Review by Fireside119 -- We are Voulhire: A New Arrival ...

[Mercy Bolo]

[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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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz is a sci-fi/fantasy novel that is the first installment of the We are Voulhire series. The book’s setting is the kingdom of Voulhire, a fictional land in which muggles and mages coexist.

The protagonist is Galen Bray, a refugee who flees his war-torn homeland to take over his great-uncle’s business. He embarks on a cumbersome sea voyage and arrives at his destination to begin a new life. He is presented as a sincere but somewhat broken character since he’s known nothing but strife his whole life. The culture shock he experiences in his new home livens the storyline and the geopolitics of the Voulhirian kingdom is the backdrop to Galen’s story.

What I liked most about the book is that the many themes covered provide relevant lessons that transfer well from the fictional world to the real world. The power struggles and the conflict between good and evil exist in every society, and that was heightened by the looming threat of an evil dictator (Lord Meldorath) who was spoken of in hushed tones. Overpowered by empathy, I often wondered why the powerful mages wouldn’t use their abilities to erase society’s problems. I quickly realized that a utopia isn’t what the author was going for.

Economic prosperity (or lack thereof) is the spotlight of every leader’s legacy, and the Lords of the kingdom were also judged by this metric. The new leaders vow to right the wrongs of their predecessors, which made me more invested in their progress. The clash between religion and tradition also popped up and I was curious to see how the mages would adapt to the changing ecosystem.

Overall, the book is well-written and the only thing I didn’t like about it is that the PDF version I received contained no page numbers. However, the story flows smoothly with interesting twists that enlighten the reader. I appreciate that at the beginning of each chapter is a heading that hints at its contents. This was especially helpful when new characters and scenes were introduced. I also enjoyed the author’s play on words since I picked up some new vocabulary. The author’s creativity shone in the naming of places with words like Odaimar, Soulhire, and Virko. These got somewhat confusing, but there is a detailed map at the beginning of the book for reference. What I also found useful is the ten-page reference guide at the end of the book which expounds on the book’s vocabulary. I would suggest that readers go through it before reading the book since that will minimize confusion.

Since the pros outweigh the cons, I will award this book a rating of four out of four stars because a lower rating would be an injustice. The text seems to have undergone professional editing since I found no grammatical errors. I would recommend the book to lovers of fantasy stories and fans of historical dramas.

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

I enjoyed reading this book, especially the humourous parts!
I also like the names of the places, and I'm glad they're easy to pronounce (thus, easy to remember).
Thanks for your review.

[63tty]

I also reviewed this book. I liked it. I had nothing bad to say about it.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

Welcome to Voulhire! I hope you will continue to discover what's next for Galen and his friends. I loved your observation regarding the useful lessons that can be learned even from a fantasy setting. Great review!

[sharon titus]

We are Voulhire by Matthew Tysz is one of my favorite series. The awesome trio and their breath taking adventures are worth a read. Very interesting and informative review. Thank you for your hard work.

[Durgeshwari Dolas]

Wow a very descriptive and well written review there mate! Thank you for your review!

[The Holy Grail]

It's amazing you view Meldorath as a dictator, but he is more of a mystery. I enjoyed the book, too though.