| Yelena is waiting to be executed for murder, when she is offered the chance to become the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. Unfortunately the training itself could kill her. She agrees and training begins. Valek, the advisor to the Commander, is in charge of her training. The first thing he does is dose her with Butterfly Dust. If she takes the antidote everyday she will be fine. However, if she tries to run away, she will die. To start her training, he teaches her the deadliest poison first. In order to recognize each poison she must be able to recognize the taste. Valek figures that if she doesn't survive he won't have wasted much time on training her. So she takes a taste of True Love poison. After a few days she regains consciousness. On her way to clean up, she runs into Duke Brazell's soldiers. Since she killed Duke Brazell's son, they try to grab her. As she flees, she runs into Valek. He tells the soldiers to leave the new food taster alone. After a few weeks she passes all of Valek's tests, so he assigns her to work with the Commander. Slowly she begins to make friends with the cook, Rand. When she finds a note saying "Murderer the noose awaits you," Valek decides to move her into his suite of rooms for extra protection. A little while later she is allowed to go to the annual Fire Festival. Once she leaves the castle walls several men detain her and take her to see a southern magician, who orders her killed. Only the quick intervention of Valek, who has been following her, keeps her alive. She learns that rebels are trying to kill the Commander. As his food taster, she is right in the middle of any plots against his life. Now she must decide who she can trust. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past Political power play Yes Political plotlets - saving govt/kingdom from external overthrow Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Descript. of chases or violence - 20 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10 % Main Character Identity: - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Main Adversary Identity: - Male Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount How sensitive is this character? Setting A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society Planet outside solar system? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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