MAGIC STUDY is a worthy, though incomparable, successor to Maria Snyder's smashing success, POISON STUDY. In this second book, Snyder continues to effortlessly tell a good story while creating memorable and three-dimensional characters.
All of our favorite characters make an appearance, and new ones are introduced, to varying degrees of success. Fortunately, the people she meets at the Magician's Keep hold their own against the reappearance of old favorites. While character development may be a little sloppier and more inconsistent, that is because so much effort is devoted to setting up a complex magical world. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger, which just begs you to read one more chapter, just one more, in a viciously delicious cycle, until you've finished the entire book in a blink of an eye. There is never a lack of action and intrigue for hardcore fantasy lovers.
While not as strong as the first book, MAGIC STUDY is still an impressive novel in its own rights. Maria Snyder is a master storyteller, and fans of the first book should not be too disappointed. I know that I am still eagerly looking forward to reading the third book in this spellbinding series.
All of our favorite characters make an appearance, and new ones are introduced, to varying degrees of success. Fortunately, the people she meets at the Magician's Keep hold their own against the reappearance of old favorites. While character development may be a little sloppier and more inconsistent, that is because so much effort is devoted to setting up a complex magical world. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger, which just begs you to read one more chapter, just one more, in a viciously delicious cycle, until you've finished the entire book in a blink of an eye. There is never a lack of action and intrigue for hardcore fantasy lovers.
While not as strong as the first book, MAGIC STUDY is still an impressive novel in its own rights. Maria Snyder is a master storyteller, and fans of the first book should not be too disappointed. I know that I am still eagerly looking forward to reading the third book in this spellbinding series.
