Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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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.]
Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
I had no idea what this book was about other than that it is of the fantasy genre, my usual reading fare, which is why I gave it a go. The book was quite a whirlwind of information about the fascinating world of Voulhire and its terminologies, so the link given at the intro to explain this world's history and the glossary at the end was helpful to, and much appreciated by, yours truly.
The story goes that the one known as the Emperor of Lullabies, in a move to prevent his four sons from a conspiracy to dethrone him, gave each of them a small chain of islands which were beautiful and prosperous. But eventually the princes' greed brought a decades long civil war and in turn penury to the humans living in the Land of the Princes. We first see Galen escaping these lands when the opportunity to do so presented itself and follow his journey through Voulhire, a thriving world rich in history and culture, resources, spirituality, and magic. For Galen, someone determined to make the best out of an unexpected inheritance from an uncle, Voulhire is a place to have a chance of a better life. But, as with any developed country with a diverse set of citizens, Voulhire is not without its host of problems.
The prologue and the mysteries around it with Lord Meldorath and Lord Orlin in Hillport caught my interest right off the bat. Although a few pages past the beginning chapters, and I should note that this always happens to me when I read a new book, there were some points I found a bit slow and confusing. I did have to check back to the map at times for location changes in the story and reread some parts to better perceive things that were going on. But this being the first book in the series, it is quite understandable. Of course, as I read on, I soon immersed myself in the book.
Most of the characters had individually complex personalities and were so believable in their motivations that I was empathetic to some and irritated or scared of others. I guess the author’s self-confessed love for people watching coupled with an extraordinary imagination is pretty evident in these crafted characters. Politics, intrigues, and power plays by the greedy or the righteous or those capable of magic and the effects of these on ordinary people drove the story along but it was written in a way that wasn’t tedious to read or that you wouldn’t think to just skim through the details, instead it drew you more into the world of Voulhire and even beyond it. A lot of the events that happened here were presented through different points of view, jumping from first person to third person which initially gave me pause, but as I got the hang of it and realized that these multi points of view help to give a better grasp of the situation in Voulhire and the brewing turmoil caused by, among other things, divisive and belligerent individuals, it was smooth reading all the way.
From Galen’s perspective, the author lets us see his guileless reaction to being in a new place as he journeyed through the country. Galen offered a refreshing outlook from the cynical and, at times, indifferent views of the other characters who were native to Voulhire. As for Lord Meldorath, he represents the oldest kind of fear to mankind, which is fear of the unknown. His character was written with ample mystery to keep one wondering whether he can be trusted or not. Maybe he’s a victim of the king’s political maneuvering or maybe he really is an evil mage. Is he or is he not? To be wary or not? I still cannot decide, despite what happened to Lord Eldus that had me gasping in shock. On a side note, let me just say, I will not be looking at "dancing" the same way again. I didn’t know whether to laugh at all the dancing being described or fear what was about to happen. It was riveting to read.
The quality of the editing for this book was excellent. There were no typos or grammar errors that I could point out. There was a suggestion of abuse on children, sexual innuendos in some dialogues and minimal profanity but, I think, nothing so alarming to warrant a warning.
Overall, the book is very well conceived and engaging to the imagination. I give this a 5 out of 5 rating and I would recommend this to those who love the science fiction/fantasy genre. Now that the groundwork has been laid out in this first book, I look forward to reading the next books and find out how Galen, Lord Meldorath, Wilhelm and the other notable characters will evolve from the maelstrom of events that transpired at the end.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
I had no idea what this book was about other than that it is of the fantasy genre, my usual reading fare, which is why I gave it a go. The book was quite a whirlwind of information about the fascinating world of Voulhire and its terminologies, so the link given at the intro to explain this world's history and the glossary at the end was helpful to, and much appreciated by, yours truly.
The story goes that the one known as the Emperor of Lullabies, in a move to prevent his four sons from a conspiracy to dethrone him, gave each of them a small chain of islands which were beautiful and prosperous. But eventually the princes' greed brought a decades long civil war and in turn penury to the humans living in the Land of the Princes. We first see Galen escaping these lands when the opportunity to do so presented itself and follow his journey through Voulhire, a thriving world rich in history and culture, resources, spirituality, and magic. For Galen, someone determined to make the best out of an unexpected inheritance from an uncle, Voulhire is a place to have a chance of a better life. But, as with any developed country with a diverse set of citizens, Voulhire is not without its host of problems.
The prologue and the mysteries around it with Lord Meldorath and Lord Orlin in Hillport caught my interest right off the bat. Although a few pages past the beginning chapters, and I should note that this always happens to me when I read a new book, there were some points I found a bit slow and confusing. I did have to check back to the map at times for location changes in the story and reread some parts to better perceive things that were going on. But this being the first book in the series, it is quite understandable. Of course, as I read on, I soon immersed myself in the book.
Most of the characters had individually complex personalities and were so believable in their motivations that I was empathetic to some and irritated or scared of others. I guess the author’s self-confessed love for people watching coupled with an extraordinary imagination is pretty evident in these crafted characters. Politics, intrigues, and power plays by the greedy or the righteous or those capable of magic and the effects of these on ordinary people drove the story along but it was written in a way that wasn’t tedious to read or that you wouldn’t think to just skim through the details, instead it drew you more into the world of Voulhire and even beyond it. A lot of the events that happened here were presented through different points of view, jumping from first person to third person which initially gave me pause, but as I got the hang of it and realized that these multi points of view help to give a better grasp of the situation in Voulhire and the brewing turmoil caused by, among other things, divisive and belligerent individuals, it was smooth reading all the way.
From Galen’s perspective, the author lets us see his guileless reaction to being in a new place as he journeyed through the country. Galen offered a refreshing outlook from the cynical and, at times, indifferent views of the other characters who were native to Voulhire. As for Lord Meldorath, he represents the oldest kind of fear to mankind, which is fear of the unknown. His character was written with ample mystery to keep one wondering whether he can be trusted or not. Maybe he’s a victim of the king’s political maneuvering or maybe he really is an evil mage. Is he or is he not? To be wary or not? I still cannot decide, despite what happened to Lord Eldus that had me gasping in shock. On a side note, let me just say, I will not be looking at "dancing" the same way again. I didn’t know whether to laugh at all the dancing being described or fear what was about to happen. It was riveting to read.
The quality of the editing for this book was excellent. There were no typos or grammar errors that I could point out. There was a suggestion of abuse on children, sexual innuendos in some dialogues and minimal profanity but, I think, nothing so alarming to warrant a warning.
Overall, the book is very well conceived and engaging to the imagination. I give this a 5 out of 5 rating and I would recommend this to those who love the science fiction/fantasy genre. Now that the groundwork has been laid out in this first book, I look forward to reading the next books and find out how Galen, Lord Meldorath, Wilhelm and the other notable characters will evolve from the maelstrom of events that transpired at the end.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
