Review by ShiraReads -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko

[ShiraReads]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko" by Matthew Tysz.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko is the second book of the series by Matthew Tysz. It is a science-fiction book which blends both fantasy and mystery in an absolutely thrilling way.

Dark magic is causing havoc in Voulhire lands. The violent insurgents, the Riva and Rohavi have returned and attacked Hillport leaving Lord Eldus, his family and almost half the residents of Hillport slaughtered. Meanwhile, Galen and his newfound friends go to Virko looking for a contract to assure them access to iron. Galen wishes to use his blacksmith skills to help in developing Magnum Caelum. The attack on Hillport interferes with a good deal of iron supply from Alcosia to Magnum Caelum, where Galen owns a forge that he inherited from his deceased uncle. Virko is the most productive city in Voulhire and yet it is progressively getting caught up in church politics and reforms.

Hans Hrelek (known as Folcro), the son of Lord Venden Hrelek, was an evil hermit. He secretly studied old books of spiritual content written by authors who had been branded dangerous by the church. Even while on his death bed, Lord Venden was a troubled man because of Folcro’s controversial actions and interests. Folcro had bounded a demon in Rendenhide’s undercroft. No one knew why he did that but Lord Venden was concerned about its eviction from undercroft. When Galen and his friends, Rowan and Demetrius meet the dying Lord, he asks for a favor involving a frightening task. He pleads with them to release the bounded demon. Will they succeed?

The author has a talent for creating new worlds which are very real and dynamic. However, even though the story is set in a new world, the author has provided a clear map of Voulhire, showing every little detail you could ask for. This is one of my favorite parts about the book. The characters are well-developed which makes you get attached to them in a short span of time. The story is written in both first and third person narrative styles. This gives us different points of view. The book contains loose ends, no story is complete which keeps the reader hooked to this series.

This book is filled with intriguing political play, psychology and philosophy. It is a character driven novel, packed with action, refreshing and pragmatic dialogues between characters and shrewd descriptions of magical activities. The many themes used throughout this book are leadership, magic, religion and industrialization. It also showcases the advantages and disadvantages of capitalism and moral degradation of society.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is exceptionally well edited as I came across no errors. There is nothing to dislike about this book. However, it involves vulgarism and mild nudity. Therefore I would not recommend it to children. The story is very well written and captivating. It is well suited for all mystery readers.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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[Mariana Figueira]

Thank you for the thorough review!