Review by NetMassimo -- We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 07 Mar 2021, 10:22

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End" by Matthew Tysz.]

4 out of 4 stars

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We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End by Matthew Tysz is the third book of a fantasy saga and follows We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko. After the events in Virko, Galen and his friend travel to Voulhire's capital city, Soulhire, to obtain an audience with King Wilhelm. However, His Majesty's attention is focused on the problem of refugees coming from the Land of the Princes. The situation gets more complicated when Soulhire comes under attack from multiple enemies.

This saga is a big story divided into a number of books, and you need to start from the first one. It has some typical elements of fantasy stories with a medieval flavor, magic, and creatures of various types. Matthew Tysz adds elements that are a bit different, closer to our world: in this book, it's a refugee crisis with a contrast of opinions within Voulhire between those who think they should help the refugees and those who consider them parasites coming to steal Voulhire's resources.

The refugee crisis is just one of the reasons for unrest. Old and new threats seem ready to strike in a book that expands that fictional world adding new characters who turn out to be significant for the plot. There are also new developments about the protagonists already present in the previous books. A greater use of the first person for Galen's point of view offers new insights about him.

We also discover more about Meldorath's plans. He's the main villain, and Matthew Tysz is slowly developing his character, with his backstory as well. I'm appreciating the choice of revealing all of that slowly because the author is offering some surprises connected to him in each book.

A lot happens in this book, and Matthew Tysz shows again his skills. He makes great use of details to describe the characters' actions, moods, feelings, and emotions. He also uses details to offer information about the various threats to Voulhire and some characters' agendas without resorting to exposition and infodump.

Despite the number of events, this novel is really short, under 200 pages. I understand it's the shortest of the whole series. After reading the first two books, it was easy to get back into its setting, still I felt I barely had the time to meet its characters again that it was over! I tried reading it slowly, like when I eat slowly a dish I like so that I can savor it. In this book's case, the "portion" was small. Matthew Tysz is focusing the books on specific parts of the big story, so I understand why some of them are particularly short but it's something I don't like. It's a very personal opinion, as I prefer longer books. If you share my opinion, my recommendation is to read at least two books of this saga together.

There are a few mild sexual references, while you can find non-borderline profanity throughout the novel, but it's all stuff that an average teenager hears every day. For this reason, I think this saga is suitable for teenagers who want to read a complex story. However, some gruesome moments might upset readers who are sensitive to gore. In We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End, Matthew Tysz continues a great development of this saga. This novel is exceptionally well edited, as I found no errors at all, so I'm happy to rate it 4 out of 4 stars. If you want to read a fantasy saga set in a world full of magic, I recommend this one.

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We are Voulhire: Someone Else's End
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Mariana Figueira · Post by **Mariana Figueira** » 13 Mar 2021, 14:50

Out of all the books of the series (at least the ones I've read), this is my least favorite one. I' gland you enjoyed it though. Thanks for the lovely review!

unamilagra · Post by **unamilagra** » 13 Mar 2021, 16:46

This is such an intriguing series that I have been meaning to get into. I'm glad you enjoyed this book and I also understand why you wish it was longer. Great review!

Post by **kandscreeley** » 13 Mar 2021, 18:16

I haven't seen anyone discuss the refuge element in these books. It's extremely interesting and very apropos. Still, I'm not much into his style. Thanks.

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 13 Mar 2021, 18:20

MarianaFigueira wrote: ↑13 Mar 2021, 14:50 Out of all the books of the series (at least the ones I've read), this is my least favorite one. I' gland you enjoyed it though. Thanks for the lovely review!

That means that I expect more greatness from the other sequels.

Thank you for your appreciation!

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 13 Mar 2021, 18:21

unamilagra wrote: ↑13 Mar 2021, 16:46 This is such an intriguing series that I have been meaning to get into. I'm glad you enjoyed this book and I also understand why you wish it was longer. Great review!

What are you waiting for? Start it already!

Thank you for your appreciation!

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 13 Mar 2021, 18:23

kandscreeley wrote: ↑13 Mar 2021, 18:16 I haven't seen anyone discuss the refuge element in these books. It's extremely interesting and very apropos. Still, I'm not much into his style. Thanks.

That theme seemed important in the book. Thank you for commenting, even if your taste makes you less appreciative of this series.

Nicholus Schroeder · Post by **Nicholus Schroeder** » 13 Mar 2021, 18:45

Glad you enjoyed the book, Tysz out-did himeself with the Voulhire series, good review

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 14 Mar 2021, 02:30

Nicholus Schroeder wrote: ↑13 Mar 2021, 18:45 Glad you enjoyed the book, Tysz out-did himeself with the Voulhire series, good review

The Voulhire series is the first of his works I read. After finishing it, I'm curious to read more of his works. Thank you for your appreciation!

Rayah Raouf · Post by **Rayah Raouf** » 14 Mar 2021, 11:56

I wonder if the majority of people would like the books if they were longer. I don't mind either honestly. As long as it's done well. Thank you for your review!

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 14 Mar 2021, 13:21

RayRuff wrote: ↑14 Mar 2021, 11:56 I wonder if the majority of people would like the books if they were longer. I don't mind either honestly. As long as it's done well. Thank you for your review!

I have no statistics about readers' preferences concerning book length, so I can't really say. Thank you for your appreciation!

Yvonne Monique · Post by **Yvonne Monique** » 14 Mar 2021, 14:44

I love your comparison of slowly eating a tasty dish, that's how I feel too when I read a book I immensely enjoy. I agree with you about the book being too short. The author could easily have combined a couple of books in one installment.

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 15 Mar 2021, 02:41

Yvonne Monique wrote: ↑14 Mar 2021, 14:44 I love your comparison of slowly eating a tasty dish, that's how I feel too when I read a book I immensely enjoy. I agree with you about the book being too short. The author could easily have combined a couple of books in one installment.

The author made his choice for certain reasons. You can agree or not but there's a logic behind that choice. Thank you for commenting!

SamaylaM · Post by **SamaylaM** » 16 Mar 2021, 03:13

The fact that Matthew Tysz packed so many actions, tensions, feelings, and emotions under 200 pages surely speaks of his writing skills. Thank you very much for your elaborate and engaging review!

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 16 Mar 2021, 07:36

SamaylaM wrote: ↑16 Mar 2021, 03:13 The fact that Matthew Tysz packed so many actions, tensions, feelings, and emotions under 200 pages surely speaks of his writing skills. Thank you very much for your elaborate and engaging review!

He can really take advantage of the use of details to offer so much. Thank you for your appreciation!