Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies

[Tshepsyt]

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

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

We Are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz serves as a hard introduction into the world of Voulhire, its politics, its citizens and their everyday lives as well as its exceptional figures and the consequences the decisions they make have on the people of Voulhire. Immediately we are thrust into a fast paced world that already has two main plots in the works, one involving the king of Voulhire and his friends and his section of the world. It serves as an introduction into the politics governing voulhire and the systems used to judge and serve its people and the culmination of the many decisions the King has come to make regarding his subjects and his friend, the presumed dead, Meldorath. The other plot concerns Galen who has never been to Voulhire but has sought refuge there due to his homeland being war torn, his plot also serves as a foothold for many readers who’ve never read or heard of Voulhire, and thus helps us learn the world at a much slower pace than that the King’s plot would allow.

I liked the fast paced motion of scenes as well as the approach to unravelling and answering mysteries. Most answers are not given outright and you are left to connect the dots yourself and I enjoyed that as it forces us to stay longer in the world as we traverse the history given to us and try and link it to the many answers being availed to us at that moment. Fortunately, the world is not hard to understand and one isn’t bombarded with too much world building throughout, keeping a well balanced story that gave enough nuggets of world-building at appropriate times so as to enrich the world without taking away from its beauty.

Some negatives I’d highlight are the switch between first and third person narration, but that can also be seen as a positive as it paints the idea of “otherness” to the character it is used on. A lot of the telling instead of showing technique is used but in such a way that after a few chapters, I got used to it, but it did take me a few chapters to get used to it. Most emotional scenes’ potential is lost as they cannot deliver the necessary emotional punch as the fast pace of the book works against them and I was not given enough time to ruminate on their weight and significance.

I’d rate it 4 out of 5 stars. It was well edited as I rarely found any errors and I enjoyed it very much.

I’d recommended it to anyone who loves fantasy and mystery and stories that span over many books. But I’d say the straight forward progression of the plot is not for everyone as it is not as convoluted or multi-layered as of yet, for those who love epics and series, but it serves as a fantastic and fast paced yet evenly balanced introduction to a new world with rich stories left to tell.

******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Navera A]

Unfortunate that the pacing is quite fast, but I'm always happy to read a good fantasy novel with a balance between world-building and action! Thanks for the great review.