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01/20/2006 Entry: "POISON STUDY by Snyder - Character Focused (Lori)"

I read POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder after reading the recommendations (got it from the library) and found it to be as recommended. I read it pretty quickly, found it easy going. It's as if the background is complex but she didn't get lost in the details (I'm not sure whether her world would work or not, but she paid it some attention). Basically a dictator has overthrown the king; it's now a military society. (They don't ever say dictator, but that's how it came across to me.) One of those deals where if you've got a good person in charge, you're fine, if not, you're screwed. (They're supposed to follow the very strict laws, but presumably those laws could be changed with the wrong person in charge.) And the leader has outlawed magic, which always seems like a stupid thing to me when magic exists and one might have to fight it (or at least know about it to defend against it).

But the focus is on the characters, and I sure hope it stays that way. (Some authors get caught up in creating their world, which is fine, as long as they don't lose sight of the characters.) The book has the necessary strong focus on the heroine, so I hope that doesn't get lost in the sequel. --Lori

Replies: 1 Comment

This was a great read full of the type of fantasy writing absent of cliches that most books are overcome by these days. As fantasy it is fresh and original and I look forward to the sequel, magic Study, out by the end of the year.

Posted by Jessica @ 04/04/2006 07:42 AM ET