Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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Kurtis Bleakley
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- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies, by Matthew Tysz, is an entertaining and moving work about the struggles of many individuals in the nation of Voulhire. The story is told from a variety of perspectives: the immigrant Galen Bray, fleeing the Lands of the Princes, a wartorn and poverty-stricken place for the nation of Voulhire; the king Wilhelm, a man conflicted by the secrets he must keep; and the mysterious woman Beth, among others. The book is set in a world where there is the physical world and the word beyond, called Caromentis, where magic hails from. Much of the book is set in the town of Hillport, where Lord Eldus struggles to remove the ill effects of the two previous rulers of the region, Orlin and Meldorath. I found it to be a riveting and entertaining look at a world not like our own.
I thought We are Voulhire had excellent pacing and dramatic battle scenes. I appreciated the switching between violent combat and writing about improving the town and the people of Hillport. The description that the author used to describe environments and situations he created was quite vivid and I could easily picture events in my mind. I found the interactions between characters to be realistic and believable. I did not feel that any of the main characters were flat or underdeveloped, which I was pleased by. Even characters like Demetrius, a monk who joins Galen and his friend Rowan on a trip, were given sufficient development, and he wasn’t even in the first half of the book. I commend the author for having such a good ability at making you feel for the characters. I was moved by some of the vivid descriptions of the book, particularly a scene where Galen saw a painting of the face of God. Even the main villain, Meldorath, had a mysterious aura about him that made him compelling as a character. All in all, it was an entertaining and enthralling read, particularly the second half of the work.
I found the activities of Lord Eldus, while trying to rebuild Highport after the devastation brought upon the town by the two previous rulers, Orlin and Meldorath, to be very interesting. I have never read a fantasy book that focuses that much on domestic, peaceful affairs, and I really appreciated what the author showed us through scenes like these. The dialogue of the book was also quite good: I particularly enjoyed reading what Meldorath uttered, as well as the exchange between Eldus and Barcaedi, a military captain who guards a fortress.
I did not find all aspects of the book appealing. I found Rowan’s sense of humor to be obscene and off-putting, it didn’t feel like it fit well with the dramatic nature of other parts of the narrative. I also found Galen’s relative innocence and compassion, while endearing, to be a bit confusing-I expected a character fleeing from a land marred with poverty and violence to be a harsher and less trusting person. There were also a small number of errors that, while minor, detracted from the reading experience.
Overall, I very much enjoyed We are Voulhire. It is a book that exemplifies good, quality writing, strong characters, and an excellent plot. However, there were some aspects that I was not fond of. This, in addition to the errors I noticed in the text, leads me to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Due to the book’s obscene and mature content, I would not recommend this to children. I would, however, strongly recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies, by Matthew Tysz, is an entertaining and moving work about the struggles of many individuals in the nation of Voulhire. The story is told from a variety of perspectives: the immigrant Galen Bray, fleeing the Lands of the Princes, a wartorn and poverty-stricken place for the nation of Voulhire; the king Wilhelm, a man conflicted by the secrets he must keep; and the mysterious woman Beth, among others. The book is set in a world where there is the physical world and the word beyond, called Caromentis, where magic hails from. Much of the book is set in the town of Hillport, where Lord Eldus struggles to remove the ill effects of the two previous rulers of the region, Orlin and Meldorath. I found it to be a riveting and entertaining look at a world not like our own.
I thought We are Voulhire had excellent pacing and dramatic battle scenes. I appreciated the switching between violent combat and writing about improving the town and the people of Hillport. The description that the author used to describe environments and situations he created was quite vivid and I could easily picture events in my mind. I found the interactions between characters to be realistic and believable. I did not feel that any of the main characters were flat or underdeveloped, which I was pleased by. Even characters like Demetrius, a monk who joins Galen and his friend Rowan on a trip, were given sufficient development, and he wasn’t even in the first half of the book. I commend the author for having such a good ability at making you feel for the characters. I was moved by some of the vivid descriptions of the book, particularly a scene where Galen saw a painting of the face of God. Even the main villain, Meldorath, had a mysterious aura about him that made him compelling as a character. All in all, it was an entertaining and enthralling read, particularly the second half of the work.
I found the activities of Lord Eldus, while trying to rebuild Highport after the devastation brought upon the town by the two previous rulers, Orlin and Meldorath, to be very interesting. I have never read a fantasy book that focuses that much on domestic, peaceful affairs, and I really appreciated what the author showed us through scenes like these. The dialogue of the book was also quite good: I particularly enjoyed reading what Meldorath uttered, as well as the exchange between Eldus and Barcaedi, a military captain who guards a fortress.
I did not find all aspects of the book appealing. I found Rowan’s sense of humor to be obscene and off-putting, it didn’t feel like it fit well with the dramatic nature of other parts of the narrative. I also found Galen’s relative innocence and compassion, while endearing, to be a bit confusing-I expected a character fleeing from a land marred with poverty and violence to be a harsher and less trusting person. There were also a small number of errors that, while minor, detracted from the reading experience.
Overall, I very much enjoyed We are Voulhire. It is a book that exemplifies good, quality writing, strong characters, and an excellent plot. However, there were some aspects that I was not fond of. This, in addition to the errors I noticed in the text, leads me to rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Due to the book’s obscene and mature content, I would not recommend this to children. I would, however, strongly recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
