Travel Book Review – Tales of a Fly By Night: And other stories I never told my mother

If you’re looking for a thoroughly enjoyable collection of short travel stories, I can’t recommend Val Karren’s Tales of a Fly By Night enough.

I am, of course, a travel writer myself.

I find that reading outstanding work like this is not only a joy – it’s an essential way to stay sharp. With over 1.5 million books published on Amazon KDP every year, it also feels good to shine a light on fellow authors who truly deserve to be discovered.

Here’s my review:

Some of the most beautiful travel writing you will ever read

This is one of those rare books to which I would award six stars if I could.

Some books don’t just take you on a journey – they smuggle you through borders, drop you into conversations, and leave you richer for every stolen moment. The Tales of a Fly By Night by Val Karren is one of those rare gifts: a beautifully curated collection of stories that succeeds in being both deeply personal and widely universal.

This is travel writing at its finest – wry, warm, witty, and sharply observed. Each tale is an exquisite capture of a single scene, sensation, or fleeting thought from the author’s journeys. From the joyful chaos of an Italian deli to the existential absurdity of learning a language by obscure means, many of these vignettes are small in scope, but vast in insight.

A standout chapter for me explores the Camino de Santiago with uncommon perception. Other stories offer laughter as an antidote to introspection. His confessions of unrestrained culinary abandon will speak to anyone who’s ever been led astray by a pastry in Paris or a pintxos bar in Bilbao. And just wait until you meet Maastricht, a city “sandwiched between countries, languages, and cultures” that springs vividly to life in the author’s affectionate homage.

Then, with a tonal shift that lands beautifully, we travel to Ukraine and Russia behind the Iron Curtain, for stories that are quietly powerful, and underscore the truth that no matter where we’re from, or what religion we follow, as humans, we are, at heart, the same.

If you enjoy Bill Bryson’s wit, Tim Cahill’s perspicacity, or Patrick Campbell’s humorous observational charm, you’ll love this.

Tales of a Fly By Night is a perfect gift for anyone with wanderlust or a love of exceptional writing. Devour it in one go like I did – or dip in and savour each scene like a forbidden midnight snack. Your passport might not get stamped, but your imagination certainly will.

Blurb and Links

This collection of short travel stories should come with a public health warning! These tales have been proven to cause restlessness, perspective shift, and travel itch in reasonable people, which may result in you being branded a “Fly by Night” by your mother’s friends. Author Val Karren will recklessly tempt you to grab your passport, buy a one-way ticket and go get lost with him in far flung corners of Europe that you will never read about in a guide book.

This anthology of both hilarious and tear-jerking short stories compiled from constant adventure seeking, will immerse you in the sensual languages, music and food of the Mediterranean Sea, before scaring your socks off in the snow and ice of Russia. Karren will take you along to Vienna to enjoy ten days in the hospital, and then get you lost and stranded in the far north of Sweden, in winter. He will drive you through breathtaking Transylvania, over treacherous mountain highways, and get you arrested in Moscow. If you’re lucky, you will get off with just a warning while he is publicly berated for disorderly conduct by the Sicilian food police.

This book will confirm the wisdom of your previous decision to keep your job, call your mother, and stay right where you are! You will laugh, you will cry, and you will wonder what else in the world you’re missing.

BuyTales of a Fly By Night on Amazon UK

Buy Tales of a Fly By Night on your local Amazon store

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Find My Books On Amazon

As I said, I too am a travel writer, and am launching my latest book, More Manchester Than Mongolia on 5th December 2025. It’s available for pre order now at the special launch price of 99p/99c across most markets.

Although it is a standalone tale of an ill-fated road trip around some of Britain ‘s hidden places, ‘Manchester‘is the sequel to the multi-award-winning Building The Beast, the funny true story of how we turned one very big truck into a ‘Go-Anywhere’ camper.

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