Review by aacodreanu -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival u...

[aacodreanu]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Matthew Tysz, the author of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies, was born and raised on Long Island. He owes his experience to the many jobs and professions he has exercised, of which he makes excellent use. Along with his overflowing imagination and passion for writing, this has helped him create a whole new imaginary world, this volume being just the beginning of the adventure. The author’s credo, expressed at the beginning of the book: ”I’ve always believed that chaos is the muse of creation, and a good story is often driven by the choices made in the wake of madness." could be debatable. Still, the book at hand seems to benefit from a view artfully constructed to look chaotic.

What is Voulhire? From the title, the hint of which ("We are legion") I try very hard to push away, it seems Voulhire is a population, but it can very well be the land where such live. Anyway, the reader lands in a place torn between the ambitions of rulers of the various factions and entities. There is a mention of multiverses at the very beginning, and indeed there are three worlds, the physical, the magical, and the spiritual, that intertwine and interact, more often than not displaying negative cooperation relationships. There are the mere mortals, trying to live their lives in precarious economic conditions, the rulers and their armies, and also the magi that are either enrolled to serve one or another ruler, or independent, or serving masters that are not of this world.

Each word in the title is significant for the content: the ”new arrival” refers to Galen from the Land of the Princes; he is the honest and sincere one; he comes from a place where he had led a simpler and harder life to take possession of the heritage left to him by his great uncle. I suspect him to be the main character in the volumes to come. The other thread of the story describes Lord Eldus, sent by the king to rule over a small fishermen’s town. Violence happens everywhere, and many people die like flies at attacks more vicious and devastating than any human power can create.
”Great Skies” refer to Voulhire, the richest and most civilized part of the physical world, so prone to greatness. As this is just the first volume of the series, the action here sets the scene for events to come, like an earthquake that rearranges positions and makes room for new characters by the death of others.

The characters are very diverse: there are the good and well-intended, the friendly, the insincerely friendly, like, as we are led to believe, Rowan, the great uncle’s testament executor, the good and powerful - Lord Eldus, who means well for his subjects but fails to reveal essential information about a powerful mage, Meldorath, on the (wrong) principle that what one does not know does not harm them, and many more.
The point of view is mostly impersonal, i.e., the narration is in the third person, except for Galen, who tells his own story and thus gets closer to the reader.

As mentioned before, Tysz's imagination is overflowing; he creates at least a hundred named characters, at least two dozen places, and super-natural materials and magic actions. Ranks are complicated, and each has its form of address. There is a strong contrast between the formality of the behavior in courts and the vile and sordid language perpetrators of crime and evil use.

The best part of the book is, in my opinion, the apocalyptic attack on Lord Eldus’ castle by wild but well-trained people of the north. Practically the defenders do not have any chance, they suffer rapid and violent deaths, and it all ends in a catastrophic vortex that destroys the castle but also the trees in forests and eventually flies ships in the air. The description has a cinematographic effect, and there is beauty in it.

Unfortunately, there is also too much of a good thing in the book. Too many characters and places make it hard to distinguish and remember who is who. There is a "Reference Guide", but it is at the end of the story, so the reader can only say "aha!" after they have struggled to find a hold all through reading the book. Perhaps when using a hard copy version, it would be easier to consult it and get back, than when needing to scroll up and down for the information. Also, some of the frequent terms do not appear in the Reference Guide, like ”Voulhire” and "mage".

Target readers will probably include young adults passionate about fantastic worlds – multiverses are in fashion now, but they are just hinted at in this volume, maybe as an appetizer. Also, the readers should be patient people, ready to absorb data that they know they would never use outside Voulhire. There is a lot of violence in the book; young and impressive readers should better stay away from it.

The proofreading is impressive: I could only identify three mistakes (one of which repeated (”economical” instead of ”economic”).

Given the above, I will give We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies three out of four stars. It is a great book to read, but just an opening to the next volumes, where the real story unfolds.

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

Thank you for the honest review! I agree, the whole creation is incredible

[aacodreanu]

Thank you for the honest review! I agree, the whole creation is incredible

And I thank you for your comment!

[Eutoc]

I was always uncertain what the 'Great Skies' from the title meant. Your explanation really says it all about it. I enjoyed reading your review

[aacodreanu]

I was always uncertain what the 'Great Skies' from the title meant. Your explanation really says it all about it. I enjoyed reading your review

Thank you for your feedback and the credit for the "Great Skies". It is just my opinion, the author would know better.

[Sanju Lali]

Thanks for your informative review of this book. Your review tells us the meaning of Voulhire as a population.

[aacodreanu]

Thanks for your informative review of this book. Your review tells us the meaning of Voulhire as a population.

Thanks for your comment. It is just what I understand them to be. The author knows best. I am just guessing.

[MsH2k]

I do not intend to read any of this series, but I like piecing together the storyline by reading the reviews. I truly enjoyed this review! Thank you for your thorough analysis.

[aacodreanu]

I do not intend to read any of this series, but I like piecing together the storyline by reading the reviews. I truly enjoyed this review! Thank you for your thorough analysis.

And I thank you for your comment. There are, perhaps, more enjoyable ways to spend one's time. I am still considering reviewing the next volume.