Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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Charu Malhotra
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- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
[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 by Matthew Tysz is the first in the six books We are Voulhire series. It belongs to the sci-fi/ fantasy genre and told from a two-point perspective that of Galen Bray, who I believe is the protagonist of the story, and the narrator himself.
The story begins with the introduction of Chief magistrate Meldorath taking away the reigns of the small town of Hillport from Lord Orlin upon the allegations of pedophilia and therein, announcing himself as the new lord. Fast forward to six months later, we are introduced to the character of Galen Bray fleeing from the war ravaged Land of Princes to a city of Voulhire, Magnum Caelum and to the death of, now, Lord Meldorath.
Through each of the consecutive chapters, the author tries to fill in for this six-month gap with the help of the introduction of secondary characters and also by laying the land for Land of Princes, Hillport, Voulhire and its cities and Riva Rohavi. Though the introduction to the latter is a mere subplot to the existence of two separate universes: that of the physical world called Cosmos and that of the magic called Caromentis or the Flesh of the mind as it is referred to in the later part of the book. Thence, we get to know about the existence of mages, biomages and even imbuers. Going forward, the book only gets more complicated in elucidating such concepts and their existences. And that’s exactly where the author has remarkably tried to hold the dramatic principle of Chekhov’s gun, at least on a micro level.
Since I have read only the first book in the series, I am not sure if the narratives built on the macro level are essential to the story in its entirety or not. But as far as the ones on the micro level are considered, it’s safe to say that each one of them get their due closure. As in, when we are introduced to the character of Galen Bray, we get to know that he is able to leave his place of birth with the help of a piece of paper only. What that piece of paper was and why it encompassed enough power to allow Galen to run for better opportunities somewhere else are the few rudimentary questions answered in the later chapters. Another instance of the same principle being upheld can be traced from the question looming like a noose over our heads of whether Lord Meldorath is dead or alive as the book approaches its end.
But as far as the character of Meldorath is considered, I do want to applaud Matthew Tysz for building him into this intimidating presence without him actually being present in most of the chapters. His name is enough to instigate the ire or dread from both the characters in the book and the reader. At least, that’s how it was for me. As the book approached its end, my fear for this character only grew upon realizing what he is capable of.
All in all, I found reading this book thoroughly enjoyable so much so that I am willing to commit myself to the second book in the series too. That’s why I would like to give it 4 out of 4 rating. Though it must be noted that this book isn’t suitable for children considering all the swearing and the mention of pedophilia.
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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 by Matthew Tysz is the first in the six books We are Voulhire series. It belongs to the sci-fi/ fantasy genre and told from a two-point perspective that of Galen Bray, who I believe is the protagonist of the story, and the narrator himself.
The story begins with the introduction of Chief magistrate Meldorath taking away the reigns of the small town of Hillport from Lord Orlin upon the allegations of pedophilia and therein, announcing himself as the new lord. Fast forward to six months later, we are introduced to the character of Galen Bray fleeing from the war ravaged Land of Princes to a city of Voulhire, Magnum Caelum and to the death of, now, Lord Meldorath.
Through each of the consecutive chapters, the author tries to fill in for this six-month gap with the help of the introduction of secondary characters and also by laying the land for Land of Princes, Hillport, Voulhire and its cities and Riva Rohavi. Though the introduction to the latter is a mere subplot to the existence of two separate universes: that of the physical world called Cosmos and that of the magic called Caromentis or the Flesh of the mind as it is referred to in the later part of the book. Thence, we get to know about the existence of mages, biomages and even imbuers. Going forward, the book only gets more complicated in elucidating such concepts and their existences. And that’s exactly where the author has remarkably tried to hold the dramatic principle of Chekhov’s gun, at least on a micro level.
Since I have read only the first book in the series, I am not sure if the narratives built on the macro level are essential to the story in its entirety or not. But as far as the ones on the micro level are considered, it’s safe to say that each one of them get their due closure. As in, when we are introduced to the character of Galen Bray, we get to know that he is able to leave his place of birth with the help of a piece of paper only. What that piece of paper was and why it encompassed enough power to allow Galen to run for better opportunities somewhere else are the few rudimentary questions answered in the later chapters. Another instance of the same principle being upheld can be traced from the question looming like a noose over our heads of whether Lord Meldorath is dead or alive as the book approaches its end.
But as far as the character of Meldorath is considered, I do want to applaud Matthew Tysz for building him into this intimidating presence without him actually being present in most of the chapters. His name is enough to instigate the ire or dread from both the characters in the book and the reader. At least, that’s how it was for me. As the book approached its end, my fear for this character only grew upon realizing what he is capable of.
All in all, I found reading this book thoroughly enjoyable so much so that I am willing to commit myself to the second book in the series too. That’s why I would like to give it 4 out of 4 rating. Though it must be noted that this book isn’t suitable for children considering all the swearing and the mention of pedophilia.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
