Review by Elizabeth Lets -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of V...

Mokhantso Letsela · Post by **Mokhantso Letsela** » 30 Jan 2021, 08:02

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

4 out of 4 stars

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tysz is the second entry in his science fiction series, We are Voulhire. In this instalment, we are given a more detailed look at the rich industrial city, Virko, and learn how it came to be. Galen finds himself needing to travel Virko to try and acquire iron for his work and coincidentally, it is the hometown of his new friend and employee, Demetrius. Together with Galen’s friend, Rowan, the trio travels to the wealthy city with high hopes. As luck would have it, the trio arrive just in time to make a deal with Lord Venden who is on his death bed; in return, he asks that they rid his son of his troubles. While trying to execute the dying wish of the old man, Demetrius unleashes great doom on the town and all who live in it.

Back in Hillport, the situation does not seem any better as Lord Meldorath and his loyal followers have taken possession of the royal castle, leaving its people to starve to death. It is here the rogue wizard-lord forges an ambitious plan to rise to even greater power. This instalment sees the rise of new and evil players in the south of the country and leaves the reader wondering what will happen next. Will evil prevail or will order be restored in the country of Voulhire?

Once again, Matthew Tysz has gifted us with an amazing, well written, well-edited and highly imaginative novel to sink our teeth into. This time around though, I feel like the ending of the novel is such a cliffhanger, which I love. I enjoyed all the twists and turns narrated by the author and often found myself wide-eyed with intrigue and unable to put the book away. I always felt in the dark as to what would happen next and I found that this made me not only enjoy the book but also become more invested in the characters and their separate journeys, sharing with them their experiences as they happened. As with the first book, I enjoyed that this novel is organised not in chapters but scenes and that you do not know when your favourite character’s scenes will appear next. I also loved the switch in narration from a first person point of view to third-person narration.

As much I would like to say that I did not have any dislikes as far as the book goes, that would be dishonest. In the book, the author narrates that the Eiodi, a brilliant man and head of the holy church, sent guards well trained in combat, to go and investigate suspicious magical activity in Hillport and on Lorcia’s Isle, where a powerful a mage was imprisoned. I find this to be out of character of the man that I have known to be wise and calculative. Such a man would not send soldiers into a situation they are ill-prepared for. If anything, I feel the Eiodi would send men with magical capabilities, or go and investigate the matter himself. I also struggled a bit with the use of modern items and language, but then accepted that the author could describe his made-up world however he wished.

Be that as it may, I am giving this book a perfect rating of 4 out of 4 stars because my I loved it enough to overlook the issues the things I did not like about it. I found that I enjoyed this instalment more I did the first one. I cannot wait to get started on the next book

I did not find any grammatical errors in this book as it was meticulously edited. There is some profanity in the book but my personal opinion is that it is in line with the period. It does, however, make it unsuitable for children to read. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy medieval literature with a bit of magic and politics.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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