Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

The third book in the Study series, Fire Study features Yelena Zaltana - former Ixian prisoner and food taster turned Sitian magician and Soulfinder.  With Ferde and Cahil still on the loose, Yelena tries to convince the council to hunt them down.  Not only do they refuse her request, First Magician Roze Featherstone continues to insist that Yelena is too dangerous to be allowed to live.

Yelena and her brother Leif set off on a journey to try to prevent a brewing war between her two homelands.  Facing a whirlwind of simultaneous conflicts and dangers, she struggles to come to terms with the corruptible nature of magic as she faces the her most powerful adversary yet – a Fire Warper that’s steadily gaining power from a horrific blood magic ritual practiced by the Daviian clan.

I really loved reading this trilogy, especially the first one (Poison Study).  While I still enjoyed this one, I thought it dove into conflict after conflict without letting me pause to really get into the story.  The Fire Warper was a really interesting addition and I wanted to learn more about him, and of course I wanted more scenes with Valek, who is one of my favorite characters in the books.  Ari and Janco showed up in a few scenes though, so that made me happy.

I love the juxtaposition between the structured districts of Ixia and the free-spirited, magic wielding citizens of Sitia.  Yelena is a wonderful character, full of passion and stubbornness, and all three books are packed with adventure, humor and raw human emotion.

Although this wasn’t my favorite of the Study series I highly recommend it and look forward to reading her Glass series soon!

Title: Fire Study
Author: Maria V Snyder
Publication: March 2008 by Mira
Pages: 448
ISBN: 9780778325354

Description:  The apprenticeship is over— now the real test has begun. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.…
Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

I Give This Book 4 Stars

While this was a wonderful wrap up to the Study series, I found myself not as engaged as I was with the first two books.  Perhaps the book is not entirely at fault since I was reading it during a hectic time.   But, I found myself skimming sections, realizing I missed something important, and then having to go back and reread.    There seemed to be lots of traveling around in this book, which seemed to distract from the actual story.  Now, there is still some very exciting parts throughout the story.  I still loved the characters.   I enjoyed discovering what an actual Soulfinder is.  I wasn’t extremely surprised by the villain, although the extent of the devastation caused was horrible.  I still would recommend this series to anyone.  I will definitely be reading the Glass series by Maria Snyder.  It’s set in the same world with one of the characters brough to light in Magic Study (although she’s in this one too).

Audible.com has named Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder as their best romance audiobook of 2008! And they’ve also pitted it against The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, their Audiobook of the Year, the “editor’s pick” bracket of their 2nd annual Tournament of Audiobooks. Audible has predicted that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will win the bracket — but let’s see if all the romance fans out there can’t cause an upset! So go, on GET VOTING HERE! (must log in to an audible.com account to vote).

As a tournament contender, Audible is also offering 10% off Fire Study. The rest of the series — Poison Study and Magic Study — is also available in downloadable audio.

Since I haven’t been writing much later, I’ve been doing what I like to call “field research” — aka: reading about a 1-2 books/day. It’s getting rather addicting, especially books in a series. For example, I read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder yesterday (I loved it!!), and I rushed out to B&N to get the next two books in the series (alas, they only had Magic Study, so I had to order Fire Study off the internet). And I’m anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Raine Benares series by Lisa Shearin. But as I wait for the new books to come in, I’ve noticed that a trilogy is the preferred length of a series these days, and I began to wonder why three was the magic number.

In the realms of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, sometimes it takes three installments/books to get the whole story out, mostly because of the epic nature of these genres.  I also think it’s all in homage to LOTR or something. But not all installments are created equal (see this for a humorous analysis of movie trilogies). And, as we all know, trilogies get extended to ride on the coat tales of their success. Two recent book examples include Stephenie Meyer’s “4th installement” of her Twillight Saga and the extension of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Trilogy Cycle. Sometimes it’s a good thing; sometimes it’s a not-so-good thing (Yes, I’m pointing at you, George Lucas, with your Jar-Jar infested prequels and Crystal Skulls). I have to admire authors who stick to their guns and say, “Nope, three was what I set out to write in this series, and that’s it”, even though rabid fan-girls like me may end up weeping in my bedroom because I won’t get to read more about characters I’ve come to love. But if they are able to carry the same magic past the third book, I’m happily dancing in the aisles when the next installment comes out. EX. Harry Potter had me hooked through all seven books, although I admit the last one was kind of a disappointment.

But the rule of three extends past SFF. Most major publishing deals these days seem to be three book deals (although two books deals are getting more popular with unknowns). So, I’m left asking, why three? Is it the way our brain thinks?  Is it because we were all brainwashed by Schoolhouse Rocks as kids? Whatever the reason, as a fantasy writer, whenever I start an idea, I immediately begin to think if there’s a way to turn it into a trilogy. For example, I mentioned I outlined a set of three paranormal romance novellas last week, and now that I’ve started scribbling on a new novel, I’m already brainstorming the sequels. Yes, in a sick, twisted way, I’m brainwashed, too.

What are your thoughts about trilogies? Are they good or bad? Do they limit a story or push it to it’s boundaries? And if you have an idea that extends past three (like the never-ending Wheel of Time), will it hurt you or harm you?

If you’re done buying your December list, now move on to January 2009’s releases (see below). For even further into the future, check my Reading Wishlist.

Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games
Scholastic (UK: 5th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before – and survival, for her, is second nature. Set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever…

Justin Gustainis
Evil Ways (Morris & Chastain Investigations, Book 2)
Solaris (UK: 5th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Children are being murdered for their organs – again. If this evil weren’t enough to contend with, it also appears that someone – or something – is determined to kill Quincey’s friend, “white” witch Libby Chastain. Quincey Morris is dragged into both of these cases, little realising that each is a part of the same horrific plot against humankind. When he finally puts it all together, Quincey gets a chance to save the world. Here’s hoping he doesn’t blow it.

Jennifer Rardin
One More Bite (Jaz Parks, Book 5)
Hachette Orbit (US: 5th January 2009; UK: 29th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
It’s Jaz Parks. I’ve already smoked the guy who was the pain in the CIA’s you-know-what for the past few years. But now, in the power vacuum left by the death of Edward “The Raptor” Samos, a struggle for supremacy has begun between his former allies. The CIA feels the balance must be maintained. So when an agent planted among the Weres discovers a plot to assassinate the Coven’s leader, my vampire boss and I are brought in to take out the woman hired to do the deed, a killer who might be as wily and Gifted as ourselves. So it’s off to the Scottish Highlands for some twisted fun among murderers, demons and half-crazed relatives. Sometimes being a top-secret CIA assassin isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Anya Bast
Witch Heart (Elemental Witches, Book 3)
Penguin Berkley (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009) – Mass Market Paperback
Buy
Claire, a demon’s handmaiden, is rescued from enslavement by a handsome playboy. Now they’re both in danger of being captured by warlocks who are determined to harness Claire’s powers for evil.

Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson & Thomas E. Sniegoski
Mean Streets (Anthology)
Penguin Roc (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Harry Dresden’s latest case may be his last. Nightside dweller John Taylor is hired by a woman to find something she lost – her memory. Greywalker finds herself in too deep when a “simple job” goes bad and Harper Blaine is enmeshed in a tangle of dark secrets and revenge from beyond the grave. For centuries, the being that we know as Noah lived among us. Now he is dead, and fallen-angel-turned-detective Remy Chandler has been hired to find out who killed him.

Rachel Caine
Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires, Book 5)
Penguin Signet (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009) – Mass Market Paperback
Buy
In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat. Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural.

Yasmine Galenorn
Night Huntress (Sisters of the Moon, Book 5)
Penguin Berkley (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009) – Mass Market Paperback
Buy
The D’Artigo sisters are half-human, half-Fae operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Delilah, a werecat who’s one of the Autumn Lord’s Death Maidens, has to fight off the demon general who stole the third Spirit Seal and is now out for blood.

Faith Hunter
Host (Rogue Mage, Book 3)
Penguin Roc (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009) – Mass Market Paperback
Buy
In a post-apocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix was nearly driven insane by her powers. She lived as a fugitive, disguised as a human, channeling her gifts for war into stone-magery. When she was discovered, her friends and neighbours accepted her, but warily. Not so the mage who arrives from the Council of Seraphs, who could be her greatest ally – or her most dangerous foe. And when her long-gone sister, Rose, is revealed to still be alive, Thorn must make a choice – and risk her own life in the process.

Jenna Black
The Devil’s Due (Morgan Kingsley, Book 3)
Hachette Piatkus (UK: 15th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Things aren’t going well for exorcist Morgan Kingsley. She’s been betrayed by the boyfriend of her dreams, her brother has been repossessed, and she’s unable to escape from the hunky demon who shares her body. All Morgan wants is to curl up and avoid reality for a while. But she can’t. A woman named Claudia Brewster seeks her services. During the brief time that Claudia had been on a cruise, her son, Tommy, changed from an invective-spewing member of the anti-demon society God’s Wrath to a happy little demon host. Claudia smells a rat – as does Morgan – but all the paperwork looks legal. That is, until Morgan begins digging up the secrets of Tommy’s past and finds herself deep in another deadly conspiracy…

Maria V. Snyder
Fire Study (Yelena Zaltana, Book 3)
Harlequin MIRA (UK: 16th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Yelena’s apprenticeship is over – now her real test has begun. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder – able to capture and release souls – spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before. “Honour” sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself – and save the land she holds dear.

Heather Brewer
Ninth Grade Slays (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 2)
Penguin Puffin (US: 22nd January 2009; CA: 29th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Freshman year stinks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly. A trip to Siberia gives “study abroad” a whole new meaning as Vlad connects with other vampires and advances his mind-control abilities, but will he return home with the skills to recognise a vampire slayer when he sees one?

Stacey Jay
You Are So Undead to Me (Megan Berry, Book 1)
Penguin Razorbill (US: 22nd January 2009; CA: 29th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
Fifteen-year-old Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she’s part-time shrink to a bunch of dead people with a whole lot of issues. All Megan wants is to be normal – and go to homecoming, of course. Unfortunately, it’s a little difficult when your dates keep getting interrupted by a bunch of slobbering Undead. Things are about to get even more complicated for Megan. Someone in school is using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into flesh-eating Zombies, and it’s looking like homecoming will turn out to be a very different kind of party – the bloody kind. Megan must stop the Zombie apocalypse descending on Carol, Arkansas. Her life – and more importantly, homecoming – depends on it.

Kelley Armstrong
Men of the Otherworld (Otherworld, Anthology)
Random House Spectra (US & CA: 27th January 2009) – Hardcover
Buy
As a curious six-year-old, Clayton didn’t resist the bite – he asked for it. But surviving as a lone child-werewolf was more than he could manage – until Jeremy came along and taught him how to straddle the human-werewolf worlds, gave him a home…and introduced him to the Pack. Featuring three of the most intriguing members of the American Pack – a hierarchical founding family where bloodlines mean everything and each day presents a new, thrilling and often deadly challenge. For as Clayton grows from a wild child to a clever teen who tests his beloved mentor at every turn, he must learn not only to control his animal instincts but to navigate Pack politics – including showing his brutal archnemesis, Malcolm, who the real Alpha is…

Mark Del Franco
Unfallen Dead (Connor Grey, Book 3)
Penguin Ace (US: 27th January 2009; CA: 29th January 2009) – Paperback
Buy
For a century since the Convergence of Faerie and modern reality, the Ways between this world and the next have been closed. But now signs point to the chance that the veil may lift again. Connor Grey has enough problems with a vengeful Queen of Faerie and the return of his old Guild partner. Add an occult string of murders, and it’s another case that just may kill him.

Suzanne McLeod
The Sweet Scent of Blood (Spellcrackers.com, Book 1)
Hachette Gollancz (AU: January 2009) – Hardcover
Buy
Genevieve Taylor is a Sidhe, one of the noble fae and she’s unusual, even in present-day London where celebrity vampires, eccentric goblins and scheming lesser fae mix freely with the human population. Genny is a rising star at Spellcrackers.com, where she finds the ‘M’ in magic – and that invariably leads to mischief, malice and – too often – murder. Spellcrackers.com is affiliated to the Witch Council, whose ancient tenets prohibit any contact with vampires. Genny also works as a volunteer at a clinic which treats victims of vampire attacks. Then there’s her extra-curricular activity, extracting vulnerable fae lured by the local fang gangs. Genny certainly doesn’t want any closer involvement with the vampire community. But when Mr October, one of the hot calendar pin-up vamps, is accused of violently murdering his girlfriend, Genny’s called on to repay an old debt and prove his innocence.

Fantasy author Maria V. Snyder’s “Study” series — Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study — has undergone a cover evolution or two. Starting out in Hardcover for LUNA, then Trade Paperbacks for MIRA, and now a new Young Adult edition (also for MIRA), every incarnation has gotten an absolutely gorgeous cover treatment. Let’s take a look:

Original Hardcovers (LUNA):

MIRA Trade paperbacks (these editions of Poison Study and Magic Study were both winners in the Cover Cafe’s Annual Cover Contest for 2007):

YA editions:

Browse this book

Add to your site

Buy this book

Browse this book

Add to your site

Buy this book

And that’s not all! Visit the cover gallery on Maria’s website to see more covers from around the world, including the UK, Germany, Spain, and Australia, as well as the cover for her new book Storm Glass coming out in April.

Join us again on Wednesday when Maria V. Snyder will be blogging about the new Young Adult editions of  Poison Study and Magic Study.

Rachel Caine
Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires, Book 5)
Penguin Signet (US: 6th January 2009; CA: 8th January 2009)
Buy
US cover. You’ve probably seen the art before, but in the original version they accidentally said it was Book 3. It’s now been amended to declare Book 5.

Rachel Caine
Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1)
Penguin Roc (US: 3rd February 2009; CA: 5th January 2009)
Buy
US cover. I usually don’t post covers if another blog has done it first, but the lass looks like someone, but I can’t figure out whom. I was thinking Isabel Lucas, or Elisha Cuthbert, but they don’t seem quite right…Click the Buy link for the larger image.

Kat Richardson
Vanished (Greywalker, Book 4)
Penguin Roc (US: 4th August 2009); Hachette Piatkus (UK: 31st July 2009)
Buy
US cover. The version I found is here, but it’s too dark to see the details. So I brightened it up for you.

Maria V. Snyder
Fire Study (Yelena Zaltana, Book 3)
Harlequin MIRA (US: 1st March 2008; UK: 16th January 2009)
Buy
UK cover. The version I found is here, but it’s too dark to see the details. So I brightened it up for you.

This interview was originally posted a little over a year ago, but it bears repeating as a wonderful way of wrapping up our series on Series.

Maria V. Snyder changed careers in 1995 from being a Meteorologist to a Novelist when she began working on her first novel, Poison Study. Published in October 2005, Poison Study won the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, won the Salt Lake Co. Library’s Reader’s Choice award, was a 2005 Booksense pick, was nominated for four other awards, and received a Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly. Maria’s second book, Magic Study was published in October 2006, is a 2006 Booksense pick, and is a RITA Award Finalist.

Since, for the most part, my blog readers won’t be familiar with your work, tell us a little about your series.

My “Study” series starts with Poison Study. Poison Study is about Yelena who is in the dungeon waiting to be executed for murder. She’s offered a choice of being the Commander’s new food taster or the noose. She chooses life and ends up getting into all kinds of trouble. Magic Study continues Yelena’s story. This time instead of learning about poisons, she’s trying to learn about magic and how to control her powers. Problems arise unexpectedly and she’s tangled in a plot to reclaim a throne and has to deal with a soul-stealing serial killer who is after her. Fire Study came out in March 2008 and it is the last Study book with Yelena as the main character. In Fire Study she battles a Fire Warper, comes to terms with her conflicting loyalties, and fights the lure of power. The Study series is considered adult fantasy with romantic and suspenseful elements, but I have many young adult readers who are enjoying the books, too. [For more info on Fire Study, click here.]

Did you know when you came up with the story idea that it would be a series?

No. When I wrote Poison Study, I thought it would be a stand alone book.

When you started writing, did you already know/had you already written the ending?

No. I’m what’s known as a “seat of the pants” writer (aka pantser). I like to discover the plot and twists as I write. However – I usually have a general idea of where and how the book will end, but I wouldn’t write it out until I reach that point, because it can always change.

How did you determine the plot structure for each volume and how each would fit into your overall plot for the series?

As I said before – I’m a pantser so there wasn’t any overall planning for a multi-book series. But what I did discover as I wrote the second book was little subplots in Poison that I could use and expand on for Magic or Fire. For example, in Poison I mention the Kennel Master – who is in charge of the Commander’s dogs – there’s rumor that he might have a magical connection with the dogs so everyone avoids him. That was it – the scene was to demonstrate the Commander’s strong intolerance for magic that makes a rumor ruin a person’s reputation. But in Fire – I used the Kennel Master’s hidden magic for a whole subplot. This is a technique that can be used for someone plotting a long series, planting info and events that seem minor at the time, but will become very important in later books.

How did you decide which subplots to tie up and which to leave hanging at the ends of the first and second books?

I believe you have to tie up all the major plots at the end of each book. I tried to make each Study book a story of itself so they could be read out of order. I will leave a subplot or two without a knot at the end – usually because life is messy and nothing ever gets pulled together completely at the end. My biggest complaint about trilogies is the middle book tends to be just all middle story – nothing is solved and I find myself very frustrated with them.

How did you determine how much information from Poison Study to include in the opening of Magic Study so that new readers could follow along and those who’d read the first book wouldn’t feel like they were being dragged back through the whole story?

That was the hardest part to write! I tried to tell the new story straight on, but when ever I came to a place where the reader needed a little background info, I added an internal thought or some dialogue like when Yelena’s mentor chides her about climbing trees, mentioning she had no trouble before – which leads Yelena to think about the time she had climbed through the tree canopy to avoid being captured.

Have you written the ending of the series? If so, how did writing the end of the last book differ from the first two?

Fire Study is not the end of the series, but it is the end of Yelena’s story. The difference was getting her to a place (both physically and emotionally) where the reader knows that Yelena has fought the good fight and is now a better person. By that point all the questions about Yelena needed to be answered – but I could still leave a few mysteries for future stories.

When you pitched/submitted the series to publishers/agents, did you have a synopsis/3 chapters of each book or just of the first book with a more general synopsis of the sequels?

I submitted the complete manuscript of Poison, and when LUNA books called they offered me a two-book contract. Good thing I had 18 months to write that second book, and that I had an idea for it. The original ending of Poison was revised to be more suspenseful and to mesh better with Magic. I knew I needed to write Fire half way through Magic – and for approval – I sent my editor a 4 page synopsis and they offered me a three-book contract. At that time – I had no idea what books 4 & 5 would be. I’m working on #4 now and it’s set in the Study world, but no title has been approved, yet. Five is still a mystery!

What have you learned about writing through the experience of writing a series that we might not learn through writing single-title/stand-alone stories?

The two things I mentioned earlier – leaving clues in earlier books for later use and how to insert background info without boring the people who have read the first book – were the most important lessons I learned.

Any other words of advice you can share about writing endings?

I tend to be an instinctual writer – while I know where I want my story to end, I’m not going to force it there. I would advice writers to listen to your internal feelings. Your logical mind may say to end with X Y Z, but as you write you might hit a spot (a sentence or a scene) and your heart will go “That’s It!” To quote song lyrics, “Listen to your heart.”

Maria V. Snyder
Fire Study (book #3)
Mira
ISBN-10: 0778325342
ISBN-13: 9780778325345
Fantasy, March 1, 2008

Warning: If you’ve not read the series, or one or more of the books therein, you may be slightly spoiled by this review, though no important details of this particular installment will be spoiled.

In a lot of ways, I just cannot believe this is the conclusion to the fantasy series that got me re-hooked on my breakthrough reading craze. I do credit Snyder with reeling me back into fantasy mainstream, my first reading love and passion. After watching my sister gorge on Piers Anthony like harem girls on rich delicacies as a kid, I wondered why I had such an aversion to reading. I asked her for suggestions and soon I was a rabid fan of greats like Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey. Reading Yelena Zaltana’s journey’s from Poison Study and now through her culmination in Fire Study has been, quite simply, an amazing journey. What a great, awe-inspiring series to reintroduce myself to one of my biggest passions in reading. For that, Ms. Snyder, thank you.

One thing I just do not get about this series though? It’s touted as a romance by many an internet site/reviewer/whoever. And I do believe we’re all entitled to those opinions, but this series is just not a romance in the sense that I read actual romances. The romance isn’t even secondary. It’s not even third. It’s more an afterthought and a bit of a relaxer when things have gotten a little heavy, but her relationship with Valek, while as sweet as it can be between an assassin and his lady magician, isn’t detailed enough to earn the series the title of romance. (BTW, do you feel differently? I would love to hear why.)

At the end of Magic Study, we finally discover the driving force behind the tipsy-topsy snake path that’s been Yelena’s life from the moment she was kidnapped and stolen into Ixia as a young child. Snyder does an admirable job of detailing the previous two books enough so that we get a gist of Yelena’s past as a child and as the former food taster to the King of Ixia, but without bogging down this latest installment with unnecessary info. It’s woven seamlessly into the story…although there were a few points that were never resolved that I’d looked forward to reading, the main one being Yelena’s family discovering the torture she underwent as an enslaved child in Ixia. I suppose it’s possible that divulging it wasn’t really necessary and probably would have caused her mother and father undo pain, but I felt it would have aided everyone around her in understanding Yelena much better. Not for sympathy’s sake, but to see that her choices had always been taken from her, even at that young an age. And what an amazing person she came to be, still capable of mistakes and error, but stronger for having undergone the abuse and pain. I feel her family would have grown to appreciate that just as much given the time to weather the shock.

The first few chapters were a bit slow to start and as a result a little difficult to get into. They pick up seamlessly where Magic Study leaves off, with Yelena seeking out the Sandseed clan once again, whom she’s related too. But fortune is ever unsmiling on this newly discovered Soulfinder (which she still has no inkling of what one can do), and her studies are exchanged for intrigue and danger–an all too reoccurring pattern. Yelena’s still not completely in her skin yet, but she’s as tenacious as ever and takes on challenges with the air of of a natural leader that everyone around her begins to look up to. Thank goodness for her small circle of supporters too because Sitian and Ixian relation are as unbalanced as ever and a new threat is on the horizon. Outcast Sandseeds, known as Vermin, have joined forces with the villain form the last book, Ferde the Soulstealer, and Cahil, resident sorta-sorta-not–lost-heir-to-Ixia, who just won’t give up the bone to rule that he’s latched onto. Something stinks in the Sitian council too when Yelena and her brother are denounced as traitors, their arrests called for by Roze Featherstone, first Master Magician. Chaos ensues and suddenly Sitia is on the brink of declaring war with Ixia and as always, it’s up to Yelena and her merry band of rag-tag magicians and her assassin lover to resolve the multiple dilemmas. Add in a diabolical and ancient Sandseed magic and suddenly a Fire Warper is out to make Yelena his. From the plains and Magician’s Keep of Sitia, to the northern military ruled territories if Ixia, Yelena’s got her hands more full than ever.

There’s a lot going on in this book! There’s no other way to put it and at times it was a bit confusing. Snyder’s world building, while seemingly flawless, does get a bit hazy as Yelena struggles to discover her identity as a magician and Soulfinder. There’s non-stop action from the first page till the last, as seems to be the norm now after two prior books, and it’s not really till the end that we see once again that it’s all actually vital to the climax of the series as a whole. Were there holes in the plot? Honestly – there well may have been, but this reader eventually was able to bypass the more muddled beginning and by about the fifth chapter or so, I was as hooked as I’ve ever been in Yelena’s upside-down life. If there were holes, I blithely overlooked them in favor of a thoroughly intriguing story.

Yelena…what can be said that hasn’t been already in past reviews? She definitely experiences almost a full circle of development. Again, the issue of her family still not knowing what she went through in Ixia, I believe, slightly hindered this. It’s mentioned a few times that she will tell them eventually, but now wasn’t the right time. *snort* Like there’s ever a “right time” for anything within Yelena’s life. Fa gosh sakes, she never catches a break with all the non-stop danger! danger! (That’s not a complaint, BTW. The conflict does keep it uber interesting after all.) Her first person voice, no matter how tricksy things become, is so matter-of-fact and rational. And maybe that possibly blunts some of the more horrific aspects that she deals with, but it also helped portray her as the leader some eventually look up to her as. I could go on and on (but I hear you groaning), but well, Yelena rocks and the books are the evidence. If you enjoy first-person POVs then this here’s the gal that can lead you on one interesting adventure after another.

The book has a very satisfying ending, with Yelena discovering, FINALLY, who she really is and what her purpose is – and there’s even an HEA of sorts –, but it did not really feel like the end of a series. So, good ending for this particular book, but I am left in major wanting of more from Yelena and her cohorts. Much more! Maybe, for a series ending, it was a tad too succinct and abrupt, not to mention too convenient. Yelena has finally come into her own, but Cahil is still wanting control of Ixia, Yelena’s determined to be a liaison between the two neighboring countries, and dang it I can’t say much more or I will spoil this book too much! Grrrr, let’s just say I was NOT ready to move on after Fire Study. IMO, there’s still so much that could be done with this series. Geeze, maybe yall couldn’t tell my feelings?

In conclusion, GAWD I LURV THIS SERIES! The protags are conflicted, flawed and wonderfully brave; the baddies are sick, depraved and wonderfully eeevil. It’s pure, unfiltered keeper shelf material and I look very forward to pulling them off that shelf in the future for re-reading cravings. I could just weep though for wanting so much more. Snyder, loved it, just loved it…now please continue with it? Too, I cannot wait to see what you come up with next!

To keep up with Snyder and her work, visit her site here.

Rating: Four Scoops

Happy Leap Year, everyone! 

For the last several weeks (or has it been months?) I’ve been featuring the upcoming Jane Austen movie on Fun Fridays. But those of you who aren’t Jane Austen fans are in luck this week! I am featuring an author whose books I’ve devoured, but there is no formal Regency society or courtship rituals here.

Fire Study is the third book in the debut fantasy series by Maria Snyder—a wonderful author I met in Seton Hill University’s Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. This is one of the ABA books on my 2008 Reading List this year . . . though I would have read it anyway! I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books and cannot wait to delve into this one.

The series begins with Poison Study, in which Yelena starts her adventure in a dungeon, waiting to be executed for murder. She is given a choice of the noose or to become the new food taster for the Commander of Ixia—a military dictator paranoid of being poisoned. She chooses the job, and learns how to taste foods for poisons without dying. Life in the castle is full of hazards: the General, whose son she killed, wants revenge; rebels plot to seize Ixia; and Yelena develops magic she can’t control—magic which is forbidden in Ixia and punishable by death. As she searches for a way to freedom, Yelena is faced with more choices, but this time the outcomes aren’t so clear.

In Magic Study, Yelena is on her way to be reunited with the family she’d been stolen from long ago. Although she has gained her freedom, she can’t help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways, and her newfound friends and relatives don’t think it’s for the better. Despite the turmoil, she’s eager to start her magical training. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved in a plot to reclaim Ixia’s throne for a lost prince, and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians. If that wasn’t bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with her new enemies.

And now, at long last, the third book in the series. Fire Study continues Yelena Zaltana’s adventures. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.  Drawing on untested skills, Yelena becomes embroiled in the desperate fight to stop the Daviian Clan from unleashing a Fire Warper. Unfortunately, fire is one element she can’t control even if her life depended on it. And there is more at stake than just her life. Yelena’s journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. She will have one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

Meet Author Maria Snyder

What was your inspiration for writing Fire Study?
I wanted to explore the uses and abuses of power in this book. Poison Study, which is the first in the Study series, concentrated on Yelena’s inner conflicts and her self-confidence, and only touched briefly on magic. Magic Study focused on discovering the extent and type of powers Yelena possesses. In the third book, I wanted to show the extent some magicians will go to gain power over others. Using magic to solve problems can be addicting, and, in Fire Study Yelena realizes how much she depends on her magical abilities. She must learn how to balance the use of her power with more mundane methods and to discover that completely turning your back on magic isn’t the right answer.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?
In order to write the scenes with Opal, a glass artist in the book, I needed to enroll in glass blowing classes. The teacher made it look so easy to gather a slug of glass. But when it was my turn—yikes! It was HOT! The big vat of molten glass was kept in a rip roaring furnace at a toasty 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. I held a metal rod, and, while squinting through an eye-melting orange light, I dipped the end into the thick goo and spun it, gathering a glob of glass onto the end. The incandescent glob glowed as if alive.

Once acquired, the slug then needed to be quickly shaped. Glass cooled at a rapid pace, and, even though heat waves pulsed from the slug, it didn’t stay pliable for long. My first paperweight was a misshapened blob. After hours of practice, my ability improved, and I created a paperweight worthy to hold down my next novel’s manuscript pages.

I learned that working with glass required deft coordination, arm strength, tons of patience, and a good partner—it’s a good thing I have a day job!

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?
Currently my favorite authors all have humor in their books. Since my life is so stress-filled and complicated, I’ve been enjoying light and fluffy reading with Mary Janice Davidson’s vampire series and her new mermaid series, Connie Willis is another favorite of mine, and I’ve recently discover the mystery/suspense thrillers of Harlan Coben. Growing up, I started with mysteries because that is what my mother enjoyed. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my favorites before I graduated to Agatha Cristie, Dick Francis, Robert B. Parker, Barbara Vine, and Ed McBain.

Who has influenced you in your writing?
I read a ton of mystery novels growing up. My favorite mystery author is Dick Francis and his books have influenced my writing style. I also use first person point of view and try to keep the story’s pace moving. My cliff hanger endings are a direct result from his books; I can never stop reading one of his books at a chapter break. My favorite fantasy writers all have strong female protagonists and interesting characters in common. Barbara Hambly’s books have a nice mix of action, character and humor—all essential elements to what I consider good fiction.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?
As a writer, the attraction is in exploring new settings and characters and not having to worry too much about what is physically possible or not. I make my own rules about my world and, as long as I stick to them, can explore various problems generated by the unique setting and situation. As a reader, I enjoy traveling beyond my everyday world to a new place full of wonder and surprises.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?
I love to travel with my family. Exploring new places and meeting new people and experiencing other cultures are wonderful for the writer’s soul—I also enjoy playing volleyball, reading and I dabble with photography.

What are you writing now?
I’m writing the fourth book based in the Study world titled, Storm Glass. Set five years after Fire Study, Storm Glass has a new protagonist and she’s the reason for the new series title. Storm Glass will be out December 2008. Here is the cover copy of the book:
“As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she never knew she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.”

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?
I started writing because of boredom! My first job after college was as a Meteorologist for an environmental consulting firm. The amount of work came in waves, and we were either extremely busy or very bored. During the slow times, I started writing a short story. Ideas were always floating around in my mind, but that was when I began using them. I submitted my first short story for critique at a writing conference in Philadelphia, and when the workshop leader gave me 7 out of 10, I thought that was pretty good for a first effort and decided to stick with writing for a while. After my son was born and I only had about one hour a day to myself, I had to decide what was important enough to spend that precious time on. Most days writing won.

And Now . . . an Excerpt from Fire Study:

The man stepped from the midst of the roaring bonfire. Scorched black from head to toe, small flames clung to him like feathers. He advanced toward me. I broke my paralysis and scrambled away from him.

“Did I surprise you, my little bat?” the man asked. “Counted nine when there really were ten. Hot little trick.”

He knew my conscience had flown with the bats. But who was he?

I scanned the surrounding jungle, looking for my backup. Leif and my friends were at the edge of the clearing.

“No help from them, my little bat. They will burn if they come any closer.”

I tried to project into the flaming man’s mind, but his mental defenses proved impenetrable, a Warper of incredible strength. Running out of options, I glanced behind me and caught sight of my bow.

The blazing Warper pointed and a line of fire appeared between me and my weapon. The moisture evaporated from my mouth. I tasted ashes. A wall of hot air pushed against me and the Warper was before me.

“Fire is your downfall, little bat. Can not call it. Can not control it.”

My body roasted as if I had been staked to a spit over a giant campfire. Just when I thought I would faint, he extended his hands and a bubble of cool air caressed my skin. The break from the heat an intoxicating relief. I swayed.

“Take my hands. I will not burn you. Travel with me through the fire.”

“Why?”

“Because you belong to me.”

The March 2008 books I’m looking forward to:

Fire Study

• By Maria V. Snyder
• Yelena Zaltana series, Book 3
• Trade Paperback on sale March 1
• Fantasy series filled with adventure, intrigue and romance
• I read the first in this series (Poison Study) and really enjoyed it. The second (Magic Study) is in my TBR pile!

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

• By Rhys Bowen
• Seventh in Molly Brown Mystery series
• Hardcover on sale March 4
• Set in New York City in 1902 with Molly Brown, an Irish immigrant sleuth, trying to run her own detective agency
• I read all the previous books in this series last year and really enjoyed them. I’m really looking forward to this release.

Chosen

• By P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast
• Third in House of Night young adult fantasy series
• Set in Oklahoma at school for “Marked” vampire-to-be teenagers
• Trade Paperback on sale March 4
• I enjoyed the first two books in this series and look forward to this one.

Tangled Webs

• By Anne Bishop
• New book in the Black Jewels fantasy series
• Hardcover on sale March 4
• The Black Jewels series is one of my favorites and this one sounds great!
• This new book features Surreal SaDiablo who gets trapped in a tangled web created by Black Widow witches.

Night Life

• By Caitlin Kittredge
• Nocturne City, Book 1
• Paperback on sale March 4
• A new urban fantasy series which sounds interesting. It is about a shapeshifting cop trying to stop a killer.

Simply Perfect

• By Mary Balogh
• Fourth in Simply Quartet series
• Hardcover for sale March 25
• Historical romance tells story of Claudia Martin & the Marquess of Attinsborough…a character in One Night for Love and several other books. Mary Balogh books are particular favorites of mine.

Magic Burns

• By Ilona Andrews
• Kate Daniels, Book 2
• Paperback on sale March 25
• Another urban fantasy series. I enjoyed the first book in this series.

Blue Eyed Devil

• By Lisa Kleypas
• Contemporary Women’s Fiction/Romance
• Hardcover on sale March 25
• Lisa Kleypas is a favorite author. I enjoyed the first contemporary–Sugar Daddy–which has some of the same characters and plan to get this book when it comes out.

Poison Sleep

• By T. A. Pratt
• Marla Mason series, book 2
• Paperback for sale March 25
• I haven’t read the first book in this series–Blood Engines–but I will be looking for it.
• Marla Mason is a sorceress and according to the website: “It’s got monsters. It’s got sarcasm. It’s got death, destruction, sex parties, ancient gods, wisecracks, artifacts, oracles, dark alleys, and magical daggers. Come and see.”

The books listed above are the ones I’m watching for in March. What books are you waiting for?

The Story Siren is hosting a giveaway in which one lucky reader will win a copy of each of the following three books by Maria V. Snyder: Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study. I haven’t read them, but they look good! Enter here.

I thought I remembered reading on the author’s website that Fire Study would be the culmination of Yelena Zaltana’s precarious travels through life, but I wanted to double check. So a-hoppity skip and away and we go to Snyder’s website, where I must be the LAST ONE EVER to discover a delectable little bonus freebie, planted between blurbs about the series books. Fa gods sakes, the rock I’m living under sucks–there’s five chapters already! And apparently you could vote on what happens next at the end of the currently ending chapter?? But that’s all over now, it ends with Chapter Five. So once again, K’s typically late to the fairy tale ball, sans mask and limping from high heeled blisters, but it’s still up, people, if you want a tasty and FREE scoop of Ms. Snyder’s writing! Go getcha some at eHarlequin.com now–and enjoy.

Magic Study
Maria V. Snyder
MIRA Books
ISBN-13: 9780778323921
ISBN-10: 0778323927
Fantasy
October 1, 2006

Poison Study, book one in the adventures of Yelena’s precarious and often dangerous life, introduced a heroine worth giving more than a second look at. Put through hell and back, she refused to let abuse and foul black magic to take her life as a child. As a young woman, she conquered the challenges of becoming the poison taster for the ruler of Ixia and managed to secure the heart of its most dangerous assassin. Through many tests, Yelena has already walked, but there’s one left that she’s only dreamed of and it may prove the most difficult for her to overcome yet.

Fourteen years have passed since Yelena was taken from her family, kidnapped from the southern country of Sitia. As those possessing magic are put to death in Ixia, Yelena must take herself, along with her newly budding powers, to the only place left for someone such as her. The first challenge of her once again new start at life? Her family. When she meets up with them again, it’s a culture shock for both parties. Determined to rekindle something of her past though, Yelena gives it her all with the large Zaltana clan. Treachery is never far from home though, and soon she’s having to watch her back around a close family member. Even in the capital city, where Yelena travels to learn how to control her magic, she can’t gain a moments respite from danger. There, she become embroiled in the machinations of a would-be king, the treachery of an evil magician and the stigma of a power so great, others fear the very mention of one who wields it. Looked upon with suspicion wherever she goes, Yelena must once again fight for a place in a society that has no place for her. True to her nature, she makes a place for herself, and soon is hot on the trail of the evil magician as well as her constantly unfolding destiny.

Yelena’s first person voice leads the reader straight and true throughout the twists and turns she encounters. This is the type of story, the kind of adventure, where nothing slows down, nothing stops till the end. From her boisterous and unique family, to the stringent atmosphere of the Citadel, where Yelena begins her magic study, I was entranced by every word, hungry to know as much about Yelena’s past and abilities as she was. The addition of an Ixian delegation and with it, Yelena’s assassin lover, Valek, only heightens the strenuousness and level of difficulty for her. Magic Study, like its predecessor, is a book uncluttered by unnecessary elements. Every character mentioned counts. Every action holds weight. I wanted to yank Yelena back a few times and rail at her to accept the help of her friends (besides Valek), and in this the frustrations some characters in the book have with her are completely understandable. But too, Yelena’s had no one to depend on but herself for years, and no chance to adjust to all the new developments in her life before the next comes hurtling at her. She is still by this book’s end very much growing into her own skin. The twist to this installment will lead readers right into the next book, into the next stage of Yelena’s ever entangling life. I look forward, very much, to the continuing growth of such a strong, engrossing and heartfelt character. I would suggest reading the series in order. If you’re new to the books, you’ll glean enough info about the first one to be moderately enlightened, but likely left yearning for the first anyway. The next book, Fire Study, releases March 1, 2008, where we’ll learn more about the terrifying power that Yelena may be the first to wield in centuries.

Rating: Five Scoops