Book 32: Fire Study

TITLE: Fire Study
AUTHOR: Maria V. Snyder
STARTED: June 13, 2008
FINISHED: June 20, 2008
PAGES: 441
GENRE: Fiction

FIRST SENTENCE: "That's pathetic, Yelena."

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] 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.

THOUGHTS: Compared to the rest of the series, this book was a HUGE let down. The plot felt rushed. The characters lost all their emotional connection with one another. And, it was just plain confusing. I felt that Snyder was attempting to throw in all the ideas that were floating around in her head. There were new levels of magic and new levels of world and they did not fit together in a way that made sense. There was a whole new enemy and his appearance was never full explained. Basically, this book felt like the author's attempt to add a third book to her series without thinking it through fully.

The world Snyder created was still amazing to behold, but it did not hold the magic of the first two books.

RATING: 4/10 [An "okay" book]