Skip to main content

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

I felt a bit blue last night as I finished Fire Study, the third and final volume in Maria V. Snyder's Study Trilogy. Though she is currently working on a new series following a side character from the Study books, this is the last one to center on the adventures of Yelena, the convicted murderer, turned poison taster, turned diplomatic liaison. I felt blue because I'd been expecting more and I ended up finishing it more out of a feeling of obligation than because I was truly engrossed.

The story picks up shortly after the events of Magic Study leave off. Yelena, her brother Leif, and the mercurial Moon Man are busy trying to mop up the Soulstealer's mess and dealing with accusations from the Mage's Council. First Magician Roze Featherstone is calling for Yelena's head on a platter and there is little rest for the weary on the horizon. The problem is, very little happens from this point on. Or rather, very little new stuff happens.

What there is is page after page of no one believing Yelena that Roze really is That Evil. Page after page of people stabbing each other with curare left and right (and waking up from being stabbed). Page after page of no Valek. And when he is there Yelena's not letting him help her. Instead she spends the majority of her time worrying about his potential demise and trying to protect him from a threat he's much better equipped to deal with than anyone else in the book. Towards the last three quarters of the story, the characters do start to wake up and act like themselves. They begin to deal with some of the meatier issues hanging over them just as the book reaches its end. And I felt myself wondering what took them so long? And wishing that the wonderfully dark, emotional atmosphere and tension from Poison Study were present here. Because I missed them.

Links
Book Binge Review
The Compulsive Reader Review
The Story Siren Review and Interview
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown9:06 PM

    I really enjoyed reading the first two books of this series and I'm struggling not to read your entire review of the last (SOB!) book in this trilogy. I can't wait to get my own copy soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angiegirl1:00 PM

    Hope you snatch a copy soon, Amy. Let me know what you think of the third one!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like

Interview with Diana Peterfreund + Rampant Giveaway!

Ever since I fell in love with Diana Peterfreund 's Secret Society Girl series last year, I've been hoping I'd get the chance to interview her here. Tomorrow marks the release of her new novel, Rampant , and let me tell you that you have not read a book like this before. You can read my review here , but all you really need to know is that it's a story about killer unicorns and the young women who hunt them. You want to read it now, don't you? Oh, yeah, and it's YA and the first in a series! To celebrate the release, Diana graciously answered a few of my most burning questions. As she is always a delight, I know you'll enjoy them as much as I did. First things first: When did the idea for Rampant first hit you and what (if anything) did you know right off the bat? In early 2005, just after selling Secret Society Girl , I had this dream of being chased by a very dangerous unicorn. I woke up and went to go look it up to see if I could figure out the meanin...
120 comments
Read more

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, Review + Giveaway!

It seems a long time ago now that I first read Shiver -- the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. But looking back I started it on the plane ride to BEA and finished it there in the conference center, fingers gripping the cover tightly, while sitting on the floor in one of the many autograph lines. And now it's May again and BEA is right around the corner and I emerge from my recent and nasty reading slump stupor to find a copy of Linger sitting in my mailbox like a glove thrown down in the dirt. "I will be the one to pull you out," it whispers to me slyly. "Just open me up and take a sip. I promise--one sip is all it will take." And I look at it with fear and longing written all over my face. "You promise?" I ask  intently. "Because it's been a long walk in the cold and I'm not sure I can take another disappointment." "Just open me up," it says, confidence written all over its cover. And so I do. And everythin...
161 comments
Read more

Triple Prize Pack Giveaway!

Not long ago I discovered a few of you tweeting to get me to the 300 follower mark. As little things I read on Twitter often do, that one sort of made my day. You're all really too sweet for words and I joked that perhaps it was time for a giveaway. The truth is I've been in the mood to have one for awhile now and this is as good a time as any. So here's the deal. This will be a triple prize pack giveaway , meaning there are three packs and you can indicate which one you'd like to be entered to win in the comments. I will choose three random winners and contact them. This giveaway is open to anywhere The Book Depository ships! Here's the list of countries , FYI. Since I tend to read a lot of urban fantasy, straight fantasy, and young adult, I've chosen a set of each including all books currently in print in that series. The Urban Fantasy Pack The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (My reviews here , here , & here )   The Fantasy Pack The Queen's Th...
110 comments
Read more