Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study

The back cover says:

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered a reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust, and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and she develops magical powers she can't control. Her life’s at stake again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear!

Poison Study was fun to read, with a lot of action from beginning to end. The plot was interesting, even if at times entirely predictable. Even so, knowing how it was going to play out didn't take the joy out of reading, and the few times it did manage to surprise me were good ones.

The greatest thing about Poison Study were the characters. It wasn't so much about the story but how the characters related to each other and what made them tick. I especially liked Yelena, the main character, and Valek (of course), but the others were close behind in likeability.

The worldbuilding in this book is also very good, even if simple. We have two countries: Ixia, where the action takes place; and Sitia, a country that is seen as a haven for those who want to flee Ixia. Ixia is under a military dictatorship, but what is great in Poison Study, is that the inclusion of a “bad” type of government is not a green card to assume everyone in power is bad. Sure they have their flaws, and lack of freedom is something I never like, but as I got to know the Commander (the one who rules Ixia) I realized he wasn't going to be portrayed as evil and manipulative. I should have been expecting it, with a main character that is an assassin and spy, but I was impressed with the shades of grey of most characters, which is a thing that I always love.

I really liked Poison Study and, even if the plot was predictable at times, the characters made the book a page turner. I'll keep on reading the rest of the series because I really want to know more about these characters and this world, especially about Commander and Ixia.

(4/5)


Other Reviews: 25 Hour Books | Bookworming in the 21st Century | Cuidado com o Dálmata | Queen of Happy Endings | What book is that?

The restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The restaurant at the end of the Universe

Come along on a zany journey to the low-rent neighbourhood of the Cosmos with earthling Arthur Dent, sexy space cadet Trillian, that imperturbable alien Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head Honcho of All Creation.

The Restaurant at the end of the Universe is the second book on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and it is much like the first one. It is a lot of fun, very silly, and very good.

There is more plot to this book, and I loved that. In The Restaurant at the end of the Universe Zaphod Beeblebrox is looking for the man who actually rules the Universe, something the old-himself told him to do before locking part of his brain away. In short, Zaphod is looking for the man who rules the Universe but he doesn't know why.

So through hops in space and time, where Zaphod leads, Ford and Trillian follow without contributing much to the story, Arthur continues his search for a decent cup of tea, and Marvin is simply depressed the entire time, these travellers will visit the most iconic places in the Universe, such as the Restaurant that gives name to the book, a concert by the band Disaster Area, the headquarters of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Total Perspective Vortex, and Earth.

However, this book was not as great as the first one. There a sense of unoriginality to it, that became quite blatant when the jokes started to repeat themselves. They were still good, but they were almost word for word the ones on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Nevertheless I enjoyed this book. There were some great parts, not only the jokes but some that just made me go awww, and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Favourite quote:

"It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination."

(4/5)

Reading Challenge - 50 to 55

One of the goals I had with this challenge was met: I managed to write proper reviews, instead of small ones, for the entire Challenge post! Hurray for me!


50 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games is a dystopian young adult novel, and, even if I'm slowly moving away from young adult literature, I love dystopias.

I know I will read the next two in the series, even if I'm expecting to be somewhat disappointed (from what I could gather from skimming the reviews for Mockingjay). With a more definite ending, The Hunger Games could easily be a standalone book – an a very good one at that.

(4/5)

[Full Review]



51 - The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

I was expecting great things out of The Map of Time, after reading my friend's review of it. What I was not expecting was that it would be so good and marvellous – a strong candidate to The Best Book I Read This Year.

(5/5)

[Full Review]




52 - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
I'm of two minds concerning Catching Fire. On one hand, it felt like a disappointment, on the other it pressed all the right buttons to keep me reading until the wee hours of the morning.

(3.5/5)

[Full Review]



53 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay is the last book on the Hunger Games series, a series which, in my opinion, had its peak on the first book.

Mockingjay was entertaining at first, but lost all of its appeal midway when the angst became too much – to the point that I lost all interest in it.

(2.5/5)

[Full Review]



54 - Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Graceling is a very good fantasy book, that seemed almost impossible to put down. And that smile that I had when I was reading stayed on my face long after I finished the last page. Truth be told, it comes back every time I think about this book. A fun read, and most importantly a great read.

(4.5/5)

[Full Review]


55 - Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire is the companion book of Graceling, a sort of prequel set in the same universe, but not on the same lands, with different characters and different elements. In short, if it weren't for one character in common and some references to the Graceling world, it could have been a totally different book.

I liked this book, but kept comparing it to Graceling, which is not really fair. The book stands well on its own, it is very enjoyable, with a good plot, good characters and good worldbuilding.

(4/5)

[Full Review]

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire

Fire is the companion book of Graceling, a sort of prequel set in the same universe, but not on the same lands, with different characters and different elements. In short, if it weren't for one character in common and some references to the Graceling world, it could have been a totally different book.

This book takes place on the other side of the mountains, where there are no Gracelings, but that doesn't mean there aren't special powers. What exists in The Dells are special people and animals, which draw the normal ones to them, and have powers of their own. These are called monsters, and Fire, the protagonist of the book, is one of them. But, even if the name suggests something hideous, Fire can only be described as a great beauty, which mesmerises most men, to the point marriages proposals (among other things) are commonplace for her.

The story starts with an archer that mistakenly shoots Fire, but before he can say who he is and who he is working for he is killed. Fire will try to discover who was this archer, getting tangled up in political matters. However, as a monster, people don't trust her, and she has decide if helping her King is worth both the distrust of everyone and the fact that they are using her for her monster-qualities.

I believe I shouldn't have read this book right after Graceling, it suffered from comparison. Because while I liked this one, it didn't make me squee like a schoolgirl the way Graceling did. But I really should try to make a review that the doesn't focus on the differences between the first and second book (and will undoubtedly fail).

Fire is interesting, with a political plot as well as some romance. It was easy to go to this new world, even with what I knew from the first one. I kept turning page after page, not noticing the end was coming, and that the hours were passing.

I really have to show my admiration for the author, because it is not easy to come up with a world where there are fuchsia raptors, and not making it sound like a bad trip on acid. Fuchsia and lime animals didn't make me stare at the pages in disbelief, it added more magic to a place that I kept seeing in dull greys and browns.

If in Graceling one of the themes was Kings, in Fire we have Fathers, and I enjoyed slowly learning about Fire's father, even if there was not much surprise to its ending. It served to show how Fire grew, and the reason to a lot of the discrimination and hate she was constantly facing.

I liked this book, but kept comparing it to Graceling, which is not really fair. The book stands well on its own, it is very enjoyable, with a good plot, good characters and good worldbuilding.

(4/5)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling
In the land of the Seven Kingdoms there are people born with special abilities, and the way to tell them apart is by their eyes – one of each colour. They are called Gracelings, and their power is their Grace. Katsa is a Graceling, and her Grace is killing, which is exploited by her cousin, the King – Katsa is his assassin and thug, doing his dirty work intimidating, maiming and killing whoever opposes him.

But Katsa keeps her mind, and has started to do some work on her own, trying to put right the wrongs done by all the Kings of the Seven Kingdoms. And when the Lienid King's father is kidnapped, she has to investigate.

This kidnapping is the connecting thread in the story, present from beginning to end, and although more quests and subplots are added to it, it does not deviate from wanting to know who kidnapped Grampa. That was one of the main things I loved about Graceling, the fact that by the end of the book I could still see the connection to the beginning of the story.

One thing that I can say about this book is that it was so much fun to read. I had a smile plastered on my face the entire time (which meant people looking at me oddly on the train), and there were a lot of parts where I was chuckling and snickering.

The story was very captivating, even if not exactly surprising. It reads well as a standalone (although there is prequel published and a sequel announced), the story has a beginning and an end. And regarding the ending, I confess to be dreading it when I was coming close to the last pages. There were merely 50 pages ahead of me and most of the plot was yet unresolved, and with no prospects of being resolved soon. But I needn't fear – when the end came about it was perfect and fulfilling.

I loved the characters one this book (so much that it saddens me that Fire is a prequel and not a sequel). It was easy to love all the good characters, and fear the evil ones. And even if the ending was fulfilling to the point that I consider the story finished, I still want more, more adventures with those characters, more time exploring that world, because I absolutely loved it.

Graceling is a very good fantasy book, that seemed almost impossible to put down. And that smile that I had when I was reading stayed on my face long after I finished the last page. Truth be told, it comes back every time I think about this book. A fun read, and most importantly a great read.

(4.5/5)

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This review contains spoilers for the entire Hunger Games series. Proceed with care. There are also some comments about the series at the end.

Mockingjay
Mockingjay is the last book on the Hunger Games series, a series which, in my opinion, had its peak on the first book.

After being rescued by the rebels from District 13, Katniss becomes a vital part of their plan to overthrow the government from the Capitol. They believe she can rally all the districts to a common cause. But for that to happen she has to become the symbol of defiance, the Mockingjay.

However, the bad news are that the rebels weren't able to rescue everyone, and President Snow has Peeta as a prisoner, and isn't below playing dirty to get what he wants.

Mockingjay is clearly inferior to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There is the bonus of the greater development of the back story (and I believe there is no reason, or excuse, to do that only on the last book of the series), but even that left more questions unanswered.

The story was captivating enough at first, especially because I was learning so much about District 13 and their militaristic society. However the drama and angst started to pile up so much that I eventually got so fed up with it that I just wanted it to be over.

There was some development on the characters as well, which I liked even if the direction it took was not to my liking. Katniss lost most of her self-assuredness, becoming a depressed, lost and even weak girl. In fact, she became the opposite of what she was in the beginning of the series. This sense of loss had its impact on the storytelling because, as it is told from her point of view in the 1st person, her confusion was my confusion, and there where times I truly felt like screaming at her to wake up and start doing something.

Although there was a clear evolution to the characters, I'm not sure the same can be said about the society of Panem. One phrase that came to my mind at the beginning of the book and stuck was “Out of the frying pan and into the fire”, which I believe describes what happened. I'm not sure the general population got a better deal out of this revolution and, unfortunately, by the end of the book I'm still left wondering.

One of my fears after reading Catching Fire was that I wasn't going to have a fulfilling ending, and I'm afraid I was right about that. But by the point it came about it didn't bother me so much as I thought it would – I was quite bored already with the story and didn't care whichever way it ended, only that it did.

Mockingjay was entertaining at first, but lost all of its appeal midway when the angst became too much – to the point that I lost all interest in it.

(2.5/5)



I do, however, have some comments to make on the entire series, and some questions left unanswered.

First, I must say I felt that this series suffered from being targeted to young adults. Young Adult Literature can be great, there are a lot of examples of that, but there are also a lot of examples where it seems that something is missing, some depth, and this holds true for the Hunger Games. I cared about the world, the politics, the society. What I did not care about was long descriptions of dresses, spa treatments, waxing of legs and constant angst about which boy to pick.

Another thing that irked me a bit was the use of first person, present tense. First person narrative is not easy, it limits what can be said about other characters, and usually makes it impossible to know what is happening outside the scope of “our” character. Present tense, although it allows for the reader to identify with the character more easily, can be awkward, especially when trying to convey the passage of time. And it was on this point that I didn't like its use on the series. Every time there was a break in the story time, be it days or just a couple of hours, I had to get my bearings and realise that it was not a continuation of the previous action.

My biggest question, and I have to admit it only started to really nag me on the third book, is: What about the rest of World? What happened to them? On the first book it is mentioned that Panem is in US. With that in mind, I had the picture of the United States – with the districts somewhere in there. But when on the beginning of Mockingjay the story of District 13 is being told, and there is the part when it says that they had no help because no other district would help it, the question about the rest of the world becomes quite blatant. Couldn't they have gone to Canada for help? I'm not talking about crossing an ocean, or half the world, just the non-existent border.

On Catching Fire, when they are inserting Katniss' tracker I realised I didn't think much about her first tracker. They must have taken it out, otherwise they wouldn't need to get her a new one. And it must be removed, it doesn't disappear, otherwise Johanna wouldn't have to dig through Katniss' arm to get it out.
But if I was a government keen on spying and controlling the population, and since the Victors of the Hunger Games are the heroes of their district (and a bit a sign of defiance – they played by Capitol's rules and survived), I would want to keep a tracker on them, know exactly where they are, and if they were meeting other Victors.

Also on Catching Fire, at the beginning, President Snow make it quite certain that he knew Gale wasn't just a cousin, he even said he knew about the kiss. He was also in a bit of trouble with the other districts thinking of Katniss as a sign of rebellion – their icon of rebellion, actually. Wouldn't it make much more sense to try to undermine Katniss' popularity, make her dislikeable (which is not that hard, especially since Peeta was the only reason for her likeability), by showing how she was lying to Peeta, “going behind his back” with another boy? She would become evil to the eyes of most viewers, lose her power, and her fame as a girl-in-love. She wouldn't be a suitable Mockingjay, if most of the people didn't like her.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This review contains spoilers, both to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire

Catching Fire
I'm of two minds concerning Catching Fire. On one hand, it felt like a disappointment, on the other it pressed all the right buttons to keep me reading until the wee hours of the morning.

Catching Fire continues where The Hunger Games left off, with Katniss and Peeta preparing for the Victory Tour, where they will visit all the other districts and the Capitol. But if facing the families of the Tributes that died on the Games wasn't bad enough, President Snow himself has showed Katniss that he wasn't happy with the stunt she pulled off during the Games, ensuring that she and Peeta could both win. This move, which was an act of survival, was seen in the districts as an act of rebellion, and with Katniss as poster girl for their movement. Snow issues her an ultimatum: either she convinces everyone that she is no rebel, and calms down the districts, or district 12 and all her friends will suffer.

I had a lot of hopes on this book. I hoped to learn more about Panem, the Capitol and the Districts, a bit more of its history, and how the Games affected each district. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of that. The Victory Tour, that could have given so much insight into the other districts, was gone in a flash. Only one incident is described fully to show the effect Katniss has, all the others are merely mentioned. Yet there was some much time devoted to Katniss' dresses and body hair.

Once it's clear that the rebellion is not calming down, the book picks up a bit. And the response from the Capitol is unexpected. However, I felt cheated because I would be thrown in what was basically the premise of the first book – the Games. Even if I knew the games would be the redeeming feature of the book, I would have preferred a more original plot. But I guess you don't change a winning team, so the author kept with what made the first book enjoyable.

And believe me, when the Games start the book get really good, there is a lot of character development, both the major one and their new “friends”, and the Games themselves are different, because there are different motivations behind it.

Another thing that got on my nerves (and I mean, really got on my nerves) was the ending. I know the series was already planned out, with the 3 books, so it's normal to have cliffhangers between them. But the ending of Catching Fire doesn't even deserve that classification – to me it shows that the author cannot come to a conclusion of the story, even if it is going to continue, and this (together with some reviews) makes me dread the end of Mockingjay, the last one on the series.

But, like I said in the beginning, this book kept me awake until very early in the morning, reading just one more chapter until I got to the end. Even if most my expectations were not met, and there were things that I didn't enjoy.

(3.5/5)

The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

The Map of Time is available in Spanish (El Mapa del Tiempo) and Portuguese (O Mapa do Tempo). It will be released in English on June, 9th 2011.


I was expecting great things out of The Map of Time, after reading my friend's review of it. What I was not expecting was that it would be so good and marvellous – a strong candidate to The Best Book I Read This Year.

The Map of Time defies classification, it embodies Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Steampunk, Mystery, Romance, Metafiction and even Biography, all of this articulated seamlessly into one book.

The setting is Victorian London, where Murray Time Travel Company offers the chance to travel to the year 2000, and see the the final confrontation between humans and automatons.

There are three main characters, as there are three stories: Andrew Harrington, who has been half-living since Jack, the Ripper murdered the love of his life, the Whitechappel prostitute Mary Kelly, and is quite ready to end that; Miss Claire Haggerty, who feels that she was born on the wrong time period, quite certain that she will never be happy; and finally H. G. Wells. The writer of The Time Machine, which is also an important book within the story, as it motivates innumerable characters to try Time Travel.

I absolutely loved this book – the plot, the characters, the writing, but most of all, the narrator. Although he was not one of the characters, he was the connection between the reader and the London in the book. His tone was quirky, and the entire book felt like a story that was being told to me, and only me. Much like an aside during a theatrical play.

It's hard to talk about the plot of this book, without giving to much away, and believe me, you wouldn't want spoilers on this one. It's full of twists and turns, so much that you end up with a general feeling of suspicion towards the author at the beginning of each part. But by the end, you'll still be in love with the story.

I can say only good things about The Map of Time, a great book, indeed.

(5/5)

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What should I read next? (3)

I am starting the final book of The Hunger Games, and as always when I finish a series, I'm a at a loss of what should I read next.

The options this time are:

Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman

The Coldfire trilogy tells a story of discovery and battle against evil on a planet where a force of nature exists that is capable of reshaping the world in response to psychic stimulus. This terrifying force, much like magic, has the power to prey upon the human mind, drawing forth a person's worst nightmare images or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life. This is the story of two men: one, a warrior priest ready to sacrifice anything and everything for the cause of humanity's progress; the other, a sorcerer who has survived for countless centuries by a total submission to evil. They are absolute enemies who must unite to conquer an evil greater than anything their world has ever known.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight--she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more.

Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse - a voyage permitted only to those who've always believed there's another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night.
To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They've each lost something important - a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life - and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Choose: A quick death...or a slow poison...About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace - and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust - and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonising death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless--until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.