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Choose: a quick death… or slow poison… Locked deep in the palace dungeon for killing her abuser, Yelena knows she'll never be free again. The laws in Ixia are strict, and murderers must be executed, no matter the reason. But just as she's resigned herself to her fate, she's offered an extraordinary reprieve. As the food taster, Yelena will eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace - and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. To make matters worse, the chief show more of security deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust, and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again, and in order to survive, she must unravel the secrets behind the past she's been running from. Previously published. The Chronicles of Ixia Series by Maria V Snyder Book One: Poison Study Book Two: Magic Study Book Three: Fire Study Book Four: Storm Glass Book Five: Sea Glass Book Six: Spy Glass Book Seven: Shadow Study Book Eight: Night Study Book Nine: Dawn Study. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
espertus Both stories of strong but vulnerable young women struggling both for survival and to reconcile with their consciences what they've had to do to survive.
160
stephxsu Similarly intelligent, courageous, and resourceful heroines struggling against a fully realized world. Excellent stuff!
Also recommended by MyriadBooks
133
cecilypk both have strong female leads with budding romance and great plots
90
litaddictedbrit Similarly strong female lead and great magic twists
Also recommended by lottpoet
40
terriko Poison study reminded me of the whole Circle of Magic series, and the Circle Opens one.
20
crazybatcow Very similar romantic fantasy themes. Mature but not graphic.
mamaie I read A Discovery of Witches right after Poison Study; A Discovery of witches is more graphic.
22
Morgester You just have to cheer for Yelena - Strong, vibrant characters and impressive narrative ability.
Member Reviews
I've been very curious about this book. Seeing it on Audible I downloaded it to listen to on the second half of our trip to South Dakota. I will start off by saying the audio book was done very well; very high quality production.
Yelena has been imprisoned with the ultimate punishment of death awaiting her; her crime is the murder of a man. As she takes what she believes to be her last steps before hanging by noose she is instead lead into the office of the Commander's head of security, Valek. There she is given a choice; she can go to the noose or she can go through training to become the Commander's food taster. Of course she chooses the second action. From this point on her live is full of the danger of food-tasting and of escaping show more the guards of the father of the man whom she killed. It is also filled with the kindness of a few special people and of Yelena's exploration of here own abilities.
I loved this book. This book was a breath of fresh air after all the mediocrity I've read lately. The characters had a lot of depth and were very intriguing. I loved Yelena's character and found her training as a food taster to be very interesting; I don't think I've ever read anything on this subject before. The character of Valek is close to the top on my list of male characters that I love. He is just awesome in his skill, his depth, his humor and his loyalty. The Commander is another character with great depth and great interest. You really want to know all of these characters better; you want them to be a part of your life.
The book is exquisitely written and full of lush detail; yet there is wry sense of humor throughout the book that keeps the story from taking itself too seriously. The plot starts off simply and becomes more convoluted and intriguing as the book continues. There are many layers of political intrigue here that really keep your brain thinking and active. The characters are constantly evolving and surprising you. Yet somehow the book is an easy read (or listen). I found myself unable to leave the car because I needed to know what would happen next! This is one of those books that you will think about; I couldn't wait to start the second one in the series.
A great book. I am very happy that I picked this one up; definitely one I will re-read. I will have to go and by the hardcover book just to have it in my collection of books that I absolutely adore. show less
Yelena has been imprisoned with the ultimate punishment of death awaiting her; her crime is the murder of a man. As she takes what she believes to be her last steps before hanging by noose she is instead lead into the office of the Commander's head of security, Valek. There she is given a choice; she can go to the noose or she can go through training to become the Commander's food taster. Of course she chooses the second action. From this point on her live is full of the danger of food-tasting and of escaping show more the guards of the father of the man whom she killed. It is also filled with the kindness of a few special people and of Yelena's exploration of here own abilities.
I loved this book. This book was a breath of fresh air after all the mediocrity I've read lately. The characters had a lot of depth and were very intriguing. I loved Yelena's character and found her training as a food taster to be very interesting; I don't think I've ever read anything on this subject before. The character of Valek is close to the top on my list of male characters that I love. He is just awesome in his skill, his depth, his humor and his loyalty. The Commander is another character with great depth and great interest. You really want to know all of these characters better; you want them to be a part of your life.
The book is exquisitely written and full of lush detail; yet there is wry sense of humor throughout the book that keeps the story from taking itself too seriously. The plot starts off simply and becomes more convoluted and intriguing as the book continues. There are many layers of political intrigue here that really keep your brain thinking and active. The characters are constantly evolving and surprising you. Yet somehow the book is an easy read (or listen). I found myself unable to leave the car because I needed to know what would happen next! This is one of those books that you will think about; I couldn't wait to start the second one in the series.
A great book. I am very happy that I picked this one up; definitely one I will re-read. I will have to go and by the hardcover book just to have it in my collection of books that I absolutely adore. show less
Firstly, I loved this book. However, when I finished the book I couldn’t really figure out WHY it has been marketed as YA. It features a not so young-adult protagonist, deals with rape and brutality, violence as a means of defence and and features a very complicated romance. It has none of the markers of traditional young adult fantasy, and yet, it has been marketed that way. This is really the only problem I have with the book - everything else is amazing.
The characters in Poison Study are captivating - they have lots of layers and complex relationships that come to light over the course of the story. Yelena is incredibly strong willed and tenacious, and the mystery that surrounds her past intrigues me. My initial impression of show more Valek was that of an unthinking henchman, but he is revealed to be much more. He eventually became my favourite character - especially because a lot of the humour in the book came from him as well as Yelena.
While simple, the plot of Poison Study is enjoyable. There are some twists that are immediately obvious, but others that take the reader completely by surprise. One of the best aspects of the book is the writing. Maria V. Snyder shows she has complete mastery over her intricate story by telling it using deceptively simple techniques.
While I had been wanting to dip my toes into the works of Maria V. Snyder for a while, I had not anticipated to enjoy Poison Study as much as I did. It was wonderful for me to read some YA in the vein of more traditional fantasy, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Study series. If you love fantasy, you should check it out!
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less
The characters in Poison Study are captivating - they have lots of layers and complex relationships that come to light over the course of the story. Yelena is incredibly strong willed and tenacious, and the mystery that surrounds her past intrigues me. My initial impression of show more Valek was that of an unthinking henchman, but he is revealed to be much more. He eventually became my favourite character - especially because a lot of the humour in the book came from him as well as Yelena.
While simple, the plot of Poison Study is enjoyable. There are some twists that are immediately obvious, but others that take the reader completely by surprise. One of the best aspects of the book is the writing. Maria V. Snyder shows she has complete mastery over her intricate story by telling it using deceptively simple techniques.
While I had been wanting to dip my toes into the works of Maria V. Snyder for a while, I had not anticipated to enjoy Poison Study as much as I did. It was wonderful for me to read some YA in the vein of more traditional fantasy, and I look forward to reading the rest of the Study series. If you love fantasy, you should check it out!
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less
AWESOME story. Had me captured in this magical and distant world from the first scenes, and only drew me in tighter through all the horror, fantasy, challenges, strengths, low and high points, love, fighting, and growth. Although I was impatient for Yelena to get on the ball and figure out what I already had, I enjoyed every moment and would not change how it played out. There is everything in this book, including such intelligent thought behind the science, botany, world building, and story line. I am so, so excited to read more of Yelena's story and see what becomes of her. This is a read none will regret--loved it all the way.
4.5 stars
Wow, I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did! I haven't read much fantasy lately so it was great to get back into that genre a bit. I've been wanting to read this one for a while, but I didn't realize it was published 15 years ago! When I realized that, I expected it to feel a little old. 15 Years is a long time in the book world. So many trends change and people change and what they find acceptable or good in books changes along with them. However, once I started reading, I didn't think once about how old this book was. It felt like a book that could have been published last year. If the age of this book worries you, I would still give it a chance.
I thought the characters in this were really good. Yes, some of show more the characters, including our protagonist Yelena, do fall a bit into some character tropes that you see a lot in fantasy but I didn't really mind that. I differ from some people on tropes and cliches where I really don't mind reading a book with a lot of tropes or has a plot that is kind of cliche if it is a trope I like. So I don't like love triangles so that trope annoys me but I love found family stories or love conquers all stories so I will read books with those tropes just over and over again. All of that to say that if you are a bit more annoyed about repeated fantasy tropes, you probably won't like this book as much as I did.
I thought Yelena was a great protagonist. She had so much agency and made so many hard choices that she dealt with through out the book. She is clearly dealing with some form of something like PTSD and I love the way she is shown sort of reckoning with that throughout the story. Even though she does have a romance plot, it is in no way the focus of her story and the man does not just swoop in and fix all her problems. She still has choices to make and sometimes she makes choices that are to her benefit only. I really liked that almost everything that happens in the story is the result of a decision Yelena makes. I loved that the book gave her the ability to make those choices and I loved that the decisions she makes actually have an impact.
I also loved the love interest, Valek. I really wanted them to end up together from the moment they started working together but I really didn't think it was going to happen so I was really happy to be proven wrong. This might sound weird, but I like when characters have specific skills so I really liked his role as not just an assassin, but one that also specializes in poisons. I think that just makes the character so much more interesting vs if he was just described as an assassin. We were only just starting to get into his backstory at the end of this book, so I really hope some more of that will show up in the sequels.
I thought the plotting in this was also excellent. This book is longer than a lot of the books I've been reading lately but I got through it in 3 days and I usually read like 100 pages at a time. The story always was moving forward so there weren't a lot of down moments where I was bored or wanted to stop reading. Yelena's journey never felt rushed or that she was acquiring abilities too fast. The author specifically notes the effort a lot of these skills take to learn and that it takes a lot of practice and can't be done overnight. These sort of notes really helped me keep track of the pacing of the story and I really appreciated the fact that she made a point to indicate that these sort of skills like fighting take a lot of work. So frequently in these "a person has discovered they're magical" books, I think authors can fall into the trap of using that as an excuse for why a character learns a new skill so quickly, especially in chosen one type stories. I really appreciate that this book didn't fall into that trap.
The side characters were also really great. Such a good mix of lighthearted characters and more serious people. They all had such distinct personalities that I could picture them so well. Again, some probably did fall into tropes about who is in the sort of band of people in fantasy books, but because I thought they were well written and well imagined, I didn't have any issues with that.
I definitely do want to continue on with the series. All of the books are currently available as eBooks from my library, so hopefully I'll be able to get to book two in the near future. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who has considered reading them but have just never got around to it. show less
Wow, I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did! I haven't read much fantasy lately so it was great to get back into that genre a bit. I've been wanting to read this one for a while, but I didn't realize it was published 15 years ago! When I realized that, I expected it to feel a little old. 15 Years is a long time in the book world. So many trends change and people change and what they find acceptable or good in books changes along with them. However, once I started reading, I didn't think once about how old this book was. It felt like a book that could have been published last year. If the age of this book worries you, I would still give it a chance.
I thought the characters in this were really good. Yes, some of show more the characters, including our protagonist Yelena, do fall a bit into some character tropes that you see a lot in fantasy but I didn't really mind that. I differ from some people on tropes and cliches where I really don't mind reading a book with a lot of tropes or has a plot that is kind of cliche if it is a trope I like. So I don't like love triangles so that trope annoys me but I love found family stories or love conquers all stories so I will read books with those tropes just over and over again. All of that to say that if you are a bit more annoyed about repeated fantasy tropes, you probably won't like this book as much as I did.
I thought Yelena was a great protagonist. She had so much agency and made so many hard choices that she dealt with through out the book. She is clearly dealing with some form of something like PTSD and I love the way she is shown sort of reckoning with that throughout the story. Even though she does have a romance plot, it is in no way the focus of her story and the man does not just swoop in and fix all her problems. She still has choices to make and sometimes she makes choices that are to her benefit only. I really liked that almost everything that happens in the story is the result of a decision Yelena makes. I loved that the book gave her the ability to make those choices and I loved that the decisions she makes actually have an impact.
I also loved the love interest, Valek. I really wanted them to end up together from the moment they started working together but I really didn't think it was going to happen so I was really happy to be proven wrong. This might sound weird, but I like when characters have specific skills so I really liked his role as not just an assassin, but one that also specializes in poisons. I think that just makes the character so much more interesting vs if he was just described as an assassin. We were only just starting to get into his backstory at the end of this book, so I really hope some more of that will show up in the sequels.
I thought the plotting in this was also excellent. This book is longer than a lot of the books I've been reading lately but I got through it in 3 days and I usually read like 100 pages at a time. The story always was moving forward so there weren't a lot of down moments where I was bored or wanted to stop reading. Yelena's journey never felt rushed or that she was acquiring abilities too fast. The author specifically notes the effort a lot of these skills take to learn and that it takes a lot of practice and can't be done overnight. These sort of notes really helped me keep track of the pacing of the story and I really appreciated the fact that she made a point to indicate that these sort of skills like fighting take a lot of work. So frequently in these "a person has discovered they're magical" books, I think authors can fall into the trap of using that as an excuse for why a character learns a new skill so quickly, especially in chosen one type stories. I really appreciate that this book didn't fall into that trap.
The side characters were also really great. Such a good mix of lighthearted characters and more serious people. They all had such distinct personalities that I could picture them so well. Again, some probably did fall into tropes about who is in the sort of band of people in fantasy books, but because I thought they were well written and well imagined, I didn't have any issues with that.
I definitely do want to continue on with the series. All of the books are currently available as eBooks from my library, so hopefully I'll be able to get to book two in the near future. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who has considered reading them but have just never got around to it. show less
Yelena is up next for execution, but is offered a reprieve if she's willing to become the Commander's food taster. The only catch: she's been poisoned and needs an antidote from Valek, the Commander's chief of security daily to not die a slow agonizing death.
Very fun fantasy with some political intrigue and a slow burn romance that's much more in the background than in more current romantasy titles (fortunately I like it that way). Yelena grows a lot over the course of the story, and I had a blast learning along with her. There are a couple of fight scenes that get pretty gory, but I was enjoying other aspects enough that I could gloss over them.
Very fun fantasy with some political intrigue and a slow burn romance that's much more in the background than in more current romantasy titles (fortunately I like it that way). Yelena grows a lot over the course of the story, and I had a blast learning along with her. There are a couple of fight scenes that get pretty gory, but I was enjoying other aspects enough that I could gloss over them.
"There is more than one way to poison a person’s heart, and it doesn’t even require a meal.”
Poison Study was a refreshing read. The plot was entirely unique and obviously original! This book has some slow moments but it is okay. It was action-packed and full of surprising twists!
“I peered deeper and found my soul. A little tattered and with some holes, but there all the same. It had always been there, I realized with shock.”
Yelena. Now that's what you call a fierce heroine! I admire her determination. After I discovered how she was in the past, wow. She didn't come out unharmed. In fact, ghosts from her past haunted her. Literally. But coming out of that experience and still willing to stand and prove herself? Just amazing. show more She is "delicate in appearance, but with a strength unnoticed at first glance" as Valek says.
Valek. Dude, how awesome is Valek? Pretty awesome! I grinned like an idiot everytime he calls Yelena "love". It was adorable! Valek values loyalty and he's very compassionate, too. Yup, another book boyfriend.
“Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you...but you slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”
I LOVE Ari and Janco! They were really like Yelena's older brothers. I like how Yelena earned their loyalty. They were very protective of her! The other characters are great, too! They amused the hell out of me.
So yeah. Looking forward to "Magic Study" even though everyone seems to find the rest of this series disappointing. show less
Poison Study was a refreshing read. The plot was entirely unique and obviously original! This book has some slow moments but it is okay. It was action-packed and full of surprising twists!
“I peered deeper and found my soul. A little tattered and with some holes, but there all the same. It had always been there, I realized with shock.”
Yelena. Now that's what you call a fierce heroine! I admire her determination. After I discovered how she was in the past, wow. She didn't come out unharmed. In fact, ghosts from her past haunted her. Literally. But coming out of that experience and still willing to stand and prove herself? Just amazing. show more She is "delicate in appearance, but with a strength unnoticed at first glance" as Valek says.
Valek. Dude, how awesome is Valek? Pretty awesome! I grinned like an idiot everytime he calls Yelena "love". It was adorable! Valek values loyalty and he's very compassionate, too. Yup, another book boyfriend.
“Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you...but you slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”
I LOVE Ari and Janco! They were really like Yelena's older brothers. I like how Yelena earned their loyalty. They were very protective of her! The other characters are great, too! They amused the hell out of me.
So yeah. Looking forward to "Magic Study" even though everyone seems to find the rest of this series disappointing. show less
A very very promising first book in the series! Recommended!
World building was good: clear and well detailed descriptions of scenes and environments. You had a good feel for the world the author painted with her words. As this is a new series, there is a lot of describing and explanations about geography, the way of life, the law,... but never did it get boring or did it feel 'unreal'.
Character development was excellent! We follow Yelena through her trials and tribulations as she undergoes her training as a food taster. We learn a lot about her: her history, what she fears and what she loves. We grow alongside her as she works with Valek in keeping the Commander safe. They have a special working relationship those two, and you just feel show more there is something in the air...
Our support cast is great, they have their own story, they have a lot of interaction with Yelena and Valek and are well written into the story.
Pacing and flow were great. As the first instalment of a series, there is always the necessary 'world building' and 'setting the stage', but that didn't take so long. After that it was a very good spread of action and conversations to further along the story.
The book in itself was well written and I found no (noticeable) errors. What I did find strange is that they kept referring to the weapon Yelena used later in the book as a bow, but was more a staff... so yeah.. that was confusing. There are references to sex, but nothing is described as such.
All in all I am very pleasantly surprised with this book!! I would recommend it to everyone who likes fantasy in a medieval style time-setting with a lot of sword fighting and intrigue. There wasn't that much magic in this particular book, but I'm sure that will be rectified in the rest of the series. show less
World building was good: clear and well detailed descriptions of scenes and environments. You had a good feel for the world the author painted with her words. As this is a new series, there is a lot of describing and explanations about geography, the way of life, the law,... but never did it get boring or did it feel 'unreal'.
Character development was excellent! We follow Yelena through her trials and tribulations as she undergoes her training as a food taster. We learn a lot about her: her history, what she fears and what she loves. We grow alongside her as she works with Valek in keeping the Commander safe. They have a special working relationship those two, and you just feel show more there is something in the air...
Our support cast is great, they have their own story, they have a lot of interaction with Yelena and Valek and are well written into the story.
Pacing and flow were great. As the first instalment of a series, there is always the necessary 'world building' and 'setting the stage', but that didn't take so long. After that it was a very good spread of action and conversations to further along the story.
The book in itself was well written and I found no (noticeable) errors. What I did find strange is that they kept referring to the weapon Yelena used later in the book as a bow, but was more a staff... so yeah.. that was confusing. There are references to sex, but nothing is described as such.
All in all I am very pleasantly surprised with this book!! I would recommend it to everyone who likes fantasy in a medieval style time-setting with a lot of sword fighting and intrigue. There wasn't that much magic in this particular book, but I'm sure that will be rectified in the rest of the series. show less
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Shivers, obsession, sleepless nights—these are the results not of one of the milder poisons that novice food-taster Yelena must learn during her harrowing job training but of newcomer Snyder's riveting fantasy that unites the intelligent political focus of George R.R. Martin with a subtle yet potent romance. Through a stroke of luck, Yelena escapes execution in exchange for tasting the food show more of the Commander, ruler of Ixia. Though confined to a dank prison cell and doomed to a painful death, Yelena slowly blooms again, caught up in castle politics. But some people are too impatient to wait for poison to finish off Yelena. With the help of Valek, her steely-nerved, cool-eyed boss and the Commander's head of security, she soon discovers that she has a starring role to play in Ixia's future—a role that could lead to her being put to death as a budding magician even if she hits each cue perfectly. The first in a series, this is one of those rare books that will keep readers dreaming long after they've read it. show less
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Author Information
Maria V. Snyder was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Meteorology at Pennsylvania State University in 1988, before deciding to become a novelist in 1995. Snyder graduated with a Master's degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2007. The first two books in Snyder's show more popular fantasy/romance Study series, Poison Study and Magic Study, were Booksense picks in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Poison Study received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and Magic Study was a RITA Award finalist. Dawn Study which is Book 6 of the Study series made the Februaury 2017 bestsellers list. Snyder has also written science fiction short stories and freelance magazine and newspaper articles, in addition to teaching fiction writing classes at a local college. Her book Spy Glass was published in 2010 and landed on the New York Times bestseller list. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
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Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Poison Study
- Original title
- Poison Study
- Original publication date
- 2005-10-01
- People/Characters
- Yelena Liana Zaltana; Valek; Commander Ambrose; Rand; General Brazell; Irys Jewelrose (show all 17); Janco; Ari; Reyad; Mogkan; Margg; Dilana; Marrok; Maren; Kangom; Captain Star; Porter
- Important places
- Ixia; Sitia
- Epigraph*
- Ze zaten vrolijk met je te praten terwijl ze je vergif toedienden. - Kathy Brandt, een goede vriendin die de strijd verloor, ondanks chemotherapie
- Dedication
- To my husband, Rodney, for all the support he has given, is giving and will give. I'm spoiled rotten.
In loving memory of Frances Snyder, Jeanette and Joseph Scirrotto.
"They would talk to you and make jokes whi... (show all)le they were feeding you poison."--Kathy Brandt on chemotherapy; a good friend who lost the battle - First words
- Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin, I had nothing to distract me from my memories.
- Quotations
- "But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.” “That sounds more like a poison than a person,” was all I could say. His confession had both shocked and thrilled me. “Exactly,” Valek repl... (show all)ied. “You have poisoned me."
"What have I earned from you, Valek? Loyalty? Respect? Trust?" "You have my attention. But give me what I want, and you can have everything."
"Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you...but you slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart." - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"No, a promise."
- Blurbers
- Lackey, Mercedes; Graham, Heather; Elliott, Kate; Springer, Nancy
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PS3619.N937
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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