Мария Снайдер – лучшие книги

Элена ничуть не жалеет, что зарезала Рейяда — мучителя, подвергавшего ее страшным пыткам. Он заслужил смерть, но теперь и самой Элене грозит казнь: по неумолимому закону Иксии наказанием за убийство служит виселица.

Но тот же закон, что осуждает Элену, может ее спасти: недавно скончался дегустатор, в обязанности которого входило проверять пищу главы государства, командора Амброуза, на наличие ядов. И по традиции эту должность предлагают следующему приговоренному к смерти узнику.⠀

После долгих лет, проведенных в холодной и неласковой Иксии, Элена держит путь на юг: там, в жарких Иллиэйских джунглях, ее ждет встреча с давно потерянной семьей, а затем молодой чародейке предстоит изучать свой магический дар под руководством опытных наставников. Однако радужные перспективы неожиданно оборачиваются кошмаром, когда Элену обвиняют в шпионаже в пользу Севера. Теперь ей придется не только отбиваться от врагов, но и убедить в своей честности друзей.

Слух о том, что Элена владеет даром Искателя душ, будоражит Ситию: шутка ли, ведь молодая чародейка способна обрести небывалую силу, а ее давние связи с Иксией, враждебным северным государством, поневоле внушают опасения. Пока Совет Ситии спорит о дальнейшей судьбе Элены, сама она получает тревожную весть: могущественный колдун Ферде готовит заговор, мечтая завладеть и Севером, и Югом. А значит, неспокойная судьба опять зовет Элену в дорогу. Удастся ли ей выстоять или придется пожертвовать собой ради счастья близких?

Ребенком Элену похищают и насильно увозят на север, в государство Иксия. Девочку пытают и бросают за решетку. У Элены есть только один способ выбраться из тюрьмы: стать личным дегустатором пищи Командора. Судороги, тошнота, галлюцинации - таковы самые слабые последствия ядов, которые она должна различать в ходе работы. Хотя будущее ее мрачно и смерть поджидает за каждым поворотом, Элена борется за жизнь. Не последнюю роль в этом играют ее магические способности, но они же заставляют девушку бежать на родину, где нет запрета на волшебство. Чтобы остановить надвигающуюся на ее страну катастрофу, Элене необходимо научиться управлять данной…

Короткий рассказ о Валексе, хронологически идущий после первой книги "Испытание ядом".

What s the cost of a deal with the devil when you have the powers of a god? When Avry was growing up, Kazan was a prosperous land, rich in resources and served by a respected tribe of healers. Until the plague came. Developed by the poor territories to the north and west, the terrifying disease ravaged the people of Kazan and drove Avry s family away. Four years later, imprisoned for using her powers, Avry s beginning to lose hope, when a band of strange men break into her cell and steal her away. They need her special magic to save their prince. The Prince who ordered the plague s first release. Avry s freedom now rests on using her healing touch to save the very man who took away everything she loved...

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder wowed readers with Poison Study, the unforgettable story of poison taster Yelena. Now she's back with a new tale of intrigue.

Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

Oddly enough, when Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But she'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek's job and his life are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret—or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is—while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers.

Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous…

Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Ari and Janco deal with a Sandseed Story Weaver and a cocky young soldier while Valek is off helping Yelena.

She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat: The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.

Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.

As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she never knew she possessed... powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.

Me?

A leader?

Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew.

That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside.

And something from Outside wants In.

After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world. Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has st olen some of her blood—and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever…

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings readers into a world of molten magic, excitement and adventure. Student glass magician Opal Cowan's newfound ability to steal a magician's powers makes her too powerful. Ordered to house arrest, Opal dares defy her imprisonment, travelling to the Moon Clan's lands in search of Ulrick, the man she thinks she loves. Thinks because she is sure another man - now her prisoner - has switched souls with Ulrick. In hostile territory, without proof or allies, Opal isn't sure whom to trust. She can't forget Kade, the handsome Stormdancer who doesn't want to let her get close. And now everyone is after Opal's special powers for their own deadly gain.

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond--and a family--that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.

Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall--and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.

With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician...and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.

Комплект составили первые две книги трилогии-бестселлера «Путь Элены», состоящей из романов «Испытание ядом», «Испытание магией» и «Испытание огнем» (в комплект не вошел), известной американской писательницы Марии Снайдер. Ребенком Элену похищают и насильно увозят на север, в государство Иксия. Девочку пытают и бросают за решетку. У Элены есть только один способ выбраться из тюрьмы: стать личным дегустатором пищи Командора. Судороги, тошнота, галлюцинации - таковы самые слабые последствия ядов, которые она должна различать в ходе работы. Хотя будущее ее мрачно и смерть поджидает за каждым поворотом, Элена борется за жизнь. Не последнюю…

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder transports readers back to the realms of Sitia and Ixia in an exciting new Study novel full of magic, danger and intrigue.

Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia is safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear.

Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

This is a short story about Yelena and Valek as they race to keep the powerful Ice Moon from a rogue magician.