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4 out of 4 stars
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies is the first instalment in the We are Voulhire series by Mathew Tsyz. It is a fantasy novel set in Voulhire. The story begins with the migration of Galen Bray from the Land of the Princes to Voulhire to inherit his uncle's home and forge. Rowan, the executor of Galen's uncle's testament seems to be not only an executor but also a friend to the naive Galen. The Kingdom of Voulhire is facing troubled times. Wicked mages (such as Meldorath who seeks to dominate more than the physical works), cunning politicians (such as Maido the High Chancellor), and a group of rebels (Ravi Rohavi) threaten the peace and stability of Voulhire. Even the minds of the people are being invaded and manipulated. Are these islands of bubbling trouble or parts of one big disaster bidding its time?
I feel Galen's naivete is a little unrealistic because people from wartorn areas have their basic instincts hinged on survival and so they rarely trust easily. Also, the story started slowly for me and seemed to contain too much information without plot development. I feel the information could have been dispersed in the story; that would have given it a more engaging start. These are the only things I disliked about the book.
The story is mostly told in the third-person point of view with the chapters alternating between different characters. The first chapter is about Galen, and throughout the book, he is the only character whose story is narrated from the first-person point of view.
There is a decent amount of humour. I enjoyed the author's writing style. He uses a lot of figurative expressions in telling the story. There are so much suspense, political intrigue and power-lust woven into the story. In my own opinion, A New Arrival Under Great Skies makes for a wonderful opening for a fantasy series. Lots of foundations were laid, plenty of unanswered questions, and new interesting characters, like Beth, who came from another world, to explore.
I give the book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because, despite the things I disliked about it, it turned out to be a good story. I must add that I am keen on continuing the series. I also gave it a rating of 4 because I recommend it. I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading fantasy fiction and also readers of fiction that have lots of intrigues and suspense. Also, there is some profanity in the book.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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Thank you for this insightful review!
