Review by rahilshajahan -- We are Voulhire: A New Arriva...

[rahilshajahan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I always thought magic and science would never go hand in hand, even in fiction. Matthew Tysz has proven me wrong, through his masterfully elaborate book, We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies. Coming under the genre of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, the book has opened the gates to a new world where the readers’ imagination can run amok.

As the story begins, the reader gets to witness the trials and suffering of a humble Galen Bray as he barely manages to survive in the war-prone island cities of the Lands of the Princes. I initially thought that Galen was somehow planning to escape his homeland by tricking the guards of the ships which were heading to Voulhire. Later on, I saw that he was going to inherit and work at the forge his great-uncle had left him. Voulhire is a vast empire that is still growing under the supervision of its wise king, Wilhelm. There is always speculation at the beginning of the book as to whether the evil lord, Meldorath, is dead. There is also the presence of a terrorist group called the Riva Rohavi, who are looking for the most opportune moment to throw the kingdom of Voulhire upside down. Will the kingdom survive? Is Meldorath dead or biding time in the shadows to kill King Wilhelm? Read the book to find out.

I enjoyed reading this book completely. The pace, in the beginning, was quite slow, but the narration was so beautiful and had such eloquent flow, it was hard not to turn the pages. The author’s storytelling abilities are definitely top tier. Having come from the life of a destitute, the protagonist is extremely humble and gracious at the opportunities he receives at Voulhire. Galen comes across several interesting characters, bringing diversity from the behavioral point of view. Half of the story is narrated by Lord Eldus Alderman, a dear friend of King Wilhelm, who arrives at the town of Hillport with the knowledge that Lord Meldorath rests in the outskirts of the town.

I got a very Dan Brown vibe from the progression of the book. Matthew Tysz did a great job at showcasing events happening in several places at the same time. Each of the chapters included an important character narrating the story, some of them being Galen, Eldus, and Wilhelm. Whenever I felt that the plot development had slowed down, suddenly, some hostile plans of the Riva Rohavi were thrown into the light, which got me gripped again in the story.

It was awesome to see the dots from each of the storylines connect in the end. Even though the author tries to bring new names, ideas, and fantasies to establish the different aspects of magic, I felt that some explanations were rushed, leaving the reader to wonder how certain things worked. Other than that, there is nothing I disliked. I loved the descriptive nature of the book. Mathhew masterfully illustrates each of the scenes, leaving the fantasy vivid with details.

There were no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. This book has obviously been through the hands of an editor. There is a little of profanity involved in the conversations of the people of Voulhire. The book contains the controversial topic of pedophilia, but it is required to portray the evil behavior of a character. There are no vivid erotic or gore scenes in the book. I would definitely recommend this book to all fantasy lovers out there. The end of the book comes with a mysterious cliffhanger, so don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you. I hope the next book in the series is as enthralling as this one. Considering all the aforementioned points, I would rate the book a solid four out of four.

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[NDeMeer]

Ooh, a sc-fi AND fantasy novel? I was already intrigued by this book, but your review got me even more excited to read it. Looking forward to seeing the beautiful descriptions you've mentioned!

[rahilshajahan]

Ooh, a sc-fi AND fantasy novel? I was already intrigued by this book, but your review got me even more excited to read it. Looking forward to seeing the beautiful descriptions you've mentioned!

The book is has its twists and turns. Hope you have an entertaining read!

[MuthoniMuriithi]

Thanks for sharing your honest review!

[rahilshajahan]

Thanks for sharing your honest review!

Thanks for dropping by!

[Rodel Barnachea]

I'm in the process of writing the review of this book, so I did not really read through your review. However, I am glad to know that we both rate it four stars.

[rahilshajahan]

I'm in the process of writing the review of this book, so I did not really read through your review. However, I am glad to know that we both rate it four stars.

Thanks man! Do take a proper read after you post your review.

[keiyoshi]

I like how most reviews about this book express how the story-telling from different perspectives was very effective. I guess it's just really rare for authors to be able to narrate events from different points of view effectively but Tysz has done it smoothly. Can't wait to be able to read the next book!

[rahilshajahan]

I like how most reviews about this book express how the story-telling from different perspectives was very effective. I guess it's just really rare for authors to be able to narrate events from different points of view effectively but Tysz has done it smoothly. Can't wait to be able to read the next book!

Me too. The series is really captivating. Thanks for stopping by as always!

[Sou Hi]

Tysz's a master of twists and turns. The series is so unpredictable, especially the first 3 books. Some reviews said that the first book is confusing, but this volume is the very foundation for its sequels.

[engarl]

Wow, great review! I will learn from this review and hopefully adopt some of your conversational and eloquent writing into my own reviews in the future! I was already interested in this book, but your review has put this book on my "must read" category on bookshelves. Thanks!

[rahilshajahan]

Tysz's a master of twists and turns. The series is so unpredictable, especially the first 3 books. Some reviews said that the first book is confusing, but this volume is the very foundation for its sequels.

Sou, you are sooo right! The book had put a weird perspective on all the main characters, so that the sequel can build up really well. Thanks for stopping by as always!

[rahilshajahan]

Wow, great review! I will learn from this review and hopefully adopt some of your conversational and eloquent writing into my own reviews in the future! I was already interested in this book, but your review has put this book on my "must read" category on bookshelves. Thanks!

Thanks a lot engarl! You are welcome to take anything you want from this review and the coming reviews to educate yourself. I do that a lot, reading multiple reviews a day I guess.

[xsquare]

I've read this book before myself and I have to agree that the pace of the book really does start off quite slow, but gets exciting later into the book. Glad to see that you really enjoyed the series. Thanks for the great review!

[rahilshajahan]

I've read this book before myself and I have to agree that the pace of the book really does start off quite slow, but gets exciting later into the book. Glad to see that you really enjoyed the series. Thanks for the great review!

Thank you for stopping by!