Thirty thousand years ago, in the shadow of Kilimanjaro . . .
Since the beginning of time, the peaceful Ibandi people had been sheltered by their god-mountains, Great Earth and Great Sky. When the savage Mk*tk threatened their way of life, their gods told Sky Womanlast of the true Dream Dancersand her mate Frog Hopping to take the people north in search of new lands. As the Ibandi meet strange new peoples and discover a land of promise and plenty, the deeds of a man thought long dead will rouse the Mk*tk to a bloody frenzy and send them on a quest for vengeance that could shatter the Ibandis dreams. All is lost ... unless Sky Woman can regain her power, unless Frog Hopping can become the first true warrior, and unless a dead man can find the heart to forgive. All their fates, and more, will be decided in the place called Shadow Valley.
"[A] slow opening...but those who stay the course will find it worth the effort." - Publishers Weekly
This information about Shadow Valley was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Steven Barnes is an American science fiction writer, lecturer, creative consultant, and human performance technician.
He has written several novels and teleplays. He has written several episodes of The Outer Limits and Baywatch. He has also written the episode "Brief Candle" for Stargate SG-1 and the Andromeda episode "The Sum of Its Parts."
Barnes's first published piece of fiction, the 1979 novelette The Locusts, was written with Larry Niven, and was a Hugo Award nominee.
Barnes is also an avid practitioner of martial and physical arts. He is a black belt in Kenpo Karate (Aikka style), and Kodokan Judo. He holds an instructor certificate in Wu Ming Ta, and has an instructor candidate ranking in Filipino Kali stick and knife fighting. He is an advanced student in Jun Fan kickboxing (...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Steven Barnes's Website

If you liked Shadow Valley, try these:
by Rachel Kushner
Published 2025
From Rachel Kushner, a Booker Prize finalist, two-time National Book Award finalist, and "one of the most gifted authors of her generation" (The New York Times Book Review), comes a new novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective in France—a propulsive page-turner of glittering insights and dark ...
by Mesha Maren
Published 2019
Set within the charged insularity of rural West Virginia, Sugar Run is a searing and gritty debut about making a run for another life.
by Tayari Jones
Published 2019
An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward - with hope and pain - into the future.
The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.