Review by mpsmaster -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko

mpsmaster · Post by **mpsmaster** » 16 Aug 2020, 17:23

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko" by Matthew Tysz.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The world of Voulhire is back full of intrigue and enchantment. It returned with the science, the spiritual, the magic, and now we have demonic powers and alchemy on the menu. We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tysz brings Bray back to us. Our hero needs iron to place his forge into work, and he, Rowan and Demetrius (those two always make you have a lot of fun) set course to Virko. In there, they find the ruler sick, and his son getting ready to succeed with demonic ambitions. They need to execute an exorcism to fulfill a promise made that will have terrible consequences. New players come into the story, some knowing more than they demonstrate, and revelations about Hans’s past and other character's sexual preferences. I don’t know what the future will tell us about Bray, but it seems that he is a bright light in the middle of a lot of filth plots and conspiracies.

The story will get darker, bloody and intriguing as truths about characters will be revealed, bad choices will be made and many will die. We find hordes of demons, treason, guilty, corruption and a plethora of different circumstances.
An old battle becomes clear this time, a battle between those who want change and those who don’t. A struggle between those who want to be rich and those afraid to lose their riches. What is new? Capitalism. Merchants that are full of desire for increased income and liberties harbor conspiracies to bring this new system to its fruition. Virko comes to the play with its blessings and curses, darkness will find its place in many moments and will corrupt the heart of a man. Desires of those who seek only to harm, those with the intention to dominate their surroundings, and those in pursuit of multi-worlds domination will become clearer.

In the last book, we had to wait a long while for the action to begin, this time the show comes right from the entrance door. The environment of suspense and mischief is continuously keeping you breathing slowly. The narrative continues being told by Galen when he is part of the chapter and an anonymous narrator for the rest of the characters and situations. The world-building has improved a lot with beautiful descriptions with a poetical taste.

I liked the metaphors in the book that made us think about ourselves: “Sharpness comes later”, included in Galen Onita’s instructions. This makes me remember that we want results fast, sometimes they will come and sometimes don’t. You can apply this in so many ways in life, and you will find more along the journey.

I indicate this book to adult readers. The previous one I indicated for young readers also, but here more caution must be taken. Using demons as a means to obtain power, homosexuality, references to sexual abuse and promiscuity, and sexual jokes may not be suited to all audiences. There is no sex scene or deep description of the subjects mentioned, I just want to highlight that they are there. So if you don’t like these topics this may not be a book for you.

I have found no errors in the edition and I am satisfied with the way the author is building the story. So I gladly rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The end is gloomy, seems there is no light against so much darkness. Let’s see how Bray survives and fights all of this.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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ankushavhad · Post by **ankushavhad** » 25 Aug 2020, 09:02

Nice review, Mpsmaster. Thanks.
Indeed unfortunate to see the industrial capital, city of Virko, goes on Fires under the curse by the dark sided power! Galen witnesses the burns.
I did the review for the book#2 just recently. An interesting fantasy waits there.