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4 out of 4 stars
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Mathew Tysz is the first book in the We are Voulhire series. It is a very interesting science fiction and fantasy book with a setting in the medieval times.
The Empire of Lullabies has suspected that his four sons, who, according to the law of their land, all have an equal claim to the throne, are planning to overthrow him. He smartly allocates an island for each prince. He further gives each of them a sizable group of armies to help them protect their new lands. But the princes are soon at war with each other. This war leaves several people dead, and a great number migrates for the kingdom of Voulhire.
The kingdom of Voulhire is the most prosperous and peaceful land of all. Its citizens are characterized by hard work and dedication towards making the kingdom great. Now, King Wilhelm of Voulhire is a very friendly and loved person. He works toward ensuring that none of the citizens suffer. But Voulhire also had enemies who I would simply call "terrorists" because of their lack of humanity; they murder innocent citizens in cold blood. The Riva Rohavi, a rebel army whose main aim is to overthrow the King and rule over Voulhire, joins with Lord Meldorath, a highly evil and powerful Marge who will stop at nothing to make sure he achieves whatever he wants. Will Voulhire survive?
Well, This is a well written book with several themes and interesting plotting. This is the exact definition of a page turner! Being only 138 pages, I must say I just read it in a single sitting! Still, on the themes, war and conflict dominates a good number of the pages. There are also themes of governance, monarchy, supernatural powers and religion. This is a character driven book where each situation, theme or topic is clearly and adequately analyzed by each character and in their own individual perspective. So, basically, the characters are this book's main strength! Anyone who loves character driven books is sure to find this one enjoyable.
I liked several things about this book. First, the editing was so good; a whole novel without any noticeable grammatical or spelling error is surely thoroughly worked on. The mixing of the third person's and the first person's point of view gave a clear picture of every event as well as character development. All these things excited me.
Although the book was generally well written, there were a few things I didn't like. The author unwound several stories but failed to merge them at the end. This proved very uncomfortable and unpleasant to me. For instance, the story of the Voulhire and that of Galen Bray were not merged at the end. This felt like reading two unrelated novels at a time. The killing of some main characters, such as the Lord Eldus of Hillport also didn't please me, but that's purely personal taste. Although there were no grammatical or spelling errors, I found some structural errors though they didn't have any impact on my reading.
Because of a nice storyline, good character development and an excellent editing, I'm glad to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to anyone who loves medieval tales especially those filled with magical powers. Anyone who hate magic, war and explicit violence scenes may find it offensive. Although the use of vulgar language wasn't dominant in this book, Rowan, a character in the story, used some of it. For that reason, it may be unsuitable for children.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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