Review by Cindy_Botha -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival ...

Cindy_Botha · Post by **Cindy_Botha** » 18 Mar 2021, 04:02

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

4 out of 4 stars

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies written by Matthew Tysz is so much more than just your average fantasy book. It is written from the perspective of more than one character, though the main story follows Galen in particular. Galen suddenly escapes from his longtime home and goes to a whole new town. As scary as it seems, it is also exciting. And as each character is introduced, you can’t wait to see how it will all connect –and they do in the most unexpected of ways.

With most fantasy fiction books you have to use your imagination – not just to picture what is happening, but to invent something in your mind that doesn’t exist while hoping you are doing it correctly. With Matthew Tysz’ book, one can see the awesome amount of detail he put into his research and the details he describes. Sure, you still have to invent some things, but not nearly as many as other fantasy books, which is great.

Another thing that I loved was discovering the new characters as they came along. There was a noticeable balance between seeing what each of the characters thought and felt, and doing the actions with them. It was like simultaneously being inside their head and looking from the outside in. It was a unique experience.

The only thing that might have slightly been not to my taste was when he was describing a scene of the enemies’ actions. It was a bit creepy – it might just be that I am a bit sensitive to this – but I believe that is the whole point of it. So even though I felt a bit creeped out, I still have to applaud Matthew Tysz for his descriptive powers. A light example of this would be on page 144:

“… formed a staircase with their bodies like a circus act.”

As I said, this is not overly creepy, but just enough to make you extremely glad that you are not in the book at that particular moment.

I give this book 4 out of 4 stars because the book kept my attention throughout the whole story, the characters were maturely developed with great care, and each time a twist came in the book, it was completely unexpected. It was realistic enough for you to picture and understand what was happening, but fantasy enough to keep your wild imagination engaged. I personally can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

If you love reading about people and cultures of a different time – even though it is fiction – you will love this book. If you love finding connections between things you didn’t think there would be connections in, this book is for you. If you love playing a bit of detective, you will find this book very interesting. All in all, if you love a great fantasy book, this is the one for you to read.

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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