Fire Study by Maria V Snyder

Copyright: 2008
Pages: 441

This is the third and final book in the Study series. I have to say I was a little bit disappointed as I thought this book would follow a similar format to the others. The first one was Poison Study and it was about Yelena's job as a food taster for the Commander of Ixia. In the second book Yelena goes to learn about her magical ability with the magicians in Sitia. I thought the third book would be about Yelena studying fire, but it really was a continuation of Magic Study and Yelena's journey to become a Soulfinder.

In this book you will find plenty of action and suspense, especially in the last 200 pages. The problem I thought this book had was that it was action driven, not character driven so the emotional connection established in the other books was lacking. All your favourite secondary characters from the other books had very little interaction in this book and at times did not seem true to character.

As much as Fire Study was still an enjoyable read, Magic Study remains my favourite book in the series.

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Magic Study by Maria V Snyder

Published: 2006
Pages: 400

In the sequel to Poison Study, we follow Yelena, in exile, back to her homeland of Sitia where she is to study under the fourth Magician, Irys. After a reunion with the family that she hasn't seen since she was kidnapped at the age of 6, Yelena travels on to the Citadel to begin her training; to develop, harness and control her magic.

The writing in Magic Study is definitely more refined, descriptive without being tedious and on a whole more enjoyable. There were none of the annoyances present in Ms Snyders writing that I found so irritating in Poison Study. While the whole magic theme wasn't quite as fascinating as the details on poisons in Poison Study, it was extremely enjoyable nonetheless. Once again danger and adventure are Yelena's constant companions so the story moves along at a good pace. Yelena becomes embroiled in the hunt for a rogue magician who is torturing young girls and stealing their souls to increase his own power. This takes place while Yelena is in the process of discovering some unique and powerful abilities. Control of her magic is a slow developing skill, as is the dawning of understanding of the difference between self-reliance, independence & arrogance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the appearance of familiar characters from Poison Study in this story, the loveable Ari and Janco and of course Valek. Valek's re-appearance allows the love interest between Yelena & Valek to subtly develop. I wasn't quite as attached to the new cast of characters in Magic Study but I did like Moon Man and the boy Fisk. The shortage of characters to love was more than made up for by the inclusion of Kiki, Yelena's horse. Kiki plays an intricate part in Magic Study, she's a delightful addition to the story & the magical connection between Yelena & Kiki touched my heart.

Yelena's journey in Magic Study is one of growth & self discovery & I can't wait to see what awaits Yelena and readers in Fire Study.

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Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Published: 2005
Pages: 361

Poison Study is the first person tale of Yelena, a woman sentenced to death for murdering Reyad, the only son of a General Brazzell. With only hours left until her death by hanging, Yelena is brought before the Commander's security chief, Valek & offered a stay of execution...but only if she agrees to become Commander Ambrose's food taster.

The setting for this fascinating story is Ixia, a military dictatorship. Ixia is divided into military districts, each district controlled by a General, all Generals reporting to Commander Ambrose. Magic, once practised in Ixia & Sitia (a country to the south) is outlawed in Ixia after the takeover.

The story was certainly unique but I found Ms Snyder's writing style stilted & choppy, especially early in the book. The uniform descriptions, coloured stars (embroidered or otherwise) identifying residents of different military districts were tedious, bordering on torturous. BUT, once that was covered I really did become caught up in the tale.

Ms Snyder creates wonderful characters, Yelena is smart, resourceful & determined to survive, Valek is intriguing, and I fell in love with Ari & Janco. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the many lethal poisons & Valek's distinctive methods for teaching Yelena the skills required to detect these poisons. The romance was definitely a sub-plot, late in the book and I was a little disappointed that it wasn't developed, it just happened.

All in all this debut novel is a good read; political intrigue, murders, powerful magic, poisons & subtle romance. The final pages of Poison Study set the scene for Magic Study & I'm intrigued to learn how Yelena's story evolves.

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Magic Study by Maria V. Synder

Published: 2006
Pages: 400

Book Blurb: Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life or be her downfall.

With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways and her new-found friends and relatives don't think it's for the better.

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth.But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life or be her downfall.With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways and her new-found friends and relatives don't think it's for the better.

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.

Review: Magic, romance, adventure, empowered women, mystery, suspense...there is a little of everything I enjoy all wrapped up in one great book. This is the second book in a series of three. The first book, Poison Study, I liked but I think the author really picked up the pace in this book. It only took about 25 pages to get into this story and after that, I was totally hooked.

During this story Yelena's powers develop and she discovers her magical abilities. The suspense is cleverly woven right throughout the entire book and it doesn't let up, in fact, it is left hanging for the next book.

One of the greatest additions to Yelena’s story is Kiki, her horse. Yelena discovers that part of her magical ability is speaking to animals, and she makes better friends with horses in Sitia than most of the people. Kiki has a strange kind of wisdom, which comes through as both amusing and ultimately correct. Horses have a simple view of life, strong senses, and an excellent ability to judge character. When she can trust no one else, Yelena can trust Kiki, who will do just about anything for her Lavender Lady who brings her apples.

I highly recommend this second instalment of Yelena’s story and I can't wait to read the third!

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Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Poison Study is the first in a series so I'm presuming it is setting the scenes for the other books and I often find in fantasy novels that first books are a little slower. However this is not a criticism as I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Yelena and Valek were wonderful characters with many complicated motives for what was often strange behaviour. I enjoyed the way the story evolved, built up to the crescendo at the end and clearly set the scene for the next book. The story is about a young woman, Yelena, who is given a reprieve from being hanged for murder to become the commander’s food taster. This has traditionally been a job you don’t have for long. In this story Yelena overcomes obstacles to fight for her life and existence.

I would have liked to have more knowledge of the setting and even where it was. It was also disappointing that the love story was so vague and just seemed to appear towards the end of the book. With that said, it is still a very enjoyable book that is well worth reading and I look forward to seeing further character and story development in the second book.

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