Customer Reviews

Poison Study

5 star:		(170)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

This is a high 3-star review; consider it 3.5 stars. This debut novel from Snyder makes her an author to watch. There are many elements to like in Poison Study: the simple yet compelling storyline, the strong likable heroine, the crisp pace, and the straightforward, unpretentious style. It has a powerful yet subtle opening, and the first 100 pages are 4-star work. The rest of the novel disappointed me slightly, and I'll explain why.

At first, the novel seems to be about a clever young woman forced into terrible circumstances. She's just a traumatized girl with only her instincts and resourcefulness to rely on to survive; she's not a warrior or a thief or a wizard. Unfortunately (in my opinion), she becomes all of these things. Too many novels introduce this kind of character: an orphan or insignificant peasant who becomes powerful or discovers a great legacy. I am sick of these characters who defy realism to learn expert skills in weeks and defeat experienced opponents. Why can't she just be a girl? The novel has a gender theme, but I think that this theme would have emerged more thoughtfully if the author had excised the magic and fighting. Writing about a poison taster is original; I think that Snyder should have focused on Yelena as a poison taster, not as a potential magician or soldier. I would have preferred a novel about Yelena the poison taster who has to rebuild herself after great trauma and survive in a world where her gender is a disadvantage.

Despite my criticism, Poison Study is an entertaining and well-told novel featuring a scrappy protagonist. I will certainly read the next volume and track Snyder's progress as a fantasy writer.

I was hesitant to pick up this book but am so glad that I did. I've found Luna books to be subpar so far but blew through Poison Study in two days and raced to find out when the second book would be released. Yelena is a great main character as others have pointed out because she's an excellent balance of smart and strong while still having flaws. The other characters are just as interesting especially Valek. Plot wise the book gives you enough to start putting things together while not giving everything away and saving some twists for the end. This was a great book to snuggle up with over the weekend and left me wanting more.

I don't understand the 1 and 2 stars -- I really enjoyed this book. For my taste it was a little "light" -- characters and situations could have been more developed, and a few plot issues should have been better explained, but as a first book I thought it was very good. I liked Yelena, I thought the plot was well thought out and pretty good, although it slid over precisely what it was that Brazell had been trying to do to Yelena. I liked the fact that the Code of Conduct was not All Good or All Bad -- we didn't have a "bad country" and a "good country".
Am looking forward to the sequel.

Overall, I am impressed with Maria Snyder's first novel, Poison Study. It was well written and the main characters are likable, complex, and engaging. The characters of the "supporting staff" are also well done. The dialogue is realistic and the writing style is pleasant and unpretentious. The pace is quick, there is political intrigue, spying, treachery, fighting, forgiveness, personal growth, and romance (although the single love scene was confusing and a bit corny).

However, the plot was somewhat predictable and there were few surprises. Also, the setting of the story is confusing. Chamber pots, swords, and castles with dungeons suggest a medieval setting, but then there are factories, camouflage, disenfectants, briefcases, pills, and dialogue that don't seem to fit that setting.

I was also slightly disappointed with the ending. Among all of the other life changes that Yelena is dealing with, she also finds out she's a magician and that she needs to be trained so she doesn't burn out the magic power source by "pulling power" incorrectly. This sets up a nice sequel (called Magic Study), but Yelena has also just recently learned to be an expert fighter, and now we throw in magician, too, and it just seems a bit over the top. She's just too perfect. Except that she's a murderer. Oh, wait, but when she murdered that guy, she saved many innocents from the torture she went through . . . I guess she is perfect.

All in all, I think Maria Snyder is a very promising author with a good imagination and a nice writing style. I will give the second book a try and I will certainly take a look at whatever she publishes in the future. In my opinion, she has Jacqueline Carey potential.

I give this book a solid three stars. It didn't blow me away, but it entertained me and held my attention while I was reading it, and that's more than I can say for a lot of books.

My taste in fantasy runs to the sprawling political-intrigue epic with a bit of magic for spice, and books get extra points with me for elegant, lush prose. _Poison Study_ is sort of a "lite" example of the subgenre when compared to my favorites (A Song of Ice and Fire, Kushiel's Legacy, Maledicte, to name a few) both in terms of plot and in terms of style. The plot of Poison Study is relatively simple by comparison, and the prose is perfectly serviceable but not seductive. Still, it's a fun bit of brain candy, for the most part.

What I liked: The parts about poison tasting, which were fascinating and left me wanting to know more about poisons and food tasters throughout history. I also liked the ambiguity of the government Yelena serves. It's frighteningly totalitarian in some ways, and in other ways it's superior to the corrupt monarchy it replaced, and while the law states that there are no exceptions to justice, there are plenty of secret ways around the prescribed sentences for those who are worthy or lucky.

The romance aspect doesn't bother me. I'm not a member of the "Get This Stinkin' Romance Out Of My Fantasy!" club. What I didn't like, though: Yelena is too perfect; she's the type of heroine who is loved and lusted after by everyone and who is good at everything. Yet, she can be annoyingly clueless at figuring out the agendas of people around her. I also find it disturbing that the love scene is vague and flowery while the rape scene is explicit. If both scenes had been written in the same style, I wouldn't have an issue; as it is, it feels like loving sex is being glossed over and rape glorified.

Gripes aside, however, I have begun reading the sequel, and will probably read the third book as well. While _Poison Study_ is not perfect, it's clear that Maria Snyder can spin a good yarn, and she'll improve with experience.

Condemned to die for murdering the man who tortured and raped her, Yelena is offered a reprieve--of sorts. Instead of being executed, she's to be the new food-taster for the Commander of the nation of Ixia. Considering the track record of previous tasters, the difference between being executed and being a taster is a matter of time, but Yelena grabs what time she can. Escape is not an option--unless she gets a daily antidote to a poison she's already gotten, she'll die a horrible death. Together with spymaster Valek, Yelena uncovers hints that a conspiracy against Ixia's commander is under way--but she can't reveal too much. If Valek learns that Yelena is also one of the forbidden magicians, the magicians who ruled Ixia until overthrown in the Commander's revolution, her execution will be back on schedule.

The longer she spends with Valek, the more Yelena is forced to confront the fact that she's falling in love with him.

Fortunately, Yelena soon makes friends, including a group of soldiers who teach her self-defense and bo-work (bo is misspelled bow throughout the text, but we'll credit this to an editor, not to brown-belt author Maria V. Snyder). Together with her growing magical talent, Yelena becomes a threat to Ixia's enemies--who move to eliminate her before she learns too much.

With the strong relationship between Valek and Yelana, POISON STUDY certainly reads like a romance to me, so I'm classifying it in this category. Fans of light fantasy (along the Andre Norton later Witch World book lines) may also want to check this one out.

POISON STUDY is an engaging story and a welcome first novel. I would have liked to see a bit more by way of plot twists, and I thought that Snyder didn't always manage the balance between romance and fantasy very well (e.g., the scene where Yelena envisioned Valek's uniform pooled around his ankles seemed out of place to me), but the world-building and the martial arts felt authentic and added to the enjoyment. Yelana is an interesting character, with the mysterious Valek the book's real hero.

I bought Poison Study on Saturday, finished it on Sunday, and now, I can't wait for the sequel. Poison Study is one of those books that you cannot start at night, unless it doesn't matter what time you have to wake up in the morning.
Yelena (the main character) is excellent, she is brave when there is need, and she is frightened and cautious. She is not perfect like many other heroines, but her good qualities cause you to forget that. Valek is awesome. His cool manner and brilliancy jumps out of the page and settles in your heart.
This is a brilliantly written book, and I cannot wait for the sequel!