.
For an intro to me, my writing and my accent see my Youtube channel
My work has appeared in a number of professional anthologies and I have recent short story sales to NATURE Futures and Galaxy's Edge. When I'm not writing I play guitar, drink beer and dream of fortune and glory.
For an intro to me, my writing and my accent see my Youtube channel
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 14, 2014
When I was about 7 years old I watched "The Valley of the Gwangi" on TV with my older (and much more cruel) cousins. Hit up IMDB if you want the synopsis in full, but after watching cowboys fighting a dinosaur I was more than a little freaked out. And I loved EVERY second of it.
"The Valley" by William Meikle gave me a similar response.
The author weaves together elements of conventional Westerns and jams it in the middle of Sir AC Doyle's "Lost World" with a dash of Warren Fahy's "Fragment" added for taste.
The result is an action-packed horror-thriller which reads like the screenplay to a SyFy Channel "Saturday Night Special" movie. And I could not stop reading it.
The plot is far from complex, yet extremely entertaining. The actions scenes pack a lot of punch, the dialogue is zesty and appropriate. I did find it to be an exceptionally fast read, but whether that was the pace or word count I'm not sure.
When I review works on Goodreads or Amazon I don't "take off points" for poor editing(?), or similar errors in electronic format. I got the Kindle version of the book and there were a number missing commas, formatting funkiness and other minor distractions. But I know some readers are VERY picky about such things, so consider yourself warned.
I did enjoy it quite a bit and look forward to grabbing some more titles by this author.
"The Valley" by William Meikle gave me a similar response.
The author weaves together elements of conventional Westerns and jams it in the middle of Sir AC Doyle's "Lost World" with a dash of Warren Fahy's "Fragment" added for taste.
The result is an action-packed horror-thriller which reads like the screenplay to a SyFy Channel "Saturday Night Special" movie. And I could not stop reading it.
The plot is far from complex, yet extremely entertaining. The actions scenes pack a lot of punch, the dialogue is zesty and appropriate. I did find it to be an exceptionally fast read, but whether that was the pace or word count I'm not sure.
When I review works on Goodreads or Amazon I don't "take off points" for poor editing(?), or similar errors in electronic format. I got the Kindle version of the book and there were a number missing commas, formatting funkiness and other minor distractions. But I know some readers are VERY picky about such things, so consider yourself warned.
I did enjoy it quite a bit and look forward to grabbing some more titles by this author.
March 14, 2019
Pure pulp and I LOVE it! Part western, sciencefiction and horror, this was an easy and entertaining read!
June 9, 2010
“The Valley” is an adventurous story that gets going very quickly and soon reveals itself as crafty little pulp-style novel that was right up my alley. Writing dime novels myself, this book couldn’t have been a better match, as its style so closely resembles the way I tell my own stories - or at least, I try. Concise, to the point without a lot of flourish, but instead with a lot of panache and action that immediately grabs the reader and pulls them along for the ride.
As the cowboys in a rush to find gold encounter some strange creatures, they discover a hidden valley, filled with monstrous, prehistoric beasts that threaten to soon overrun the world. It is up to the handful of men to put an end to it and seal the valley back the way they had discovered it.
The book has a wonderful premise that is set up very nicely with its Wild West frontier tone where young man are often using their guns instead of their brains to make their points. At the same time, it offers a nice variety of characters that make for a colorful cast, giving ample depth to the story.
“The Valley” was a fast and fun read!
March 18, 2014
"Land of the Lost" meets "The Wild Wild West".
In search of the mother lode, a cliched group of greed-stricken men release into the world something that was best left buried and open a world that might have been Montana 10,000 years ago.
3 STARS
In search of the mother lode, a cliched group of greed-stricken men release into the world something that was best left buried and open a world that might have been Montana 10,000 years ago.
3 STARS
February 25, 2013
very good old style story reminded me a lot of the lost world but with cowboys
November 25, 2021
I read the ebook. Set in the Old West. Men looking for gold instead find a hidden valley with strange and deadly creatures and unfriendly pygmy-like small people. I really enjoyed this book. Very entertaining and the kind of escape book I like. Only small quibbles were incorrect punctuation. Also a drawing/map of the valley would have added to understanding of where things were happening. Copyright 2013.
October 13, 2022
Hired to help a gold rush town, a group of mercenaries get more than they bargained for when they arrive in the valley and enter the mine. An entrance has opened to a forgotten world, ruled by giant scorpions. Good story, as the old West meets the the lost world.
June 23, 2017
Read this a while ago. Started off decent but not very good or scary at all.
June 8, 2018
Nice little short novel, reminiscent of the old 1950's era B-grade monster movies.
December 31, 2020
This was a pretty good story overall. I listened to the audiobook and I didn't really enjoy the narration. I thought it was an interesting premise and a fun plot.
September 30, 2023
Fun, pulpy western horror with shades of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Breakneck pace. Wouldn’t mind reading more of the author’s work.
September 16, 2012
In the tradition of The Lost World comes The Valley, a rollicking Western set in 1863. A motley crew of gunfighters and semi-honourable men arrive at Ruby Creek, a Montana mining village to provide security. They have been promised gold for their labours but upon arriving discover the town wrecked and everybody is missing. One of the missing men is Jake Stratford's older brother, George who has left a cryptic note describing an explosion in a cave that unearthed more gold than they had ever seen. However when the men went into the cave they vanished, and more worryingly when George went to find them he seems to have vanished as well.
So begins the search for George and the gold, but when Jake and his companions head into the cave they stumble out the other side into a lost world filled with giant scorpions, mammoths and gigantic eagles, along with the obligatory sabre tooth cat. There are also people down in the valley who seem as determined to kill them as the strange alien wildlife.
It's an easy read and many of the characters feel familiar, the Pastor, the Squire and Ed Strang, who really is a loose cannon. They are men as much at war with themselves as each other and the world in general. The only one who seems to walk tall is Jake. It would be interesting to see how this would play out as a movie because it has that feel to it, more so than a novella. Some of the characters feel underdeveloped and perhaps with more room these character arcs could have been stretched out a little more to bulk out the story. The complete absence of women is also something that struck me as being a little out of sorts, which may have made it a more enjoyable and colourful read.
Still it keeps you reading and kept me entertained for a day.
So begins the search for George and the gold, but when Jake and his companions head into the cave they stumble out the other side into a lost world filled with giant scorpions, mammoths and gigantic eagles, along with the obligatory sabre tooth cat. There are also people down in the valley who seem as determined to kill them as the strange alien wildlife.
It's an easy read and many of the characters feel familiar, the Pastor, the Squire and Ed Strang, who really is a loose cannon. They are men as much at war with themselves as each other and the world in general. The only one who seems to walk tall is Jake. It would be interesting to see how this would play out as a movie because it has that feel to it, more so than a novella. Some of the characters feel underdeveloped and perhaps with more room these character arcs could have been stretched out a little more to bulk out the story. The complete absence of women is also something that struck me as being a little out of sorts, which may have made it a more enjoyable and colourful read.
Still it keeps you reading and kept me entertained for a day.
January 15, 2011
I enjoyed this one
copied: In 1863, a group of mercenaries are hired to help out a mining town in Montana. They arrive to find the town empty and some of the buildings wrecked and strewn over a wide area. A new cave leads them to a land that time forgot, a high valley full of animals that are extinct elsewhere, but have thrived in the remote environment. But something else is loose in the land, something even older that has emerged from the cave system.
Soon the remaining men are fighting for their lives, and the lives of everything in the valley.
copied: In 1863, a group of mercenaries are hired to help out a mining town in Montana. They arrive to find the town empty and some of the buildings wrecked and strewn over a wide area. A new cave leads them to a land that time forgot, a high valley full of animals that are extinct elsewhere, but have thrived in the remote environment. But something else is loose in the land, something even older that has emerged from the cave system.
Soon the remaining men are fighting for their lives, and the lives of everything in the valley.
March 21, 2012
A little pulp, a little 50's style cheese, and a whole lot of adventure! This story makes for an obvious comparison to that stop motion classic, The Valley of Gwangi. Both feature cowboys and prehistoric animals. It's typical William Meikle, which means plenty of action, a dash of suspense, and just the right amount of blood. If the "creature feature" story is something you enjoy, check it out.
April 30, 2014
Once upon a time the pulps used to be famous for rip-roaring adventures. This novel belongs to that genre. By judicious characterisation & plotting, the author has succeeded in achieving something that many authors have tried and failed to achieve: having a "Lost World" adventure in a Western setting. A brilliant read. Recommended.
August 15, 2014
Well, Mr Meikle has done the near impossible and made me enjoy a story set in the Old West (not a great cowboy fan). Last writer to do this was Edgar Rice Burroughs at the beginning of the first Mars story. Great mix of lost world, monsters and old fashioned heroism. As with all William Meikle books I've read so far, recommended.
June 12, 2010
A terrific, classic adventure story
January 4, 2011
Cowboys vs. Giant Scorpions
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews