Snyder, Maria: Poison Study
Poison Study
Writer: Maria Snyder
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 361
It's a small world: the first time I heard of this book, I was at my local Barnes & Noble browsing through the SF/F section of the store. This book happened to be facing out, and the cover grabbed me. Go take a look, because the art is gorgeous. I picked it up, glanced at it, and made a mental note to look for it when it came out in paperback (I don't like buying hardback books, especially of writers I've never heard of).
Then, during my January residency, one of the students was promoting her debut novel that just got published. She was passing out bookmarks, so I grabbed one, and stopped in my tracks: I recognized the art. "YOU wrote that book?!?!" was the genius comment I came up with, and then I proceeded to gush over the cover and how they did such a fabulous job. Needless to say, I bought a copy from Maria, got it signed, and lamented the fact I couldn't read it right away due to my required reading.
But required reading is aside, and I really wanted to have this read before my June residency, so I could actually talk to Maria about the book if I wanted. I started reading it around noon. I finished eight hours later.
I loved this book.
Maybe you shouldn't judge a book by the cover, but I'm shallow. I was determined I'd likely enjoy this book, especially when I heard about the publishing company, Luna, which promotes fantasy fiction with strong women protagonists and romance angles. This is right up my alley, and I'm already plotting to find more material from this company, because I've resolved to one day write for them. :)
Moving on: the book is not a romance, I want to say that straight up. Oh, I knew there'd be SOMETHING coming, so that was a nice thing to look forward to, but the plot and characters completely kept me engrossed: there's magic, there's intrigue and espionage. There's solid description, and the kind I can appreciate: it comes from the character's experience, and we don't get it for setting's sake. Kudos there. Kudos as well for the organic growth of the story: we know magic plays a role with the main character, and we know she killed a man, and for good reason. We know that current society doesn't tolerate it, but due to circumstance, she's allowed to live, only to have her life constantly in danger, which forces Yelena, the main character, to constantly make choices about her situation. Chapter endings are of the cliff-hanger variety, and you turn the page to see how it all plays out. Sometimes, the cliff-hanger is a GOTCHA and nothing to sweat over. Other times, the protagonist's life is in danger, and you're left just turning the pages.
Is it a perfect book? No. There were a couple times my critic's eye (it never goes away) caught a few seeming inconsistencies, or things I would've liked to see made a little clearer, but there was nothing that hampered the enjoyment of the novel. But what really caught my eye, and I'm still happily grossing over, is the world-building. This is not a fantasy world that's so steeped in its epic-ness that it relies on formal language, and while there are castles and magic, Poison Study has a very modern feel. Part of it's the fact that there's a military in charge instead of a king. Part of it's because we've got people with modern sensibilities. But mostly, there's the modern, casual feel of the language. This is something that bothers me with many, many fantasy writers (published or otherwise), but in this case, it didn't bother me a bit. I think it's because the setting lent itself to such modernisms, that and the fact it simply wasn't overdone. Everything worked well in context, and made me realize why this novel has received so much acclaim.
This is a fabulous debut. This is the kind of book that makes me excited to be a writer, excited about my own work. I needed that. I needed that a lot. And would I recommend this? Do you even have to ask? Anyone who likes a little bit of fantasy with their romance, or, better still, a little bit of romance with their fantasy, should read this book. The food-tasting sub-plot of this story is a solid, original touch, and while I don't know if it'll come into play in the second book, I know I can't wait to read it.