Review by Yvonne Monique -- We are Voulhire: A New Arriv...
Posted: 16 Nov 2020, 10:20
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]
In We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies, the author, Matthew Tysz, takes us on a journey to the magical world of Voulhire. The ‘New Arrival’ refers to the arrival of Galen Bray, who inherits the forge of his great-uncle and travels to the city of Magnum Caelum to start learning the profession of blacksmithing. Galen grew up on the Prince’s Islands, where a continuous war was going on between the 4 heirs of the emperor. Therefore, Galen was delighted to have a reason to escape his hometown and start a new, peaceful life in Voulhire. But is Voulhire really as peaceful as it appears to be?
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is the first book of a series of 6 books in total. In this first book, the reader is introduced to the intriguing country of Voulhire, its people, cities, politics, magic, and enemies. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of initial information, but as the story evolved, I became familiar with the different characters and storylines. The author used a clever way of introducing Voulhire to us, namely through the eyes of Galen, also new to this country. Many chapters are written from Galen’s point of view, and Galen’s first impressions become our impressions too.
At the start of the .pdf version of this book, the reader will find a useful map and an ‘Extended Reading’ link, which takes us to a website with a lot of additional information about the fantasy world that this series is based on. It is obvious that Matthew Tysz spent a lot of time designing Voulhire and the people who live in it. The book finishes with a reference guide with the explanation of certain words and phrases.
I really liked the author’s writing style. The book contains many beautiful phrases and descriptions. For example, when Galen feels a bit out of place in his new city, he tells us: “In a lot of ways, I wasn’t just discovering the people of Voulhire, I was discovering people in general. I was discovering me.” Or when the reader is introduced to the leader of an underground resistance movement: “For underneath this dark and quiet city was a man who liked to dance and an army that stepped to his beat.”
The only thing I dislike about this book is its shortness. The .pdf version is only 167 pages long. I did not want the story to finish, I just wanted to carry on reading. To me, it felt like a beautiful dream that I did not want to wake up from. Fortunately, there are 5 more books in the series! This book cannot really be read on its own, as it would leave too many questions unanswered.
The book is very well edited and contains only minor profanity, which is needed to define certain characters. Therefore, and because I thoroughly enjoyed this read, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I would highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers. On the contrary, if you do not like fantasy and exploring new worlds, I would not recommend this book.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies, the author, Matthew Tysz, takes us on a journey to the magical world of Voulhire. The ‘New Arrival’ refers to the arrival of Galen Bray, who inherits the forge of his great-uncle and travels to the city of Magnum Caelum to start learning the profession of blacksmithing. Galen grew up on the Prince’s Islands, where a continuous war was going on between the 4 heirs of the emperor. Therefore, Galen was delighted to have a reason to escape his hometown and start a new, peaceful life in Voulhire. But is Voulhire really as peaceful as it appears to be?
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is the first book of a series of 6 books in total. In this first book, the reader is introduced to the intriguing country of Voulhire, its people, cities, politics, magic, and enemies. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of initial information, but as the story evolved, I became familiar with the different characters and storylines. The author used a clever way of introducing Voulhire to us, namely through the eyes of Galen, also new to this country. Many chapters are written from Galen’s point of view, and Galen’s first impressions become our impressions too.
At the start of the .pdf version of this book, the reader will find a useful map and an ‘Extended Reading’ link, which takes us to a website with a lot of additional information about the fantasy world that this series is based on. It is obvious that Matthew Tysz spent a lot of time designing Voulhire and the people who live in it. The book finishes with a reference guide with the explanation of certain words and phrases.
I really liked the author’s writing style. The book contains many beautiful phrases and descriptions. For example, when Galen feels a bit out of place in his new city, he tells us: “In a lot of ways, I wasn’t just discovering the people of Voulhire, I was discovering people in general. I was discovering me.” Or when the reader is introduced to the leader of an underground resistance movement: “For underneath this dark and quiet city was a man who liked to dance and an army that stepped to his beat.”
The only thing I dislike about this book is its shortness. The .pdf version is only 167 pages long. I did not want the story to finish, I just wanted to carry on reading. To me, it felt like a beautiful dream that I did not want to wake up from. Fortunately, there are 5 more books in the series! This book cannot really be read on its own, as it would leave too many questions unanswered.
The book is very well edited and contains only minor profanity, which is needed to define certain characters. Therefore, and because I thoroughly enjoyed this read, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I would highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers. On the contrary, if you do not like fantasy and exploring new worlds, I would not recommend this book.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon