Review by jomana_3 -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko

[jomana_3]

[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 We are Voulhire series written by Matthew Tysz. In this book, there are new characters introduced to us, and the book focuses more on Virko. A town that gives neither science nor magic any importance, the industry is all that Virko's people care about. Lord Venden Hrelek—lord of Virko—fell terribly ill, and his son, Hans, is now responsible for the upkeep of their town. Galen and his two friends—Rowan and Demetrius—visit Lord Venden in the last days of his life, to ask him for an iron supply for Magnum Caelum. In return, the Lord asks them to cleanse his house from the evil that lies within it—an evil that his son got involved with. Demetrius—Yamon Soul's monk—does whatever it takes to fulfill Lord Venden's final wish, and save Virko from the danger that awaits it. However, things go terribly wrong, and not as he expected them to be.

I liked this book more than the first book in the series. The pacing was much better, and it picked up more towards the end. The character development was exceptionally done. Many characters were flawed, they made some terrible mistakes; yet, they did some other acts of kindness. There were some characters that I could not even determine whether they were the good guys or the bad guys, and that is what I liked about them. An example of that was Lord Venden, who did some selfish acts that hurt his wife. However, he later showed the extreme guilt he felt, and how much it tortured him, and I could not but sympathize with him. Moreover, the friendship between Galen, Rowan, and Demetrius was special, and I was eager to read Galen's chapters.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was the lack of main female characters or point-of-view chapters from them. All the female characters that appeared in the book were of no importance, and they added nothing to the story. Other than that, I believe the author did a fantastic job. Furthermore, I detected only one error throughout the book, and thus, it is safe to say that it was professionally edited.

I give We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko 4 out of 4 stars. I loved it more than I had expected, and it was a quick read. Of course, my reading experience would have been much better were there some main female characters. Nonetheless, the book doesn't deserve a lower rating.

I recommend this book to people who like books with complex plots, as the story of the book is vast, and it follows many characters. In addition, the book contains discussions about science, religion, and magic. Nevertheless, the book contains profane language and some very gruesome scenes, as well as some sexual content that may be more suitable for mature readers. Therefore, I wouldn't recommend this book to people who are sensitive to such content.

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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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