We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies: Alternating Points of view

Use this forum to discuss the October 2020 Book of the month, "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.
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Marty_Kelly
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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival Under Great Skies: Alternating Points of view

Post by Marty_Kelly »

Most of the story is told in the third-person point of view with the chapters alternating between different characters. Did you like this style? Do you think it added extra depth to the story?
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Post by Valkyrie9 »

I love it when an author alternates between his characters. It allows the reader to understand things from each character's perspective in a way that would otherwise be impossible if the story were told solely from one character's point of view. I also enjoyed that Galen's part of the story was told in the first-person - it made it clear that this is his story.
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Post by Marty_Kelly »

Valkyrie9 wrote: 01 Oct 2020, 01:50 I love it when an author alternates between his characters. It allows the reader to understand things from each character's perspective in a way that would otherwise be impossible if the story were told solely from one character's point of view. I also enjoyed that Galen's part of the story was told in the first-person - it made it clear that this is his story.
Yes, I enjoyed Galen's part too and it made me more curious to know how things turn out for him. I also agree with you about the added level of understanding that comes with different viewpoints. Thanks
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Post by rahilshajahan »

The book was a mix of first-person and third-person perspective interwoven beautifully. The story shifts beautifully when I one character's chapter ends and the new character will probably be the one talking to the earlier person. Its nice; I liked it.
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Post by AnnOgochukwu »

I think the alternating point of view was one of the best features of this book. It painted a clearer and more elaborate picture of Voulhire, it also helped me to understand and sympathize with the characters better. Indeed it added depth to the book. Telling Galen's story in the first-person perspective kinda sets him out as the protagonist, although his main purpose in the story is yet to be revealed.
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Post by Ashliicat »

I really liked the mix of third and first point of veiw. I would have loved to read more chapters with Galen though because I connected with those the best. I loved that the name of the character we were following was at the start of each chapter as well as it made me start guessing where each chapter was going to go.
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Post by Ellylion »

I like this style of writing, because it allows us to look deeper into the events and to understand them better :) It adds a touch of psychological prose to this sci-fi/fantasy novel, in my opinion.
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Post by Marty_Kelly »

AnnOgochukwu wrote: 01 Oct 2020, 06:41 I think the alternating point of view was one of the best features of this book. It painted a clearer and more elaborate picture of Voulhire, it also helped me to understand and sympathize with the characters better. Indeed it added depth to the book. Telling Galen's story in the first-person perspective kinda sets him out as the protagonist, although his main purpose in the story is yet to be revealed.
The alternate method of narration is really effective in helping readers relate more to the story. Galen's first person perspective truly made him a primary focus.
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Post by Marty_Kelly »

Ashliicat wrote: 01 Oct 2020, 10:29 I really liked the mix of third and first point of veiw. I would have loved to read more chapters with Galen though because I connected with those the best. I loved that the name of the character we were following was at the start of each chapter as well as it made me start guessing where each chapter was going to go.
When I was younger I especially liked reading stories told in the first-person so I can relate with wanting to read more chapters on Galen. And yes the names of characters at the start of the chapter kept one guessing but Tysz is good at unpredictable stories and plot twists.
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Post by a_r_egerton »

I like the alternating viewpoints, too. Since Galen is so new to Voulhire, he's limited in what he can tell us about it. He's certainly not going to know anything about the politics or the government. Adding chapters told from the perspective of characters like Lord Eldus or King Wilhelm help rectify that lack.
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Post by Laura Britos »

Marty_Kelly wrote: 01 Oct 2020, 01:39 Most of the story is told in the third-person point of view with the chapters alternating between different characters. Did you like this style? Do you think it added extra depth to the story?
I actually though that this was very interesting resource to use in the story. It allowed the reader to connect with each character because you could see their perspective and somehow I felt like I got to know them.
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Post by xsquare »

I didn't mind the style, but I'm not sure if it added any extra 'depth' to the story in terms of Galen specifically. I'm not sure if the book would have been very different if the author had chosen third person for his scenes as well.
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Post by Sou Hi »

I have no problem with that, and I think it's quite useful. The series has a lot of characters, so if one character narrates their own part, we know that this one (will) plays a bigger part in the book than the rest.
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Post by Justjaal_ »

I´m really not comfortable with that style of narrative (I even tried reading GOT and it didn´t work for me), but since the story is good and short, I gave it a try, it´s a little bit confusing at first but I think I can get used to it.
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Post by Krista Ash »

a_r_egerton wrote: 01 Oct 2020, 15:32 I like the alternating viewpoints, too. Since Galen is so new to Voulhire, he's limited in what he can tell us about it. He's certainly not going to know anything about the politics or the government. Adding chapters told from the perspective of characters like Lord Eldus or King Wilhelm help rectify that lack.
I agree with your thoughts. Even if Galen could somehow learn about all the politics that are happening in Voulhire, he wouldn't know some of the secrets only higher ranking political figures like King Wilhelm, Maido, and Eldus know (like the Riva and Meldorath).
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