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juushikaTitle: Poison Study (Study, Book 1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: New York: Luna, 2005
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 361
Total Page Count: 47,875
Text Number: 138
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Yelena is about to be executed for murder, but is given the last minute chance to instead become the food tester for the Commander, ruler of Ixia. As Yelena learns to test for and recognize poisons, she is pulled into the palace intrigues, builds a difficult relationship with her teacher, and begins to recognize her developing magical powers—powers which are, in Ixia, punishable by death. Poison Study is a promising text with an intriguing premise, a strong female protagonist, and carefully plotted twists and developments—but Snyder's writing is unforgivably immature. As a result, the writing style is rough and sometimes silly, and setting, character, and plot all lack realistic detail. I wanted to like this book, and I still admire the concept, but there is no skill in the execution and the final product is disappointing. As such, I can't recommend it.
Poison Study boasts an allover interesting concept, and perhaps most interesting is the protagonist's tenacious strength. Coming from a situation where she was dehumanized and abused, Yelena overcomes the difficulties of both her past and her present: she accepts the risky job of testing for poisons, learns to fight, defends herself against attackers, and wins the respect of her teacher and the Commander. Yelena is not the only strong female character in the text, and Snyder carefully and successfully avoids the vast majority of gender stereotypes, giving women agency and putting them in positions of power. I've read a lot of bad books recently, but this is the first of those that is not poor because of its themes or the messages it conveys. In those realms, this book is empowering, with a female protagonists who finds her strength within herself. Add to this an unusual fantasy setting where the aristocracy has recently been overthrown by military rule, an interesting concept in the form of the poison study itself, and careful political intrigues, and this book has a very promising premise.
What keeps the book from meeting its potentials, however, is Snyder's immaturity. Her book is full of this immaturity, and there are more examples than I can mention here—but for a few: the first person voice sounds more like daily speech than a written novel, the setting is constantly confused between medieval and modern, twists and turns in plot are either predictable or inexplicably swift, characters are strictly typed and undeveloped, Yelena's character development lacks all subtlety, and attempts to make Yelena realistically flawed result in exaggerated physical reactions (she thinks of something scary, and then lifts her arms to shield her face) and a near-literal haunting. Perhaps it's the curse of a first novel, and the sequels (Magic Study and Fire Study, neither of which I've read) are better; perhaps Snyder doesn't know how to write. Either way, this book reads as if it were the first draft of a novel penned by a fourteen year old.
The book is not impossible to read by any means, and in fact it's swiftly over. The plot, however predictable its twists, keeps the story moving along, and Yelena is a compelling character. But with such a good premise and such a strong protagonist, it's awful to see the book executed so poorly. On some level the good aspects save this book from a bad rating, because there is honestly no harm in reading it except for wasted time. However, I simply can't recommend the book, not with so much out there that is worth reading. The novel is an exercise in disappointment, interspersed with moments of sheer disbelief when Snyder, for example, talks about the jagged wounds left by glass or the waggling fingers of a disapproving fire. Another writer, a more mature style, or more revision might have saved this book; as it is, it is simply too immature to excuse or to enjoy, and I don't recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: New York: Luna, 2005
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 361
Total Page Count: 47,875
Text Number: 138
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Yelena is about to be executed for murder, but is given the last minute chance to instead become the food tester for the Commander, ruler of Ixia. As Yelena learns to test for and recognize poisons, she is pulled into the palace intrigues, builds a difficult relationship with her teacher, and begins to recognize her developing magical powers—powers which are, in Ixia, punishable by death. Poison Study is a promising text with an intriguing premise, a strong female protagonist, and carefully plotted twists and developments—but Snyder's writing is unforgivably immature. As a result, the writing style is rough and sometimes silly, and setting, character, and plot all lack realistic detail. I wanted to like this book, and I still admire the concept, but there is no skill in the execution and the final product is disappointing. As such, I can't recommend it.
Poison Study boasts an allover interesting concept, and perhaps most interesting is the protagonist's tenacious strength. Coming from a situation where she was dehumanized and abused, Yelena overcomes the difficulties of both her past and her present: she accepts the risky job of testing for poisons, learns to fight, defends herself against attackers, and wins the respect of her teacher and the Commander. Yelena is not the only strong female character in the text, and Snyder carefully and successfully avoids the vast majority of gender stereotypes, giving women agency and putting them in positions of power. I've read a lot of bad books recently, but this is the first of those that is not poor because of its themes or the messages it conveys. In those realms, this book is empowering, with a female protagonists who finds her strength within herself. Add to this an unusual fantasy setting where the aristocracy has recently been overthrown by military rule, an interesting concept in the form of the poison study itself, and careful political intrigues, and this book has a very promising premise.
What keeps the book from meeting its potentials, however, is Snyder's immaturity. Her book is full of this immaturity, and there are more examples than I can mention here—but for a few: the first person voice sounds more like daily speech than a written novel, the setting is constantly confused between medieval and modern, twists and turns in plot are either predictable or inexplicably swift, characters are strictly typed and undeveloped, Yelena's character development lacks all subtlety, and attempts to make Yelena realistically flawed result in exaggerated physical reactions (she thinks of something scary, and then lifts her arms to shield her face) and a near-literal haunting. Perhaps it's the curse of a first novel, and the sequels (Magic Study and Fire Study, neither of which I've read) are better; perhaps Snyder doesn't know how to write. Either way, this book reads as if it were the first draft of a novel penned by a fourteen year old.
The book is not impossible to read by any means, and in fact it's swiftly over. The plot, however predictable its twists, keeps the story moving along, and Yelena is a compelling character. But with such a good premise and such a strong protagonist, it's awful to see the book executed so poorly. On some level the good aspects save this book from a bad rating, because there is honestly no harm in reading it except for wasted time. However, I simply can't recommend the book, not with so much out there that is worth reading. The novel is an exercise in disappointment, interspersed with moments of sheer disbelief when Snyder, for example, talks about the jagged wounds left by glass or the waggling fingers of a disapproving fire. Another writer, a more mature style, or more revision might have saved this book; as it is, it is simply too immature to excuse or to enjoy, and I don't recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
