Review by rozan1 -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under...
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rozan1
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- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
Review by rozan1 -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under...
[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
Matthew Tysz
This is my first book review ever. I have not read any examples of other book reviews and hence do not have any idea on how my review will compare in subject information or quality for that matter. I am also beginning to think that not sampling some good book reviews was not a very good idea. Anyways, on with the review.
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is the first book in a fantasy series which will ultimately consist of nine parts. This first part takes place mainly in the country of Voulhire, which is in rapid progression in terms of wealth, culture and technology. It has been described as being in its ‘Golden Age’ which is an apt description as we find examples of progress and advancement written about in most areas of the book. In terms of technology, we find that Voulhire is in its industrial revolution phase – with the invention of steam powered engines being the new way of transporting heavy goods and that these engines are very expensive machinery.
Our journey starts with the protagonist, Galen Bray, a refugee from one of the four war-torn islands called Land of the Princes. All his life, Galen has only known poverty, starvation and strife. But he strikes it lucky when he gets a chance to immigrate to Voulhire, a much prosperous country and he sets off immediately without second thoughts via a long and arduous sea journey. Now many readers will surely notice the parallels to the current world situation regarding the issues relating to the current plight of migrants and I am not sure if the author intentionally inserted this subplot or if it was simply part of his original storyline. Nevertheless, I was glad that the migrant issue was highlighted. Galen is somewhat naive of the ways of the new country he has immigrated to as well as some bits of the island he came from but he seems to be a quick learner and makes friends everywhere he goes. We can tell he will have a big role to play in the series but it is not still clear as to what that will be.
The author has created a vast fantasy world in Voulhire, quite huge in scope and it is not unlikely that the reader might feel a bit overwhelmed taking in all of the elements in this vast world. It is reminiscent of other fantasy series such as the Dark Tower or even George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones. Although it is not fully evident in the first part of this series, the reader does get an idea of the world events to come. As per the author's own words, the first part is more like an 'episode' rather than a full motion picture or a full season of a show. Along with the protagonist Galen, we are also introduced to a host of characters that will obviously play major roles in the books to come. Not all of these characters have good motives however, and their character arcs may very well change over time as the author has placed a thin veil of obscurity over them such that the reader cannot yet be sure of each character's motives and end game.
The kingdom of Voulhire, in its golden age is not without enemies. There is a kind of terrorist organization, the Riva Rohavi, who are as old as Voulhire and its goal is the destruction of Voulhire itself. Even though the last major attack from them was generations ago, they are still active and the first book kind of ends with a renewed attack on Voulhire.
This is a world where magic exists. There are wizards, biomages and a religion called the Church of Destinism. There are terrifying monsters, horrifying spells of apparitions and a powerful wizard supposed to be dead as informed to the nation of Voulhire but is actually not. All magic derives from a spiritual universe that is different from the physical universe that Voulhire exists in. Concepts of Science & technology plays with spirituality & religion; and sometimes there is an overlap between the two. The author has beautifully weaved these concepts into the storyline leaving the reader undecided, as yet, what to root for.
The book is a very easy read and I did not feel exhausted while reading it (something that happened in the case of the Dark Tower). I wholly agree with the author when he states that this book was lovingly and very carefully edited and it shows when you read it. It seemed to be professionally edited with myself not having noticed any typos or errors. There is no profanity in the book per se, however there are some adult themed concepts such as child abuse, references to rape and sexuality. I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 13 or so. I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book - it was well paced, the characters fleshed out and interesting, any fantasy book lovers will easily feel an instant connection with them.
Having finished this book, I now look forward to reading the rest of the series as I understand four or five parts are already released. I would be glad to review other parts of this series and having said that, I can only rate this book four out of four stars! I find absolutely no reason to rate it any less and hope that the other parts of the series will be as interesting as this one. To the young author I say a job well done!
(Review ID 27350)
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
Matthew Tysz
This is my first book review ever. I have not read any examples of other book reviews and hence do not have any idea on how my review will compare in subject information or quality for that matter. I am also beginning to think that not sampling some good book reviews was not a very good idea. Anyways, on with the review.
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is the first book in a fantasy series which will ultimately consist of nine parts. This first part takes place mainly in the country of Voulhire, which is in rapid progression in terms of wealth, culture and technology. It has been described as being in its ‘Golden Age’ which is an apt description as we find examples of progress and advancement written about in most areas of the book. In terms of technology, we find that Voulhire is in its industrial revolution phase – with the invention of steam powered engines being the new way of transporting heavy goods and that these engines are very expensive machinery.
Our journey starts with the protagonist, Galen Bray, a refugee from one of the four war-torn islands called Land of the Princes. All his life, Galen has only known poverty, starvation and strife. But he strikes it lucky when he gets a chance to immigrate to Voulhire, a much prosperous country and he sets off immediately without second thoughts via a long and arduous sea journey. Now many readers will surely notice the parallels to the current world situation regarding the issues relating to the current plight of migrants and I am not sure if the author intentionally inserted this subplot or if it was simply part of his original storyline. Nevertheless, I was glad that the migrant issue was highlighted. Galen is somewhat naive of the ways of the new country he has immigrated to as well as some bits of the island he came from but he seems to be a quick learner and makes friends everywhere he goes. We can tell he will have a big role to play in the series but it is not still clear as to what that will be.
The author has created a vast fantasy world in Voulhire, quite huge in scope and it is not unlikely that the reader might feel a bit overwhelmed taking in all of the elements in this vast world. It is reminiscent of other fantasy series such as the Dark Tower or even George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones. Although it is not fully evident in the first part of this series, the reader does get an idea of the world events to come. As per the author's own words, the first part is more like an 'episode' rather than a full motion picture or a full season of a show. Along with the protagonist Galen, we are also introduced to a host of characters that will obviously play major roles in the books to come. Not all of these characters have good motives however, and their character arcs may very well change over time as the author has placed a thin veil of obscurity over them such that the reader cannot yet be sure of each character's motives and end game.
The kingdom of Voulhire, in its golden age is not without enemies. There is a kind of terrorist organization, the Riva Rohavi, who are as old as Voulhire and its goal is the destruction of Voulhire itself. Even though the last major attack from them was generations ago, they are still active and the first book kind of ends with a renewed attack on Voulhire.
This is a world where magic exists. There are wizards, biomages and a religion called the Church of Destinism. There are terrifying monsters, horrifying spells of apparitions and a powerful wizard supposed to be dead as informed to the nation of Voulhire but is actually not. All magic derives from a spiritual universe that is different from the physical universe that Voulhire exists in. Concepts of Science & technology plays with spirituality & religion; and sometimes there is an overlap between the two. The author has beautifully weaved these concepts into the storyline leaving the reader undecided, as yet, what to root for.
The book is a very easy read and I did not feel exhausted while reading it (something that happened in the case of the Dark Tower). I wholly agree with the author when he states that this book was lovingly and very carefully edited and it shows when you read it. It seemed to be professionally edited with myself not having noticed any typos or errors. There is no profanity in the book per se, however there are some adult themed concepts such as child abuse, references to rape and sexuality. I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 13 or so. I did thoroughly enjoy reading this book - it was well paced, the characters fleshed out and interesting, any fantasy book lovers will easily feel an instant connection with them.
Having finished this book, I now look forward to reading the rest of the series as I understand four or five parts are already released. I would be glad to review other parts of this series and having said that, I can only rate this book four out of four stars! I find absolutely no reason to rate it any less and hope that the other parts of the series will be as interesting as this one. To the young author I say a job well done!
(Review ID 27350)
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Ace John
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This seems a book I might like. You have explained it well that I know what to expect from it. Nice review!
Jesus is Lord.
(Romans 10:9)
(Romans 10:9)
