Review by lumenchristi -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of ...

Francis Aderogbin · Post by **Francis Aderogbin** » 02 Apr 2021, 13:00

[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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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko is the second book of the 'We are Voulhire' series. The plot is centred in Virko, a city founded by Lord Venden Hrelek, a wealthy immigrant in the civilized land of Voulhire. This city represents the economic centre of Voulhire because of its industrialization.

The sickly Lord Venden planned to give power to the rich local elites, and hand over the city law enforcement to an elected captain. This will undoubtedly make the Lordship title a ceremonial one. The only son of Lord Venden, Hans, was known to be a quiet lad. He rarely socialized with others and was often overlooked in the affairs of Virko. However, he has his own hidden agenda for the city. Galen Bray and his companions(Rowan and Demetrius) were also in the city of Virko, in a quest to secure a constant supply of iron to Magnum Caelum. What fate awaits the city of Virko? Will Galen and his companions achieve their aim? All the answers to these questions are buried in this awesome book.

Matthew Tysz did a wonderful job in this piece. He started with a slower pace this time, which picked up faster as the novel progressed. He developed new characters like Lord Kayden and Lord Hans in such a way that I got attracted to them quickly. I finished this book at a sitting because of the intrigue and suspense masterfully woven into the plot. Although the book can be read as a standalone. However, I will advise reading the previous book in the series for the understanding of the country and characters. The mixture of first-person and third-person narratives employed could confuse some readers. However, since the first-person is only used for Galen, it reduces the confusion and bring in more clarity. I enjoyed the style.

The book is more than just a novel in my opinion. It is also a compendium of philosophical teachings. The principles taught can also be found in the real world. There are two instances of such principles that drew my attention in the course of reading this book. The first was when Eiodi Gadesh explained the meaning of life and death during a question and answer session with some children. The second lesson was on parenting as seen in the way Lord Hans was brought up and the choices he made.

The book is exceptionally well edited because I found no notable grammatical or punctuation errors. It contains some words that I am not familiar with, which required me to temporarily abandon my reading to check for their meanings. It is not much of an issue though, so I will rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. I found nothing in this book that can make me to dislike it.

I will gladly recommend this book to the ardent lovers of sci-fi and magic thrillers.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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MsH2k · Post by **MsH2k** » 18 Apr 2021, 00:46

It sounds as if Tysz has not only created a wonderful world of Voulhire, but he has also included a compendium of philosophical teachings in this second book in the series. I enjoyed your take on this book. Thank you for your thoughtful review!

Francis Aderogbin · Post by **Francis Aderogbin** » 22 Apr 2021, 13:35

MsH2k wrote: ↑18 Apr 2021, 00:46 It sounds as if Tysz has not only created a wonderful world of Voulhire, but he has also included a compendium of philosophical teachings in this second book in the series. I enjoyed your take on this book. Thank you for your thoughtful review!

Thank you my good friend. According to him in one of his tweets, he said he sees life tangentially when writing stories. This is very evident in his books.