Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies

[Mbali Qalinge]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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"It was an ordinary night until the yard was filled with the sound of a dozen swords sliding from their sheaths." This very first sentence of the prologue is riveting and promises an exciting fantasy adventure that will make your imagination run wild. We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz begins with a vivid description of an unseen force attacking a castle. Guards and dogs stand on alert as a blue-clad magistrate comes into view and demands to see Lord Orlin. The magistrate radiates power as he dispatches all the guards in his way and confronts Lord Orlin for his crimes against children. The magistrate brings justice to the town of Hillport and becomes the feared Lord Meldorath. Meldorath is just one of the key people of power in Voulhire, and through third-person narration, we learn about the others and on what side, good or bad, they fall under. The first-person narration is from the point of view of Galen, a young boy from the Lands of the Princes who has known war for as long as he can remember. When he finds out that he is the heir to his great uncle's business, Galen is quick to flee from his homeland onto a ship headed to Voulhire. Galen doesn't fit into the power dynamics of kings and lords in Voulhire, but he’s new to this country filled with magic, so we as readers get to learn this new world along with him.

I’m not one to read fantasy books often because I think that they can become too unrealistic and far-fetched. Matthew Tysz's universe turned out to be very believable even with men who wield magic and can do the impossible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Voulhire, its people, and the magic world that exists beyond them. We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies perfectly introduces the "We are Voulhire" series and leaves the reader wanting more.

There are a lot of things that I liked about the book. Firstly, the characters were well developed, each with a unique personality. I appreciated Galen’s kindness, Lord Eldus’s attentiveness, and Rowan’s sense of humor. Matthew Tysz must have taken a lot of time to construct Voulhire and all its elements, from its unique religion down to the different steel found in the country. I liked how through Galen’s eyes and curiosity, I got to learn more about Voulhire. I also liked the pace of the book. It wasn’t too fast and helped to keep track of all the characters. The glossary at the end of the book was also very helpful in understanding Voulhirian terminologies.

There’s nothing that I disliked about the book. It deserves the four out of four stars that I rate it. It was easy to read, had an enjoyable storyline, and had great characters. I can say that it was well edited because I found no errors. There are vivid descriptions of violence, profanity, and sexual jokes, but these things don’t make the book any less enjoyable.

I recommend the book to fantasy readers who love reading about new universes filled with magic. I wouldn’t recommend it to sensitive readers because there are vivid descriptions of violence and murder scenes.

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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[Jacqui Halimana]

I think every avid reader will tell you they appreciate a book whose characters are well-written and not marginalised to be generic extras existing for the sake of the main characters. Throw in magic and fantasy themes and I am sold. I think i will be giving this series a try. Thank you for the great review.

[Ohna Martin]

Crimes against children are atrocious. But that is still not enough to get me reading adventure fantasy it is a great review though.

[Ilze Herholdt]

We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is a riveting and promises book. An exciting fantasy adventure that will make your imagination run wild. Thanks for your review.

[Avishi]

Your review is thorough and well-organized. The well-developed characters are the highlight of this storyline, as some of them have their own chapter with their own point of view. I enjoyed reading your review.

[Phooko Tebogo PC]

The book is such a page turner, I even feel the thirst to read the next books of Voulhire novel that follows. It definitely deserves a complete rating.