Book Review: Poison Study: 4.5 Stars

Title: Poison Study
Book 1 of The Chronicles of Ixia
Author: Maria V Snyder
Publisher: Mira
Page Count: 409
RRP: £6.99
Genre: Fantasy Sci-Fi
Year of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 978-0778301929
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Study-Book-Trilogy-MIRA/dp/0778301923/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in

*All above information is based on the copy of the book that I own and have read.

Extended Rating:         82/100
    Continuity:                 9/10
    Creativity:                  8/10
    Originality:                7/10
    Expression:                8/10
    Captivation:             10/10
    Readability:               8/10
    Relatable:                  8/10   
    Twists and Turns:      8/10
    Imagery:                    7/10
    External:                    9/10

BLURB

CHOOSE:

A QUICK DEATH

OR SLOW POISON…

Yelena has a choice - be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short lived.

Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can’t. And who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head?

When Yelena realises she has extraordinary magical powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death…

REVIEW

    This one was a recommendation from my long standing friend. I grabbed this book off of the shelf, and read it in a day; I just couldn’t stop until I’d found out how Yelena was going to escape her myriad of predicaments.

    The character of Yelena Zaltana, a hardy and practical woman if not somewhat rash in her decisions and actions, has become one of my favourites ever from a book. Feisty and never satisfied to lay down and be walked all over, she fights her corner as best she knows how every time. And when she loses, she dedicates herself and learns to fight harder. The world she lives in proves to be an intricate and flawless blend of military discipline and erratic, uncontainable magic, woven into a tapestry that explores strategy and the force of an individual’s willpower deliciously.

    Clearly researched and intelligently underpinned, Poison Study leads us into catalogues of information that few of us were likely to know much of beforehand. Lists, flavours, and effects of poisons, tactics of weapon handling, covert detail of assassination and working underneath the radar; Snyder doesn’t fail to impress when embodying in the reader Yelena’s bewilderment at how little she actually knew of such things.

    A book that holds you in its caress and nurtures you through its story of ever changing direction, Poison Study is definitely worthwhile. It was over way before I was ready. For those faster readers, make sure to have the sequels Magic Study and Fire Study to hand, or you’ll be left cliffhanging by the end that hints at much more to come.