Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies

[Lilian Kikimoe]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Hillport had gone through the rule of two wicked rulers. The first was Lord Orlin, and the second was Lord Meldorath. Both had been found wanting because they had been cruel to their people in different ways. Both had been ousted. Out of the two, Lord Meldorath was the most feared. The fear was felt by people who lived far away from Hillport. That was why his conviction brought great joy to everyone in Voulhire. Rumor had it that Lord Meldorath had been killed. However, a few knew that was false, for Lord Meldorath was living and breathing. King Wilhelm had imprisoned him in one of the most guarded prisons in Voulhire. There, Lord Meldorath planned his revenge. While this feared mage was languishing in a cell, Rowan and Galen Bray went about their business. Galen was a refugee in Voulhire who had inherited a blacksmith shop from his deceased uncle. Rowan was his friend who offered to accompany him in his purchase of iron. Something happened along the way, and they must seek a holy man from Yamon Soul to explain some things. Their journey quickly morphed into an adventure as the days passed.

We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is this book's title. I was glad to find out that it was part of a series because I love reading series. Matthew Tysz wrote it in a unique way. The way he chaptered the book was impressive. Each chapter was titled according to the character it was about. It was easy to see which character Matthew Tysz would focus on by looking at the title of the chapter alone. Another positive aspect of this book is the strong plot and character development. Some characters came into the story flying and with so much energy. An example is Lord Meldorath. I saw him display just a fraction of his magical abilities at Castle Hillport at the beginning of the story (or the prologue, to be precise). That alone excited me about reading this book. It set my mind up for great things. I was satisfied. Some other characters, like Galen, did not come in so strong. At first, I didn't even know what Galen was capable of, but as time passed, Matthew Tysz slowly showed me the kind of man Galen was.

Matthew Tysz made it very easy to fall in love with Galen. He is what I liked most about this story. He was naive in many ways, or he pretended to be. I do not know for sure yet. He seemed like a tender-hearted person, and the fact that Matthew Tysz let me see things from his point of view helped me understand him to an extent. I cannot wait to see what Galen does in the next book in this series, titled We are Voulhire.

A book is not good only when it excels in one area. I do not like a book just because it is interesting or well-edited. It has to be both. Fortunately, We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies, the first book in the We are Voulhire series, was both. I did not dislike anything about it because it was edited exceptionally, was interesting, and ended in a way that made me desire to read its sequel. It was perfect in every way I could think of and had no negative aspects. As expected, I rate We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies 5 out of 5 stars. It merits that perfect score and more.

I recommend We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies to persons who read a fantasy novel with a story that is hard to stop reading. Yes, it is that intriguing, and anyone who falls into the category above will want to read the sequel, like me.

******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon