Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Posted: 13 Sep 2024, 10:29
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]
This excellent fantasy novel We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is a well-written and highly engaging book filled with themes of magic, politics, and survival. Galen takes a breath of fresh air as he has now escaped starvation and death by the sword in his homeland, the lands of the princes, and boards a boat headed for magnum Caelum in Voulhire, courtesy of his uncle, whom he had never met but who owns a forge in Voulhire but had no heir and had now named Galen as his sole heir. Galen takes us on an adventure right from the boat to Voulhire with the old man with long white beards, who gave details of several cities in Voulhire to his audience in a bid to entertain them. The old man didn’t seem to know anything about the land Galen was venturing into. Therefore, he had to go and find out for himself what the city of Magnum Caelum and Voulhire holds for him.
According to Marshus, the son of the new Lord of Hillport, Lord Eldus, Lord Meldorath, once a friend to the king of Voulhire, although ambitious, was a man known for justice, at least to those who do not know the whole story, since he brought the sins of Orlin the then lord of the Hillport against children to the limelight. However, the rumors are that they had an understanding and cohabited until Orlin found out about his unethical experiments with magic and tried to use that as an opportunity to take Hillport solely for himself by threatening to expose him, not realizing Meldorath knew of his atrocities as well and acted first.
King Wilhelm of Voulhire arrested Meldorath after spying on him secretly, and now rumor has it that he took his own life at sea, but so many still believe and speculate that he is still out there and is being held prisoner by the king. Could he indeed still be alive? Can the king have such a powerful mage prisoner? Could all the rumors leading to his arrest and supposed death be true? Read this book and find out.
I liked that the king of Voulhire, even being so powerful, didn't possess absolute power; there were still measures and a set of people in place known as the order of Menora to checkmate his use of power and succession so that not just anyone can lay claim to the throne of Voulhire. Even though King Wilhelm felt unease with the presence of Lord Chancellor Midius Maido, the head of the Mianoran council, as he had his ambitions for the throne and was always looking for ways to make the king look bad in the eyes of his subjects, I liked the tension between both men as it added more thrill and drama to the book.
I recommend this book to those who like books about magic and fantasy lands. I'm rating it 5 out of 5 stars because I disliked nothing about it. The book is also well-written and exceptionally well-edited.
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
This excellent fantasy novel We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is a well-written and highly engaging book filled with themes of magic, politics, and survival. Galen takes a breath of fresh air as he has now escaped starvation and death by the sword in his homeland, the lands of the princes, and boards a boat headed for magnum Caelum in Voulhire, courtesy of his uncle, whom he had never met but who owns a forge in Voulhire but had no heir and had now named Galen as his sole heir. Galen takes us on an adventure right from the boat to Voulhire with the old man with long white beards, who gave details of several cities in Voulhire to his audience in a bid to entertain them. The old man didn’t seem to know anything about the land Galen was venturing into. Therefore, he had to go and find out for himself what the city of Magnum Caelum and Voulhire holds for him.
According to Marshus, the son of the new Lord of Hillport, Lord Eldus, Lord Meldorath, once a friend to the king of Voulhire, although ambitious, was a man known for justice, at least to those who do not know the whole story, since he brought the sins of Orlin the then lord of the Hillport against children to the limelight. However, the rumors are that they had an understanding and cohabited until Orlin found out about his unethical experiments with magic and tried to use that as an opportunity to take Hillport solely for himself by threatening to expose him, not realizing Meldorath knew of his atrocities as well and acted first.
King Wilhelm of Voulhire arrested Meldorath after spying on him secretly, and now rumor has it that he took his own life at sea, but so many still believe and speculate that he is still out there and is being held prisoner by the king. Could he indeed still be alive? Can the king have such a powerful mage prisoner? Could all the rumors leading to his arrest and supposed death be true? Read this book and find out.
I liked that the king of Voulhire, even being so powerful, didn't possess absolute power; there were still measures and a set of people in place known as the order of Menora to checkmate his use of power and succession so that not just anyone can lay claim to the throne of Voulhire. Even though King Wilhelm felt unease with the presence of Lord Chancellor Midius Maido, the head of the Mianoran council, as he had his ambitions for the throne and was always looking for ways to make the king look bad in the eyes of his subjects, I liked the tension between both men as it added more thrill and drama to the book.
I recommend this book to those who like books about magic and fantasy lands. I'm rating it 5 out of 5 stars because I disliked nothing about it. The book is also well-written and exceptionally well-edited.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon