Review by umigatari -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
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umigatari
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Review by umigatari -- We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko" by Matthew Tysz.]
After the devastating attack on the small town of Hillport, the focus shifts to the prosperous city of Virko in Voulhire. We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tysz is the second instalment to the series “We are Voulhire.” Our protagonist Galen continues to settle into his new home at Magnum Caelum. As he is still on the journey to becoming a blacksmith, Galen is in need of some iron to further expand his business. With the near decimation of Hillport, the resources have been taken by Virko. To give the town of Magnum Caelum any hope of developing, he will have to travel with his friends to the industrious city and make some deals.
The author did a wonderful job of expanding the universe. Not only is there the physical world and the magical world, but there is a spiritual world too. Each of them seem to coexist with a sense of balance. The spiritual world and how religion plays into the lives of many characters was something I found to be particularly intriguing. It was very interesting to see how the city of Virko contrasted the rest of Voulhire. The differences of philosophy and lifestyles provided a lot of insight as to what the people of Virko want for the future of their city.
In terms of the characters in the story, the cast continues to grow but it never gets to the point where I’m confused as to who is who. Each character is very distinguishable in their motives and in their appearances. Galen and his friends were delight to read about as always. There is something about their easy friendship that adds to the charm of their adventure. As for the antagonists, old and new, they certainly make their mark on the world and are given the right amount of attention for us to understand their ambitions.
This is just nitpicking but if there was one thing that I would say I dislike about the story, it would be that there isn’t enough of Galen. I understand that Voulhire is quite a large country and Galen is only one person, but as the protagonist of the entire series I was hoping that we would be able to see more of him. If his impact on this world as a whole is minimal or nonexistent, then wouldn’t the role of the protagonist be better given to a different person? He is not a weak character by any means. I would just like to see him getting more involved in combating all of the corruption of Voulhire.
I give We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko a 4 out of 4 stars. This book does a great job of succeeding the series’ first installment and expanding on what had previously been set up. We are able to know more of the different worlds and different areas of Vouhire, rounding out the nation even more than before. In addition to that, the book seems to be professionally edited with no grammar mistakes.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has already read the first installment and wants to know more of what happens to Galen and Voulhire as a whole. This book is also great for anyone who likes reading fantasy stories with an emphasis on politics. The story does depict rather graphic scenes of violence and so anyone who may be uncomfortable with that may not want to pick this story up.
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We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
After the devastating attack on the small town of Hillport, the focus shifts to the prosperous city of Virko in Voulhire. We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko by Matthew Tysz is the second instalment to the series “We are Voulhire.” Our protagonist Galen continues to settle into his new home at Magnum Caelum. As he is still on the journey to becoming a blacksmith, Galen is in need of some iron to further expand his business. With the near decimation of Hillport, the resources have been taken by Virko. To give the town of Magnum Caelum any hope of developing, he will have to travel with his friends to the industrious city and make some deals.
The author did a wonderful job of expanding the universe. Not only is there the physical world and the magical world, but there is a spiritual world too. Each of them seem to coexist with a sense of balance. The spiritual world and how religion plays into the lives of many characters was something I found to be particularly intriguing. It was very interesting to see how the city of Virko contrasted the rest of Voulhire. The differences of philosophy and lifestyles provided a lot of insight as to what the people of Virko want for the future of their city.
In terms of the characters in the story, the cast continues to grow but it never gets to the point where I’m confused as to who is who. Each character is very distinguishable in their motives and in their appearances. Galen and his friends were delight to read about as always. There is something about their easy friendship that adds to the charm of their adventure. As for the antagonists, old and new, they certainly make their mark on the world and are given the right amount of attention for us to understand their ambitions.
This is just nitpicking but if there was one thing that I would say I dislike about the story, it would be that there isn’t enough of Galen. I understand that Voulhire is quite a large country and Galen is only one person, but as the protagonist of the entire series I was hoping that we would be able to see more of him. If his impact on this world as a whole is minimal or nonexistent, then wouldn’t the role of the protagonist be better given to a different person? He is not a weak character by any means. I would just like to see him getting more involved in combating all of the corruption of Voulhire.
I give We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko a 4 out of 4 stars. This book does a great job of succeeding the series’ first installment and expanding on what had previously been set up. We are able to know more of the different worlds and different areas of Vouhire, rounding out the nation even more than before. In addition to that, the book seems to be professionally edited with no grammar mistakes.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has already read the first installment and wants to know more of what happens to Galen and Voulhire as a whole. This book is also great for anyone who likes reading fantasy stories with an emphasis on politics. The story does depict rather graphic scenes of violence and so anyone who may be uncomfortable with that may not want to pick this story up.
******
We are Voulhire: The Fires of Virko
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: The Knights of Chalethire by Matthew Tysz
