Review of We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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B Johanna
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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 a sci-fi and adventure novel set in a fantasy world, the Cosmos. In this world, some have magic power due to connections with the magical world, Caromentis. There are kingdoms, kings, lords and citizens, each with different wars. The book perfectly presents what happens if only a few get the power of another world. Some use it for evil things or to rule, like biomages, but some want to heal and help people with it or use their magic for the benefit of society, just like the simple mages or the imbuers. Besides, the book also reveals some characteristics of human nature: seeing how people react to fear and realizing how powerful it can be, no matter what kind of fear. We experience how the honest ones turn into liars, the gentle ones turn violent, the brave turn weak, and their senses fade because of fear. These reactions are evoked by all sharing the fear of Meldorath and the Riva Rohavi.
There are four storylines with more sub-storylines embedded. The four main characters in the different storylines, King Wilhelm, Lord Eldus, Galen Bray and Meldorath, are radically different people with different perspectives from different social strata and histories. Although they do not know each other, their choices influence one another's life. By reading their own stories, we can understand different viewpoints and different kinds of people. We can read about the life of a king and the hard decisions he has to make for his kingdom; about the struggles of a new lord who is trying to heal the dire past of his city; a migrant from another land who comes to start a new life and find peace, and an imprisoned evil user of magic.
The characters are complex but realistic and have both bright and dark sides. Some want the best for everyone and save everybody, but soon they realize it is impossible. Some people want a happy life, not harming anyone, but the ones who want to control others at any cost don't allow them. They always start or provoke new fights and cause chaos because chaos is all they know.
I loved the well-thought-out, interesting and exciting story. With exciting actions and thought-provoking scenes, it keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. It pressures the reader to keep reading, always curious about the next chapter. It is also interesting how the author slowly uncovers more about each character, not telling everything at once to the reader. The skilled and detailed writing is very attention-grabbing. I especially loved the meticulously described and well-built fighting scenes, but overall all parts were finely detailed. I could picture every little detail in the different episodes. Besides, the author always knew when to use simple or slang language, making the book more relatable and some cases, funny.
However, although the action scenes were fantastic, I often felt that the act between two actions is sometimes irrelevantly detailed and has nothing more to add to the story. It is just there to fill the pages with something.
Though this book is just the first part of a seven-book series and has an open ending, I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this book to everyone obsessed with sci-fi, fantasy, action or adventure books. I guarantee you will have a great time reading while you can learn to understand people and their actions more.
We can gain insight into a magical and precisely built-up world with a fascinating story. The actions and plot twists make it almost impossible to put the book down, so reading it was a pleasure. Considering that I did not find any typos and the book is professionally edited, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
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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 a sci-fi and adventure novel set in a fantasy world, the Cosmos. In this world, some have magic power due to connections with the magical world, Caromentis. There are kingdoms, kings, lords and citizens, each with different wars. The book perfectly presents what happens if only a few get the power of another world. Some use it for evil things or to rule, like biomages, but some want to heal and help people with it or use their magic for the benefit of society, just like the simple mages or the imbuers. Besides, the book also reveals some characteristics of human nature: seeing how people react to fear and realizing how powerful it can be, no matter what kind of fear. We experience how the honest ones turn into liars, the gentle ones turn violent, the brave turn weak, and their senses fade because of fear. These reactions are evoked by all sharing the fear of Meldorath and the Riva Rohavi.
There are four storylines with more sub-storylines embedded. The four main characters in the different storylines, King Wilhelm, Lord Eldus, Galen Bray and Meldorath, are radically different people with different perspectives from different social strata and histories. Although they do not know each other, their choices influence one another's life. By reading their own stories, we can understand different viewpoints and different kinds of people. We can read about the life of a king and the hard decisions he has to make for his kingdom; about the struggles of a new lord who is trying to heal the dire past of his city; a migrant from another land who comes to start a new life and find peace, and an imprisoned evil user of magic.
The characters are complex but realistic and have both bright and dark sides. Some want the best for everyone and save everybody, but soon they realize it is impossible. Some people want a happy life, not harming anyone, but the ones who want to control others at any cost don't allow them. They always start or provoke new fights and cause chaos because chaos is all they know.
I loved the well-thought-out, interesting and exciting story. With exciting actions and thought-provoking scenes, it keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. It pressures the reader to keep reading, always curious about the next chapter. It is also interesting how the author slowly uncovers more about each character, not telling everything at once to the reader. The skilled and detailed writing is very attention-grabbing. I especially loved the meticulously described and well-built fighting scenes, but overall all parts were finely detailed. I could picture every little detail in the different episodes. Besides, the author always knew when to use simple or slang language, making the book more relatable and some cases, funny.
However, although the action scenes were fantastic, I often felt that the act between two actions is sometimes irrelevantly detailed and has nothing more to add to the story. It is just there to fill the pages with something.
Though this book is just the first part of a seven-book series and has an open ending, I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend this book to everyone obsessed with sci-fi, fantasy, action or adventure books. I guarantee you will have a great time reading while you can learn to understand people and their actions more.
We can gain insight into a magical and precisely built-up world with a fascinating story. The actions and plot twists make it almost impossible to put the book down, so reading it was a pleasure. Considering that I did not find any typos and the book is professionally edited, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
******
We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Tour of Duty by William H. Coles
