Review by Ivvie Ivanova -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of...
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Review by Ivvie Ivanova -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of...
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko" by Matthew Tysz.]
We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tyzs is the second installment in the We are Voulhire fantasy series. In this book, we meet new characters, learn more about Voulhire's internal affairs, and about the world of magic Caromantis. The situation in Voulhire starts heating up and the characters are faced with more intrigue, powerplay, loss, new friendships, and enemies.
The second novel maintains the pacing of the first part of the series in the way it presents and reveals the world of Voulhire and beyond. Learning about the characters and their affairs always feels right and never like there is too much or too little information at any particular moment. Everything is artfully written and crafted.
As with the first book, chapters pick up in several different places around Voulhire and follow characters in the present and sometimes the past. One chapter even follows a character in another dimension, which was a fascinating read. The descriptions conveyed the emotions and experiences of the character perfectly. It was strangely relatable to real life, although it was about a non-physical world. All of that is so well mixed together, that it repeatedly gave me the kind of cliffhanger experience that makes me love a series even more.
I love how diverse the characters are! In my opinion, they cannot be shoved in the standard categories for casts. For example, although Galen Brey is considered the main character, personally, I don't think there is a main character. All of the characters are so robust and hold so much promise that, to me, they are equally "main".
My favorite thing about the book is easy to pinpoint: there is always a secret. Everyone has a secret or will soon enough.
My least favorite thing is the mentions of sexual assault. The r-word can be stumbled upon several times and that is always a highly unpleasant thing for me, personally. I believe it's essential to mention this to any potential reader as a trigger warning even though there is nothing explicit and graphic. The only plus to the mentions is that it reminds readers that Voulhire is not nearly as perfect as it can seem at times. It is deeply flawed and there are monsters, both human and otherwise.
Speaking of monstrosities, there is a good bit of gore and murder. Some of it even poetic and artistic in its execution. Pun intended.
I recommend the series to anyone who loves a good fantasy and characters that have some meat to them. If you're highly sensitive to violence or cannot keep up with jumping POVs and complex interactions maybe skip on this one.
As with the first book, I rate this one 4 out of 4 stars because it is once again beautifully written, the cast is more complex and fascinating than any I've read recently, and the web of intrigue is only growing more tangled and delicate. This is not a story one could explain in a few paragraphs and I love that. I cannot wait to read part three! This is steadily becoming my favorite fantasy series!
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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tyzs is the second installment in the We are Voulhire fantasy series. In this book, we meet new characters, learn more about Voulhire's internal affairs, and about the world of magic Caromantis. The situation in Voulhire starts heating up and the characters are faced with more intrigue, powerplay, loss, new friendships, and enemies.
The second novel maintains the pacing of the first part of the series in the way it presents and reveals the world of Voulhire and beyond. Learning about the characters and their affairs always feels right and never like there is too much or too little information at any particular moment. Everything is artfully written and crafted.
As with the first book, chapters pick up in several different places around Voulhire and follow characters in the present and sometimes the past. One chapter even follows a character in another dimension, which was a fascinating read. The descriptions conveyed the emotions and experiences of the character perfectly. It was strangely relatable to real life, although it was about a non-physical world. All of that is so well mixed together, that it repeatedly gave me the kind of cliffhanger experience that makes me love a series even more.
I love how diverse the characters are! In my opinion, they cannot be shoved in the standard categories for casts. For example, although Galen Brey is considered the main character, personally, I don't think there is a main character. All of the characters are so robust and hold so much promise that, to me, they are equally "main".
My favorite thing about the book is easy to pinpoint: there is always a secret. Everyone has a secret or will soon enough.
My least favorite thing is the mentions of sexual assault. The r-word can be stumbled upon several times and that is always a highly unpleasant thing for me, personally. I believe it's essential to mention this to any potential reader as a trigger warning even though there is nothing explicit and graphic. The only plus to the mentions is that it reminds readers that Voulhire is not nearly as perfect as it can seem at times. It is deeply flawed and there are monsters, both human and otherwise.
Speaking of monstrosities, there is a good bit of gore and murder. Some of it even poetic and artistic in its execution. Pun intended.
I recommend the series to anyone who loves a good fantasy and characters that have some meat to them. If you're highly sensitive to violence or cannot keep up with jumping POVs and complex interactions maybe skip on this one.
As with the first book, I rate this one 4 out of 4 stars because it is once again beautifully written, the cast is more complex and fascinating than any I've read recently, and the web of intrigue is only growing more tangled and delicate. This is not a story one could explain in a few paragraphs and I love that. I cannot wait to read part three! This is steadily becoming my favorite fantasy series!
******
We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
