Review by MichelleMuchiri -- We are Voulhire: A New Arri...

[MichelleMuchiri]

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

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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 book in We are Voulhire series that is written by Matthew Tysz. It is a science-fiction novel that transports the reader through the physical world named Cosmos and the magical one named Caromentis. It is from Caromentis that some characters came to interfere with the lives of those in Cosmos in pursuit of their desires. It is with this visit by the mages from Caromentis, that the evil men in political positions learnt the magical tricks and adopted them into the region in the most unethical and malicious ways. Voulhire, one of the countries in the region of Cosmos, was the victim of several mysterious and dishonourable events, despite the fact that it was an economic stronghold.

It is worth noting that the novel is divided into two stories. One story talks about Galen, a young man who has experienced to great extents poverty, loneliness coupled with chaos from the endless war in the land of the Princes. No hope is however lost because after 28 years of Galen’s vain existence, his life is transformed when his rich uncle named Galen as the sole heir to his estate. The other story focuses on the political, economic and social entities of Voulhire and how these entities fuel the day to day events in Voulhire.

The book was surprisingly delightful and I must say I liked quite a number of things about the book. First, at the beginning of the book there is a map that has laid out all the geographical locations of the cities thus making it easier to form a mental picture of where everything is taking place and where the characters are travelling to as the story unfolds. How the author was able to present the characters in a believable and relatable way, is one of my favourite thing in the book. I could feel their emotions and see myself in their thoughts. Every character was introduced in an original manner that switched up the story to the extent I could not possibly predict the way forward. The story development was fueled by suspense that made me torn between finishing the book very quickly and savouring it just to live off every word.

For what it is worth, there are just a few things I would have hoped Matthew Tysz would have focused on. I would have loved to see a detailed description of the protagonist character, Galen, since most of the story is told from his perspective. Just as there was a map at the beginning of the story, it would have been much easier for me as the reader, if there was a list of characters that would help the reader know who those characters are from the start and how they are contributing to the story.This would be particularly helpful since the characters in this book had difficult names for me, as the reader, to keep up with or recall.

After all is said and done, I unreservedly rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I am not a fan of sci-fi, but this book drew me deeper and deeper into the story making me feel as if I was experiencing everything I was reading. As much as the book was based on fantasy, it relates to some of the current issues we face as the world- power and greed- which makes it relevant to our daily struggles.

In my opinion, I would not recommend this book to children or a sensitive audience since the novel contains vivid descriptions of violence and murder. For religious people kindly note that there are just a few references to expletives that you may find offensive. Naturally, the book would be a banger for readers who love medieval set ups, political history and fantasy, however,I would highly recommend it to anyone searching for thrill and stories out of the ordinary world.

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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