Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Posted: 05 Oct 2022, 22:05
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]
Galen Bray had lived a very difficult life in the Lands of the Princes, where neither food nor security was ever assured, until he recieved a letter with an unbelievable invitation to the prosperous land of Voulhire. In Voulhire, Galen finds himself relatively rich, with a new home, and a better life ahead of him, however, all is not well in the kingdom. A power-struggle between the King and a powerful, merciless mage disrupts the peace in Voulhire, and certain individuals contrive to unleash the impending chaos on the world. How does Galen fit into this new world, and what role will he ultimately play in the salvation, or destruction of it?
We Are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies was a fantastic start to the We Are Voulhire series, written by Matthew Tysz. The author mentioned his intention to structure the first book like the first episode of a series, and I believe he pulled this off flawlessly. With expert pacing and tension control, the author delivered the story so efficiently that I was nearing the end before I even realized it. Galen Bray, the main character, is the primary narrator of this story, through whose eyes, the reader witnesses what life in Voulhire looks like to the uniformed residents, but through a separate lens, the author reveals the intricacies of the kingdom and the unrest bubbling beneath, the volatile political atmosphere, the practice of magic in Voulhire, and the detailed structure of the society. This push-and-pull was also flawlessly executed and made for a truly entertaining reading experience.
I most enjoyed the world-building in this book. Every page showed the author’s painstaking attention to detail, and I’m almost overwhelmed to think about how much time he must have spent crafting such a well-planned universe. On the other hand, some portions of the dialogue gave me pause. Although this book seems to be set in a unique and separate world, the story suffered a few "real world" influences, especially within the dialogue. One example would be when, during a conversation, a character used the word "slut". This, and other similar instances felt too modern to me, given the setting and the presumed timeframe of the story. That said, this was not a very troublesome feature, and with nothing else to dislike about this book, it’s a discrepancy I am willing to forgive.
The writing was not the most poetic. The author opted for undecorated, straight-to-the-point language in telling this story, but the story did not require much else, thus, this style worked well enough. The text also seems to have been edited professionally and I did not encounter any errors while reading.
My rating of We Are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies is 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy fantasy with detailed world-building and lots of characters, though, it is only suitable for mature audiences.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Galen Bray had lived a very difficult life in the Lands of the Princes, where neither food nor security was ever assured, until he recieved a letter with an unbelievable invitation to the prosperous land of Voulhire. In Voulhire, Galen finds himself relatively rich, with a new home, and a better life ahead of him, however, all is not well in the kingdom. A power-struggle between the King and a powerful, merciless mage disrupts the peace in Voulhire, and certain individuals contrive to unleash the impending chaos on the world. How does Galen fit into this new world, and what role will he ultimately play in the salvation, or destruction of it?
We Are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies was a fantastic start to the We Are Voulhire series, written by Matthew Tysz. The author mentioned his intention to structure the first book like the first episode of a series, and I believe he pulled this off flawlessly. With expert pacing and tension control, the author delivered the story so efficiently that I was nearing the end before I even realized it. Galen Bray, the main character, is the primary narrator of this story, through whose eyes, the reader witnesses what life in Voulhire looks like to the uniformed residents, but through a separate lens, the author reveals the intricacies of the kingdom and the unrest bubbling beneath, the volatile political atmosphere, the practice of magic in Voulhire, and the detailed structure of the society. This push-and-pull was also flawlessly executed and made for a truly entertaining reading experience.
I most enjoyed the world-building in this book. Every page showed the author’s painstaking attention to detail, and I’m almost overwhelmed to think about how much time he must have spent crafting such a well-planned universe. On the other hand, some portions of the dialogue gave me pause. Although this book seems to be set in a unique and separate world, the story suffered a few "real world" influences, especially within the dialogue. One example would be when, during a conversation, a character used the word "slut". This, and other similar instances felt too modern to me, given the setting and the presumed timeframe of the story. That said, this was not a very troublesome feature, and with nothing else to dislike about this book, it’s a discrepancy I am willing to forgive.
The writing was not the most poetic. The author opted for undecorated, straight-to-the-point language in telling this story, but the story did not require much else, thus, this style worked well enough. The text also seems to have been edited professionally and I did not encounter any errors while reading.
My rating of We Are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies is 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy fantasy with detailed world-building and lots of characters, though, it is only suitable for mature audiences.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon