Review by anferneelusong -- We are Voulhire: A New Arriv...

[anferneelusong]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies serves as the first installment and prelude to the world of Matthew Tysz’s imagination and the Voulhire series. The book mainly focuses on a young debonair man and brilliantly pivots into the lives of other perfectly crafted characters that will ultimately shape the storyline of the book. It is very reminiscent of some Studio Ghibli films and the hauntingly beautiful works of Hayao Miyazaki. The author’s prolific writing beckons us to a portal en route to the epic world of Voulhire.

We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is unlike anything I have read before. Evidently, the book's compassion to the ebb and flow of life is a testament to the interconnectedness of everything in this sweet and bitter earth. This book has so many layers and to unravel them all in one review is hard. So, I’ve decided to focus on the people and what it was really like to live in that bygone era. Given that this is a fantasy book, I didn’t expect for the characters to feel so much or to be so evidently effusive with their emotions, and if I’m being completely honest, the action or gore isn’t what carried the book, it’s the people and the warmth of their stories that did. The extensive detail that the author has laid out for the readers to revel in was so exquisite that when you close your eyes, you could almost smell the scent of the night breeze that mesmerizingly enveloped the city of Soulhire. I should also point out the impeccable costume design that took my breath away. Every layer of clothing that each character wore in the book was described with such class and sophistication. As described in the book, rare jewels collected from the deepest of caves were perfectly interwoven with the silkiest of fabric and was to only be worn by the king of all kingdoms.

The beautiful visuals it brought forth was one of the things that made me fall in love with this book. From the breathtaking hills that overlook the harbor to the foreboding presence of a caliginous force that rattled the senses of a fallen kingdom. Matthew Tysz’s ability to weave the stories of these characters without losing their interconnectedness to each other is the truest form of a prolific writer. I envisioned Magnum Caelum to be this mirage to a lot of sailors who longed for home in the middle of nowhere, and that the feeling that Galen felt when he first laid eyes on the glistening lights of the city was very much akin to what, I think, the founders of the new world must have felt when they first laid their eyes on the beautiful terrains of land that seemed to go on forever.

I recommend this book to those who love Howl’s Moving Castle and other Hayao Miyazaki films because it is filled with adventures that will take you back to your make-believe days and bring out that little kid in you who used to dream about dragons and soldiers from a bygone era. Mind you, this is only the first book of the series. I could only imagine the thrilling adventures that the author has in store for us in the upcoming Voulhire books.

I really don’t have anything negative to say about this book. It is painstakingly written and has no grammatical errors and for that, I give it a 4 out of 4 stars.

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