Book Review: Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder

Choose: A quick death or slow poison...







Yelena has a choice - be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short-lived.
Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can't. And who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head?
When Yelena realises she has extraordinary magical powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death...

What happens when one friend raves about a book, but another dismisses it out of hand? Well, the only thing a bibliophile can do - find out for ones self!
From the very first page you are thrust into a world coming to grips with a new leader and with it, a new way of living. All magic and sorcery has been exiled by the commander and with it a higher risk of assassination. In comes Yelena - in chains for the murder of General Brazell's son and the next in line for the noose. Until she is brought to Valek (the Commanders personal security chief) and given a choice. But is anything that easy? To ensure her loyalty Valek poisons Yelena with Butterfly's Dust, with which she must go to him to take the antidote every morning, ensuring her survival. No antidote and she dies a rather unpleasant death.
And that's just the first chapter!

I am very pleased to note that this book contains a very strong and worthy heroine. Intelligent and endearing heroines are increasingly rare in a genre filled with silly girls who follow their immortal hunks to greener pastures. Yelena is no follower. She is resourceful, witty and quick to act. Throughout Poison Study she is plagued by her tragic and haunting past and the consequences of her murder - all of which is gradually revealed as you read on.
So, for a series that has magic, murder, mystery, corruption, secrecy and love interwoven throughout - how could I not love it?

And onwards to book two...

Published by Mira Books - 2004

Book Review: Mortlock - Jon Mayhew

"Maybe it was my reading diet as a child, maybe it's just the way I am but my writing always comes out a little bit... dark." - Jon Mayhew






The sister is a knife-thrower in a magician's stage act, the brother an undertaker's assistant. Neither orphan knows of the other's existence. Until, that is, three terrible Aunts descend on the girl's house and imprison her guardian, the Great Cardamom. His dying act is to pass the girl a note with clues to the secret he carries to his grave. Cardamom was one of three explorers on an expedition to locate the legendary Amarant, a plant with power over life and death. Now, pursued by flesh-eating crow-like ghuls, brother and sister must decode the message and save themselves from its sinister legacy.

I had a lot of fun reading this. Josie is bright and snappy, while Alfie is calm and reasoning - together they make a great team. Though just 13 years old, they go through the very depths of hell, caught up in the whirl-wind of their guardians past of mystery and power. Set in a dark and dangerous Victorian London they are ruthlessly hunted through the streets by the 'Aunts' (who are just down-right creepy) and their ghoulish crow-minions.

There are some parts in the story which are truly frightening and I realised this is becoming a common theme in a lot of younger children's these days - and I think this is a good thing. Kids are growing up in a very different world these days and their capacity of understanding what they see on the television or on the streets is much more than we give them credit for. And that's one of the beauties of books - they not only provide entertainment - they help us understand ourselves, our world around us and even why we do the things we do.

I cannot wait for this book to be released and I do hope there is room for a sequel.

Published by Bloomsbury - April 2010.

Book Review: Temeraire - Naomi Novik

"...he took a liking to me, and we could not risk him refusing the harness from another hand." Laurence, P47







Captain Will Laurence has been at sea since he was just twelve years old. Rising on merit to captain his own vessel, Laurence has earned himself a beautiful fiancee, society's esteem and a golden future. But the war is not going well. It seems Britain can only wait as Napoleon plans to invade.
After a skirmish with a French ship, Laurence finds himself in charge of a rare cargo: A dragon egg bound for the Emperor himself. Dragons are much prized: properly trained, they can mount a fearsome attack from the skies. One of Laurence's men must take the beast in hand and join the aviator's cause, thus reliquishing all hope of a normal life.
But when the newly-hatched dragon decides to imprint itself on Laurence, the horrified captain's world falls apart. Gone is his golden future: gone his social standing and soon his beautiful fiancee, as he is consigned to be the constant companion and trainer of the fighting dragon Temeraire...

It's been a while since I've read something so refreshing and heart-warming as this. The first book in the Temeraire series sees a massive change in Captain Will Laurence's life. Unwillingly torn away from everything he holds dear - he enters the life of an aviator. Seemingly governed by their own rules - all Laurence knows about them is they are considered outcasts by everyone from the Navy to the common man. So as Laurence is thrust into the deep-end, confused and unsure of what is to become of him, only his bond with Temeraire will pull him through and experience a life that he never imagined.

Novik pulls off quite a balancing act as she tackles both draconic fantasy and Napoleonic history. I've never had much interest in the battle of Trafalgar but while reading this I found myself browsing Wikipedia often to check references, interested in how much of it was truth (and much of it was!). To my surprise I found myself fascinated with the history and it spurred me on with a renewed enthusiasm. Not to mention the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire is priceless and one to be experienced. The second book in the series - Throne of Jade - is definitely on my to-read list. Brilliant.

Published by Harper Voyager - March 2006