Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Posted: 13 Oct 2022, 03:58
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz tells the beginning of an enthralling story of a kingdom at odds with itself. Underneath all of the bravado of a bustling and proud nation, who have worked hard to get where they are today, are cracks in the system that are beginning to show themselves. In comparison to their neighbors in the Lands of the Princes, the Voulhirians believe they have a good life, but a certain Lord and Mage has plans to end this peaceful and prosperous time with the help of a brutal enemy of the lands. Our young and naive protagonist Galen has a lot to learn about his new home, so different from his life in the violent Lands of the Princes, and it looks like he is going to have a steep learning curve - including an introduction to the world of magic and how this is interlaced into the natural world he knows.
After an explosive prologue, writer Matthew Tysz gives in-depth backgrounds to each of the key characters within this first volume of the ‘We are Voulhire’ series, and does an excellent job of painting pictures of their lives, the lands that surround them, and the history of Voulhire itself. The personality of each character is well thought out and helps you as the reader to build your own thoughts and feelings of who you like and who is going to be the villain. I personally really enjoyed the way the writing of the story developed and shifted my opinion throughout the book - adding in details that make you realize that each character is more complex than they first seemed, leaving you with a sense of wonder of what will come next and how this will affect the lives of all involved.
As I read through from beginning to end, I felt like the author took some time to warm up during the process of writing this book. Although the prologue really caught my attention, there were then a couple of chapters where the wording felt a bit clumsy as descriptive words were used repetitively to explain something. However, as the book moves on this happened less and less, and I felt like Matthew Tysz really found his flow.
I would give We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies 4 out of 4 stars and would definitely recommend it to others who enjoy fantasy fiction novels. I give this rating as, by the end of the book, I am invested in reading more about our protagonist and his journey through Voulhire; I am left wondering how the stories of the main characters will intertwine and what the outcome of this will be, and so I am looking forward to reading the next installment. The lack of flow in the beginning chapters is long forgotten by the middle of this novel and is negligible in comparison to the positive aspects.
In regards to recommended audience, I would suggest this book to 16+ year-old fantasy fiction-loving readers, who are interested in magic and lands set in a time where common folk live modestly while their lords live lavishly, and where magic plays an integral part in life. I say 16+ years-old as there are a couple of times where profanity and sexual content are used. I found no errors in the book, showing that it has been professionally edited.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz tells the beginning of an enthralling story of a kingdom at odds with itself. Underneath all of the bravado of a bustling and proud nation, who have worked hard to get where they are today, are cracks in the system that are beginning to show themselves. In comparison to their neighbors in the Lands of the Princes, the Voulhirians believe they have a good life, but a certain Lord and Mage has plans to end this peaceful and prosperous time with the help of a brutal enemy of the lands. Our young and naive protagonist Galen has a lot to learn about his new home, so different from his life in the violent Lands of the Princes, and it looks like he is going to have a steep learning curve - including an introduction to the world of magic and how this is interlaced into the natural world he knows.
After an explosive prologue, writer Matthew Tysz gives in-depth backgrounds to each of the key characters within this first volume of the ‘We are Voulhire’ series, and does an excellent job of painting pictures of their lives, the lands that surround them, and the history of Voulhire itself. The personality of each character is well thought out and helps you as the reader to build your own thoughts and feelings of who you like and who is going to be the villain. I personally really enjoyed the way the writing of the story developed and shifted my opinion throughout the book - adding in details that make you realize that each character is more complex than they first seemed, leaving you with a sense of wonder of what will come next and how this will affect the lives of all involved.
As I read through from beginning to end, I felt like the author took some time to warm up during the process of writing this book. Although the prologue really caught my attention, there were then a couple of chapters where the wording felt a bit clumsy as descriptive words were used repetitively to explain something. However, as the book moves on this happened less and less, and I felt like Matthew Tysz really found his flow.
I would give We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies 4 out of 4 stars and would definitely recommend it to others who enjoy fantasy fiction novels. I give this rating as, by the end of the book, I am invested in reading more about our protagonist and his journey through Voulhire; I am left wondering how the stories of the main characters will intertwine and what the outcome of this will be, and so I am looking forward to reading the next installment. The lack of flow in the beginning chapters is long forgotten by the middle of this novel and is negligible in comparison to the positive aspects.
In regards to recommended audience, I would suggest this book to 16+ year-old fantasy fiction-loving readers, who are interested in magic and lands set in a time where common folk live modestly while their lords live lavishly, and where magic plays an integral part in life. I say 16+ years-old as there are a couple of times where profanity and sexual content are used. I found no errors in the book, showing that it has been professionally edited.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon