Review by Mtibza eM -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival un...

[Mtibza eM]

[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 by Matthew Tysz is the first book in the Voulhire series. It introduces this kingdom called Voulhire, its history, its important people; such as the king, his advisers, his greatest enemy, and most importantly, the protagonist, who has just arrived in Voulhire from a war-torn country. It is a free-flowing book that is captivating and because of its sudden ending, it left me yearning for more.

There are many characters in this book, the first one being the protagonist, Galen Bray. He is first introduced in a boat traveling to Voulhire from a war-torn country. When he arrives at Voulhire, that’s when he learns that his great uncle has just died and has left him his forge. He is to continue his great uncle’s legacy which is to be a blacksmith in the country's capital. On his first day, he acquaintance with a charismatic person called Rowan, who is Galen's great uncle’s executor and the one person who helped to find Galen and brought him to Voulhire. Rowan introduces Galen to the kingdom and helps him here and there on his late great uncle's business by searching for precious steel and just keeping him company in this new foreign place.

Another character is Meldorath, Meldorath is introduced in an prologue attacking a Lord called Orlin because of his pedophile behavior. Meldorath ended up getting bestowed Lordship by the King and ended up being Lord Meldorath. After three months though, Lord Meldorath is arrested and charged on king's order. For what, it is yet unclear. He is jailed and the rest of the kingdom is told by the king that Lord Meldorath is dead.

Later on, the position is taken by Lord Eldus, he and his family just moved on the Hillport Castle, the same one where Lord Orlin and Lord Meldorath once lived in and ruled from. Lord Eldus wants to restore the faith in the ruling of the Lords from the people by fixing what both his predecessors have broken. In so doing, he learns a lot and something big happens that threatens the whole kingdom of Voulhire.

This book is a historical, science, and fantasy fiction. There are existences of multiple universes. The physical universe, which all of this is taking place is called The Cosmos and the magical universe which very little is known about is called The Caromentis. There is also the existence of people who have powers like the ones Lord Meldorath possesses which are shown at the beginning of the book when he put them inn use to attack Lord Orlin, such people are called mages. Since it is the introductory book in the series, characters were just introduced and their backstories were detailed. Other characters such as the Princes, who didn’t appear entirely in the book but were mentioned, I am certain that their stories will get told in detail in the following books down the series. The conflicts were enough to keep me engaged and wanting to find out more about what will happen.

As I have said that there are many characters, the book is written in the first-person narrative when it switched to Galen Bray, but the rest of the other characters were written in third-person narrative. Don’t expect to have a lot of answers from reading this book as it is not standalone. Other books in the series will have to be read to get full answers but from reading this one, I can tell that a lot is about to happen in the series. I have learned that although the king is a fair man to his people, the truth is that he has made an enemy in Lord Meldorath as he has betrayed him for whatever reasons and Lord Meldorath is determined to get his revenge. Lord Meldorath has met with a person from the magical universe the Caromentis and I suspect he will be working with her to bring the king down. I also know that Lord Meldorath has escaped from the prison and people now know he is still alive and the King will have a lot of answering to do for his deception. Already I don’t trust Lord High Chancellor Midius Maido. He’s a scheming man and I fear he has desires to overthrow the king so maybe he could rule himself.

There is nothing I disliked about the book, it is filled with humor here and there, especially Rowan, the one character who brings laughter in the book. The scheming and plotting that is happening in the Soulhire, which is Voulhire's capital, is just typical in every political scene and this gave out that realistic touch. The descriptions are top-notch, as a reader, I was involved, not left out.

I rate We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies 4 out of 4 stars. The book is professionally edited as I came across no grammatical and typographical errors. The book contains few and far in between profanities but I promise you that your reading won’t get soiled, and it isn’t discriminative against one's religion. Fans of historical fiction, science fiction, and epic fantasy will find this one interesting as it blends it all. My favorite quote from the book is, “some of the greatest knowledge has come from the study of lesser things.”

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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[Eutoc]

Lord Meldorath is one of the most intriguing characters to watch. I'm glad you loved the book.

[Mariana Figueira]

I also loved it! Thanks for the great review, really.

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for your interesting review. I also appreciate the humor in this book, especially the banters between Rowan and Demetrius.

[Tarilan]

I read this book and I loved it. Am glad you loved it too. I enjoyed Galen's naivety and Lord Eldus's good nature. Thanks for the wonderful review.

[Mtibza eM]

Lord Meldorath is one of the most intriguing characters to watch. I'm glad you loved the book.

Indeed he is. Thank you for commenting!

[Mtibza eM]

I read this book and I loved it. Am glad you loved it too. I enjoyed Galen's naivety and Lord Eldus's good nature. Thanks for the wonderful review.

You have no idea how sad I was when Eldus was killed. But i am glad that the author kept us on our toes. Thank you for the comment.

[Mtibza eM]

Thanks for your interesting review. I also appreciate the humor in this book, especially the banters between Rowan and Demetrius.

Thank you for the comment.

[Dominik_G]

I've read We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies recently and couldn't agree with you more! I really liked it. Thank you for your thorough and great review!

[Yvonne Monique]

I've rated this book also 4 stars and enjoyed it just as much as you did! I hope you're enjoying the rest of the series too.