Poison Study [Brossura]

Yelena has committed the ultimate sin and for that, she has been sentenced to die by hanging. Yet when she faces the man whom will send her to the noose, she receives an offer instead to live. Granted, there are catches, first and foremost the duty of food taster. Assassination by poison is ever a favored way to strike at the Commander and as the next prisoner to be executed, and as they need to fill the position, Yelena is next in line for the job. Thinking escape is surely in her future, she takes on the dangerous new duty. Her new handler though, Valek, has many tricks up is sleeve and soon Yelena finds it's not as easy to escape as she thought.

The castle walls of the former King of Ixia hold secrets and dangers, and they all seem focused on the newest member to the Commander's staff. As Yelena begins and perfects her new poison detecting skills, she'll still have to deal with a general that wants her dead, the stigma of a murderer and strange powers that, while having manifested slowly long ago, are now to the point of no return--she must learn to control them or she'll be in even more trouble than when she faced the noose. When a conspiracy against the Commander comes to light, Yelena will come face to face once more with the demons that drove her to kill. The question is; will this stoic poison detector be able to triumph over them again?

Yelena's story is a first person tale, told entirely from her perspective and it was a wise choice for Snyder. A young woman, one of immense promise and obvious talent, readers can only be drawn to the reasons for the choices she's made. From the moment she's given a life in exchange for another kind of prison, Yelena does not look back. After all she'd been through up till that point, she still possesses a strength many of us can only hope to have. She' smart, a little ruthless in her own right and capable of taking care of herself--to a point. When she needs help too, especially from Valek, she's not afraid to accept it. Ixia is an interesting country, which houses all sorts of traits from Medieval village life to a more modern society as well. It's one in which readers can easily identify with and understand, yet it carries its own weight in being a made-up, new "world". Excellent visuals, but not an overload of them, carry throughout with Yelena on her strange and gripping journey as she becomes embroiled, and finally center stage persona, in a race to save a country she's come to love in spite of its unforgiving nature. The general gunning for Yelena is a chilling addition and an excellent villain. Valek is an impossible to look away from character and one can only hope he makes plenty of appearances in the sequel, "Magic Study", already available in hardback. As debut novels go, this one sets an amazingly strong example of what good, solid fantasy fiction can be like.

I have to thank Amazon.com and the reviewers on this one. I don't remember exactly how I came across it, but I must have been searching around amazon's site, and it appeared as a recommendation or one of those "If you like this, then you'll probably like this" suggestions, so I opened up the page for Poison Study and read the reviews.

People seemed so excited about the book that I ran out that day and bought it from a local bookstore. I picked it up casually the next morning before I needed to head outside and do some gardening. Now, I'm not sure if it was the power of suggestion or not, but I literally had to tear myself away from the book or I would have read it straight through in one sitting. As it was, I thought of little else while I was gardening, returned to reading it as soon as I had showered, and finished it shortly before DAWN (and I'm not that fast of a reader).

I never really thought I'd be interested in the fantasy genre - although I, like everyone else anxiously awaited each release of the LOTR movies - and I never ventured into the sci-fi/fantasy section of bookstores. I certainly would have missed out on this book if it had not been for the amazon suggestion that piqued my interest and the reviews which tipped the scale, so thank you, fellow readers, for that. I have since ventured into the sci-fi section a few times and have even purchased a few more books there. Needless to say, I'll also be purchasing Magic Study as soon as it's available.

So, really no need to re-hash the plot here. Others have covered it just fine. I happen to like books written in the first person quite often. It presents a far more vulnerable, sympathetic, and natural perspective. I think it's written really well and that Maria Snyder has an appealing style. It was exciting and it certainly kept my interest.

Some basic parts of it verge on well-travelled material: young, naive girl uncertain of her place in the world and the nature and force of her own powers is thrust into suspenseful situation with older and wiser guy who could be good/could be bad and begins to make friends, find her own voice, acknowledge her own strength, and realize her feelings before heading off to learn more about herself and presumably use this info in the future. A) What's not to love about a journey that, really, all of us travel to a certain extent in our lives, and B) This basic outline has plenty of original aspects, and it's told in such a fresh, compelling, and exciting way - with creative plot twists - that you really do find yourself turning pages, getting lost in the story, and rooting for Yelena and her friends. She grows a great deal in the first book - facing some traumatic emotional scars and overcoming numerous challenges as well.

I highly recommend this book. It's a great read, and I'm anxious to find out what happens in the rest of the trilogy.

Poison study begins with an interesting dilemma: how much are you willing to risk to delay death?

For Yelena, a soon-to-be-executed murderess, the answer is everything. To prolong her life for an indeterminable time, she is willing to participate in a gamble: she will become the Commander's food taster. The prize? The possibility of living just one more day after each successful tasting. The stake? Her life.

One can't deny this is a superior setup. It draws the reader in right away, as we hold our breaths and quietly cheer for the disillusioned but sturdy Yelena. The novel's beginning, more or less, seemed to promise a more original work than the cliche-ridden fantasy genre often permits.

But, unfortunately, Poison Study ultimately disappoints. Half-way through the book, the originality and excellence of execution found in the beginning fades and disappears all together.

Some grievances:

1. The plot: Oh, Poison Study, you could have been so much more poisonous and intriguing. Survival by poison detection is a dangerous experience indeed, and I was hoping Yelena's experience was one of heart-stopping suspense and subtle but potent political intrigue. The first half had a bit of this. Yelena was admirable as she survived by hard work and intelligence.

Sadly though, the plot soon dissolved into the all too familiar, formulaic, heroine centered plot: OH NO, the ENTIRE country is in danger. Why? because a very, very evil villain is using magic to threaten All-That-is-Good-and-Just. Enters the heroine, who is really the Destined One. Her life will be compromised several times, but because she has the Rare Gift of Extraordinary Magic, she saves the day. In the sequel (oh yes, of course), she goes on to discover she has Powers Beyond Her Wildest Imagination.

In other words, by the last half I lost interest because I felt I was reading something I've already read a billion times.

2. Poor Valek: you could have been something, but instead you became just a foil.

I really liked Valek at first. He was interesting. The commander's master strategist. One of the main players who helped the current regime dispose--and kill--the previous king. Obviously smart. Obviously talented. Obviously ruthless and dangerous. How else do you succeed in an intensely uncertain political environment?

I was looking forward to reading about someone who may not, due to his environment and experiences, possess a conventional set of morals, but is immensely driven to utilize his intelligence and talents in service of a safer, more stable country for the people of Ixia. He will commit many sins, but at the same time, many acts of good.

Wrong. This is Valek by the end: a compassionate do-gooder, who's oh-so-traumatized by his childhood, but can spurt ridiculous things like "you've poisoned me, Yelena".

3. Yelena: in the beginning, she was cool. I liked her battered but stubborn survival instinct. But of course, she had to learn masterly fighting skills, discover powerful aptitude for magic, and turn into a Mary Sue. Dear fantasy novelists, please, please stop using your heroines as a medium for wish fulfillment. Character development and growth doesn't necessarily translate into superpowers and a lover. Thank you.

Poison Study, you could have been great. What a waste of promise and premise.