The Yelena Zaltana Trilogy: by Maria V Snyder
Okay. This is the BEST book in the world. I love it so much, I just feel depressed when I'm not reading it. Its everything a story should be: interesting, magical, romantic (just a little) and just plain amazing. I am absolutely shocked that the book is not as famous as Percy Jackson and all, cuz its Magnificent!!!
Okay, so this is how it goes:
The land is divided into 2 parts (as shown on the map): Sitia and Ixia. Ixia was ruled by monarchy until the military took it over. Sitia is the lower area where some people flee to, to escape from the Commander's rule. In Ixia, people have to wear uniforms, and have proper documents for entering a different military district.
The story starts with Yelena, a prisoner is who is to be executed for killing the son of General Brazell, General of Military District-5. She is taken to the Commander's adviser, Valek who gives her a choice: she can either be executed, or she can be the Commander's food taster, tasting for poisons in his food. A fast death by the noose, or a slow death from poisons? Yelena, overjoyed at being given a chance to live chooses to become the food taster.
The next day, Valek starts her training. He teaches her the taste of different poisons and also how to identify it. Everyday, she is is given a certain poison called the Butterfly's Dust, for which only Valek has the antidote. This prevents her from escaping. One day, Valek gives her a poison called My Love, saying that if she survives this, then she can continue her training. Obviously she survives. But General Brazell's guards are in the castle and they start chasing her around to kill her. As she is cornered, a strange buzzing erupts from her throat allowing her to escape while the confused guards looked for her.
But as she turns a corner, she bumps into Valek who turns her the other way round to take her to the medic. The soldiers fall into step behind them and Valek swiftly makes them unconscious. Due to the dangers Yelena faces, Valek gives her a room in his suite.
At the fire festival, she is almost killed by a magician from Sitia but luckily, due to Valek and his immunity to magic, she lives.
Then, Valek assigns her as a fugitive for an assignment from the Commander. She has to try and escape from two teams of soldiers, both of which will use different means of tracking. The first team uses dogs to find her scent. The second team uses logic and other tracking skills.
Yelena, smart as she is, outsmarts the dog team and heads east. There, she encounters the Magician again. This time, the magician tell her why she wants to kill her. Yelena is a Magician, whose magic is out of control. If she flares completely out of control, then she will destroy the power blanket that provides the magicians the power to use magic. Thus, Yelena has one year to either escape from the castle, or to get her magic under control.
Yelena purposefully allows herself to get caught as Valek tells her to go back to the castle before the Magician comes again. The two soldiers who caught her, Ari and Janco instantly become friends with her and help her train in self-defense.
Soon, Valek notices strange on-goings with the Commander. At the Council, Yelena gets drunk when she tastes the Commander's wine and at Valek's suite, tries to seduce him. Valek refuses, saying that she is drunk.
After a while, Yelena has to accompany the Commander on his trip to MD-5, where Brazell lives. Brazell had invited him to take a tour of his new factory. There, Mogkan, Brazell's adviser, captures her. Using magic, Mogkan controls the commander's actions.
Yelena escapes and finds Irys, the Magician from the Fire Festival. Irys says that Mogkan has a power source that she cannot understand. Yelena gets Valek and together hey go to search Brazell's house for Mogkan's power source. There, they find that many many children from the age of 15 had been captured and turned into mindless human beings, used for their power.
Unfortunately, they are captured and outnumbered, then put in the dungeon. There, Valek admits to Yelena that Butterfly's Dust was a made up poison. In fact, it was the antidote, White Fright, that caused severe cramps and vomiting, but not death. In the cell, Yelena tells Valek how the General's son had tortured her and used her for his experiments.
Yelena and Valek escape by tricking the guards, then go back to a different cell so as to hide until the house was under minimum security. In the cell, Valek admits that he had been in love with Yelena for a long time.Yelena admits her love back to him. After releasing the captives and killing Mogkan, Yelena saves the Commander's life from Mogkan's magic. Unluckily, Yelena has to leave for Sitia, as the rules in Ixia do not allow any magicians. She leaves for Sitia with Irys, to find her family and learn magic.
The first novel ends with Valek promising to Yelena that they will be together, again...
Books
Here's the link to Maria V. Snyder's official website: www.mariavsnyder.com
Okay. This is the BEST book in the world. I love it so much, I just feel depressed when I'm not reading it. Its everything a story should be: interesting, magical, romantic (just a little) and just plain amazing. I am absolutely shocked that the book is not as famous as Percy Jackson and all, cuz its Magnificent!!!
Okay, so this is how it goes:
The land is divided into 2 parts (as shown on the map): Sitia and Ixia. Ixia was ruled by monarchy until the military took it over. Sitia is the lower area where some people flee to, to escape from the Commander's rule. In Ixia, people have to wear uniforms, and have proper documents for entering a different military district.
The story starts with Yelena, a prisoner is who is to be executed for killing the son of General Brazell, General of Military District-5. She is taken to the Commander's adviser, Valek who gives her a choice: she can either be executed, or she can be the Commander's food taster, tasting for poisons in his food. A fast death by the noose, or a slow death from poisons? Yelena, overjoyed at being given a chance to live chooses to become the food taster.The next day, Valek starts her training. He teaches her the taste of different poisons and also how to identify it. Everyday, she is is given a certain poison called the Butterfly's Dust, for which only Valek has the antidote. This prevents her from escaping. One day, Valek gives her a poison called My Love, saying that if she survives this, then she can continue her training. Obviously she survives. But General Brazell's guards are in the castle and they start chasing her around to kill her. As she is cornered, a strange buzzing erupts from her throat allowing her to escape while the confused guards looked for her.
 |
| Valek, Master Assassin |
But as she turns a corner, she bumps into Valek who turns her the other way round to take her to the medic. The soldiers fall into step behind them and Valek swiftly makes them unconscious. Due to the dangers Yelena faces, Valek gives her a room in his suite.
At the fire festival, she is almost killed by a magician from Sitia but luckily, due to Valek and his immunity to magic, she lives.
Then, Valek assigns her as a fugitive for an assignment from the Commander. She has to try and escape from two teams of soldiers, both of which will use different means of tracking. The first team uses dogs to find her scent. The second team uses logic and other tracking skills.Yelena, smart as she is, outsmarts the dog team and heads east. There, she encounters the Magician again. This time, the magician tell her why she wants to kill her. Yelena is a Magician, whose magic is out of control. If she flares completely out of control, then she will destroy the power blanket that provides the magicians the power to use magic. Thus, Yelena has one year to either escape from the castle, or to get her magic under control.
Yelena purposefully allows herself to get caught as Valek tells her to go back to the castle before the Magician comes again. The two soldiers who caught her, Ari and Janco instantly become friends with her and help her train in self-defense.
Soon, Valek notices strange on-goings with the Commander. At the Council, Yelena gets drunk when she tastes the Commander's wine and at Valek's suite, tries to seduce him. Valek refuses, saying that she is drunk.After a while, Yelena has to accompany the Commander on his trip to MD-5, where Brazell lives. Brazell had invited him to take a tour of his new factory. There, Mogkan, Brazell's adviser, captures her. Using magic, Mogkan controls the commander's actions.
Yelena escapes and finds Irys, the Magician from the Fire Festival. Irys says that Mogkan has a power source that she cannot understand. Yelena gets Valek and together hey go to search Brazell's house for Mogkan's power source. There, they find that many many children from the age of 15 had been captured and turned into mindless human beings, used for their power.
Unfortunately, they are captured and outnumbered, then put in the dungeon. There, Valek admits to Yelena that Butterfly's Dust was a made up poison. In fact, it was the antidote, White Fright, that caused severe cramps and vomiting, but not death. In the cell, Yelena tells Valek how the General's son had tortured her and used her for his experiments. Yelena and Valek escape by tricking the guards, then go back to a different cell so as to hide until the house was under minimum security. In the cell, Valek admits that he had been in love with Yelena for a long time.Yelena admits her love back to him. After releasing the captives and killing Mogkan, Yelena saves the Commander's life from Mogkan's magic. Unluckily, Yelena has to leave for Sitia, as the rules in Ixia do not allow any magicians. She leaves for Sitia with Irys, to find her family and learn magic.
The first novel ends with Valek promising to Yelena that they will be together, again...
Books
- Poison Study
- Magic Study
- Fire Study
Here's the link to Maria V. Snyder's official website: www.mariavsnyder.com
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