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4 out of 4 stars
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Galen Bray is a young man from the Land of the Princes, a war-torn country. He had experienced war and starvation for 20 years since he was 8. Fortunately, he received a letter from his great uncle, who was sick and close to death, asking him to come to Magnum Caelum, a town in Voulhire. Unfortunately, when he arrived, his uncle had already died but left him a house and a blacksmith trade. With the help of a manual and his uncle’s executor, Rowan, he began to discover new things about blacksmithing and Voulhire. Shortly before Galen arrived in Voulhire, a series of events led to the arrest of Meldorath, a mage who had mastered the art of magic and used it at the expense of the people he was placed to lead. This lead to a series of events in Hillport and Voulhire as a whole. How does Galen fit into this narrative, and what role will he have to play in solving the mysteries of Voulhire?
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is the first novel in the Voulhire series. It is an action-filled thriller. The story was written from a first-person perspective in the case of Galen Bray, and also from a third-person perspective, which focused on King Wilhelm, Lord Eldus, Meldorath, and a few others. The author was able to shift the narrative perspective from one character to another, providing a well-rounded narrative of events happening simultaneously.
The book had a fast pace, and it was a great read. I liked everything about it. The plot was unique, and the scenes were well explained, which made it an easy read. The author did so much on the character development of Galen Bray, who was portrayed as a slow learner, naive, and completely oblivious of the activities in his new environment. I was so much into the book; it almost felt like I was a citizen of Voulhire as I watched the events unfold. I was particularly taken by the dialogues. They were very entertaining to read, and I found myself laughing at so many points. However, some terms and places in Voulhire were quite difficult to pronounce and stick, but the author provided a glossary of terms, concepts, and names at the end of the novel.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. It was so good that I couldn’t fault it. The book was well edited, and I found no punctuation or grammatical errors. There were no sex scenes, but I did find a few profanities. It contained a lot of violent scenes, which may be quite upsetting for some readers.
This book was well written, and I’ll say perfect. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars wholeheartedly. It was refreshing to read, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I recommend this book to readers who appreciate action-filled thrillers. However, it won’t appeal to highly sensitive readers since it contains a lot of violent and upsetting scenes.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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