Who would you trust, the town Mayor or Rowan?

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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Teletha
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Who would you trust, the town Mayor or Rowan?

Post by Teletha »

Following Galen's journey, we saw him settle in Magnum Caelum. He met the town mayor who welcomed him warmly. He then encountered his uncle's executor, Rowan, whom he owed his new life. But these two don't seem to get along. If you are Galen, who would you trust?

I found myself gone back in forth between the two when I was reading the story. How about you?
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Post by Sou Hi »

To be frank, I doubted Rowan's objective a little, too. It seemed he tried to stick with Galen for another unknown reason. But the conflict between Rowan and the mayor has nothing to do with that. The mayor hated Rowan because of Rowan's history with his daughter. That's a personal issue, and Galen knew this. There's no reason for him to trust or distrust any of them. Both of them helped him a lot, and his concern would be whether he could repay them.
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Post by xsquare »

I honestly distrusted Rowan a little at first (the author didn't really go into a lot of detail about how Rowan actually 'found' Galen in the Lands of the Princes), so I thought it seemed kind of weird that he was still hanging around instead of going back to his job at Soulhire.
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Post by Rodel Barnachea »

I'd stick with town mayor. I believe Rowan has some ulterior motives. Also, his offensive, upsetting language is a red flag of his true character.
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Post by luchi123 »

I would trust Rowan for as long I need him to help me. This is because he was honest about the money kept for Galen. I also liked his determination to get some of the valuable rock despite all odds, and the metal needed by goldsmiths. He may have had ulterior motives, but I think he would always let it be a 'win-win' situation with Galen.
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Post by Ellylion »

I don't trust Rowan at all, frankly speaking. He is not a trustworthy character for me. Galen and Demetrius are good, and Rowan not that much, in my opinion.
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Post by Larkspur »

At first, I would have trusted the mayor. After Rowan was asked about the tension between him and the mayor and he replied honestly I would then trust him. But throughout the story, Rowan seems to have skeletons in his closet so I'm not sure who to trust.
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Post by Krista Ash »

I think the mayor is a more honorable man, but I think Rowan's charisma would persuade me to trust him more as a friend.
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Post by Krista Ash »

aaurba wrote: 03 Oct 2020, 04:15 I'd stick with town mayor. I believe Rowan has some ulterior motives. Also, his offensive, upsetting language is a red flag of his true character.
I agree with your description of Rowan. I'm not as concerned about Rowan's ulterior motives since I suspect he might be a bit lonely and perhaps an outcast due to his questionable actions in the bigger city. I do think his language and somewhat careless treatment of woman would make me question the value of his friendship.
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Post by Teletha »

Rowan really comes up as someone who have ulterior motives. I felt that Galen needed to be wary of him.

But for some reason, I really like him. He's very funny and outspoken. He's a lady's man, he likes to banter offensively, but he knows the limit. For me, the funniest part of the story is whenever the Mayor and Rowan is in the same room. Very funny.

Hopefully, Rowan hasn't fooled me :) :P
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Post by blackjack1 »

Rowan, in my opinion, is not trustworthy. not much is known about him and he hides many secrets. I don't know about the mayor since he rarely features.
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Post by Marloo »

Rowan seems to have alternative motives for hanging around with Galen, although we don’t get informed about them. The Mayor does not seem to have those, but then again, not everything is what it seems like, especially in Voulhire. I would be careful with both of them.
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Post by Sou Hi »

Krista Ash wrote: 03 Oct 2020, 14:50
aaurba wrote: 03 Oct 2020, 04:15 I'd stick with town mayor. I believe Rowan has some ulterior motives. Also, his offensive, upsetting language is a red flag of his true character.
I agree with your description of Rowan. I'm not as concerned about Rowan's ulterior motives since I suspect he might be a bit lonely and perhaps an outcast due to his questionable actions in the bigger city. I do think his language and somewhat careless treatment of woman would make me question the value of his friendship.
I agree. It's not clearly shown in the first book, but Rowan does act like a lonely child who craves love in the sequels. But I think he is quite honest in his talks with Galen. I do find him suspicious trying to stick to Galen, but I doubt he has any reasons to harm Galen. It's Galen's uncle who came to Rowan and not the other way around, after all.
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Post by Sou Hi »

luchi123 wrote: 03 Oct 2020, 07:15 I would trust Rowan for as long I need him to help me. This is because he was honest about the money kept for Galen. I also liked his determination to get some of the valuable rock despite all odds, and the metal needed by goldsmiths. He may have had ulterior motives, but I think he would always let it be a 'win-win' situation with Galen.
That's right. Frankly, Rowan could just tell Galen's uncle that he didn't find his nephew, or he couldn't get Galen into Voulhire. No one would ever doubt him, as everyone knew how dangerous it was at the Lands of the Princes. Yet he did everything to help Galen, even down to the paperwork. It's solely thanks to Rowan that Galen could achieve his new life.
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Post by Reader 05 »

Rowan seems to be hiding something, however, he has helped Galen throughout his journey. The Mayor seems more trustable though, so I would most definitely trust the Mayor.
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