Touch of Power (Healer, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Oct 20, 2011 D.G. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, fantasy, re-read

**Re-read Jan 2016 - Still as good as the first time**

I’ve only read one other book by this author (Poison Study) and although I thought it was good, I never felt like finishing the trilogy. Not in the case of Touch of Power. I was so fascinated by the world, the plot and the characters that most likely I’ll purchase the next book as soon as it comes out (which I almost never do.)

Touch of Power has some similarities with Poison Study (young woman condemned to die gets saved by a man so she can d **Re-read Jan 2016 - Still as good as the first time**

I’ve only read one other book by this author (Poison Study) and although I thought it was good, I never felt like finishing the trilogy. Not in the case of Touch of Power. I was so fascinated by the world, the plot and the characters that most likely I’ll purchase the next book as soon as it comes out (which I almost never do.)

Touch of Power has some similarities with Poison Study (young woman condemned to die gets saved by a man so she can do something for him that threatens her life) but the world building was more interesting, there's a lot of great twists, the plot was more cohesive and there was just a great cast of characters, including the villain who was a charming megalomaniac. Although the final quest is explained from the beginning, the book is not predictable. There’s a lot going on but it comes out at a good pace so each page gives you more clues about the situation in the Fifteen Realms.

Avry was a very consistent character. At times she was too good and honorable for her own good but she wasn’t a martyr. I didn’t agree with some of her actions (I’m the ruthless type like Kerrick) but her behavior made sense for her. She was self-aware, caring, smart and brave. I love when authors can show me a different point of view that I can understand even when I’d never behave like that.

Ms. Snyder has a way of creating male characters that are jerks at the beginning but soften at the end. Kerrick was tough, ruthless, sober and very responsible for his mission. He behaves very callously with Avry at the beginning so some readers may never warm up to him. I didn’t have that problem. As the circumstances of his life unfold, I understood him and most likely would have reacted similarly in his circumstances. He was obviously a guy with talents so I didn’t understand very well why he thought he needed Ryne to defeat the villain but that really wasn’t the focus of this book. I hope to learn more about that in the sequel.

If there’s one thing that rung a bit false, was how the villain gave Avry repeated chances to overcome him when he could have easily killed her. Now, they all made sense within his character (he was crazy, vain, too confident and loved to gloat) but I feel that at some point he should have just gotten rid of her. I really hope this behavior doesn’t continue in the next book.

Overall, a really good book that I recommend to fantasy lovers. I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

(Provided for review by Harlequin via netGalley.) ...more

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Jan 28, 2014 Thenia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: r-ab, reviewed, magic, fantasy, romance, series, 2014

A very satisfying fantasy book with a strong heroine, a company facing an impossible task and an interesting magical world ravaged by a plague.

Despite the various well known tropes used in the story, it manages to be original and entertaining until the very last page.

I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out for our heroes in future books in the series, starting with Scent of Magic next. ...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Alisha rated it really liked it

Shelves: ac-g, z-archive-bli-rev

(Originally posted December 2012 at Book Lovers Inc)

It took all of about a paragraph or two for me to be hooked by this book. The plotting of this story is very sharp in the beginning, quickly setting up elements that are intended to play out at a more leisurely pace throughout the rest of the novel.

If you’ve read Maria V. Snyder’s Study series, you may find a few similarities that float to mind while reading Touch of Power. You’ve got a strong and capable yet doomed heroine with a unique ab (Originally posted December 2012 at Book Lovers Inc)

It took all of about a paragraph or two for me to be hooked by this book. The plotting of this story is very sharp in the beginning, quickly setting up elements that are intended to play out at a more leisurely pace throughout the rest of the novel.

If you’ve read Maria V. Snyder’s Study series, you may find a few similarities that float to mind while reading Touch of Power. You’ve got a strong and capable yet doomed heroine with a unique ability; an antagonistic romantic intrigue; impossible choices with life and death; uncertain truths. And yet, I myself thought back to Poison Study only once or twice. Touch of Power‘s story, world, and characters…they all commanded attention to the point that any nominal similarities ceased to matter.

This story features a woman of 20 years of age…but this is not a Young Adult / New Adult novel. If fact, it becomes almost irrelevant what age and life phase the protagonist is in, as she’s lived to see so much pain, beauty, triumph, suffering. Avry has depth and believability factor. She’s immediately likable, immediately set up as someone a reader can root for and want to protect from harm and persecution.

Once again Snyder creates a great cast of characters, starting with Avry and continuing with her band of misfits. I found that, while reading the book, I wasn’t taking character notes as I typically do; I likened it to the fact that these personas were interesting enough to consistently keep me engaged, and memorable enough to stand out from a deep first-person narrative. That likeability factor easily applies to the group of “good guys.” And for better or worse, the “bad guys” have enough charisma to keep you either mildly conflicted or deeply disturbed.

Touch of Power‘s setting, though classifiable as that of a high fantasy (deservedly so), also feels somewhat post-apocalyptic. A faded world that’s only a shadow of what it used to be. It’s a fascinating place, the Fifteen Realms; surely Snyder has more unpublished material with more detail about it; there were so many little spaces in the tale that could have branched off into enough world building to fill numerous books. The Realms, politics, religions, magics. Lots of rules and structures that make this world feel like a carefully crafted creation. Personally, I feel the best world building is not necessarily the most detail-filled, but the one in which each detail feels deliberate and crucial to something–whether it’s something grandiose or something minor the reader will never come across in the finished novel.

I’m almost loathe to discuss the romance, because part of its magic is that is creeps upon you; you might catch the hallmarks of a budding romance early on (especially if you’re a big fan of the genre), but it’s not absolutely central to the tale. No, wait…it is a crucial element, but it’s not the point of the book. Still, it’s sweet, it’s alluring, and it’s fun to watch.

I do feel like this is a springboard book; that is to say, while it has many of its own merits (see everything written above), it’s deliberately only scratching the surface of an overall arc. For some, this may translate to the book seeming incomplete, unresolved, stopgap. And in truth, I did end the book with far more questions than I thought possible. But there is so much promise that the reader will be very much interested in the resolution of these amassed questions.

In Touch of Power, you’ll find many delicious dilemmas that grab your attention and keep you emotionally involved. Snyder is all about the storytelling odyssey; the tale that prioritizes the protagonist’s growth in the context of an epic journey and world upheaval. I’m down with that…so my next steps? Read book two ASAP! :-) ...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-are, netgalley-reviews

Touch of Power is a new series debut for Maria V Snyder whose Study, Glass and Insider series have earned her many fans.

As a newly apprenticed Healer, Avry of Kazan has been in hiding since a plague swept through the Fifteen Realms decimating the population. Panicked villagers blamed the disease on the Healers, a small group of people with the natural born skill to absorb sickness and pain, who seemed to be immune to the fatal plague yet could not save the people from it. Finally caught and jus Touch of Power is a new series debut for Maria V Snyder whose Study, Glass and Insider series have earned her many fans.

As a newly apprenticed Healer, Avry of Kazan has been in hiding since a plague swept through the Fifteen Realms decimating the population. Panicked villagers blamed the disease on the Healers, a small group of people with the natural born skill to absorb sickness and pain, who seemed to be immune to the fatal plague yet could not save the people from it. Finally caught and just hours from execution, Avry is rescued by a group of soldiers yet her death sentence has not be commuted but simply stayed, for they have abducted Avry to save the life of their plague stricken King. During the dangerous trek across the Realms at the mercy of magic and mercenaries to reach the King, Avry has a decision to make, does she save the King, or herself?

Snyder takes her readers on quite an adventure across her mythical lands. I enjoyed the creativity which governs the Fifteen Realms Since I am not a huge fan of high fantasy I was glad that Touch of Power has a contemporary feel though it's setting is decidedly other, somewhere between medieval and dystopian really, yet it works surprisingly well. The story is almost an old fashioned quest as Avry and Kerrick's team battle murderous bounty hunters, killer plants, zombies and sociopathic rulers to rescue the King and save their country. There is plenty of action, drama and suspense as well humour and romance that creates an easy to read page turner.

In Avry of Kazan, Snyder has created a smart, resourceful and strong protagonist for her new series. Avry's unique ability to heal should be regarded as a blessing but it is as much a curse for when Avry heals she takes the pain and suffering of the affliction into herself. As a Healer her power that allows her to survive almost anything, including the fatal embrace of the Death Lily, except the ravages of the plague. I liked Avry's attitude, she is outspoken and a little rash at times but with so few options available to her I appreciate her determination to create her own fate.
Avry's saviours, Kerrick and his motley crew of mercenaries - Belen, Vinn, Quain and Flea, are surprisingly endearing characters and I really enjoyed it as the bonds between the men and Avry developed. While a relationship between Avry and Kerrick does evolve, it does so slowly and works well within the story. Kerrick is just a little 'alpha' but his sense of loyalty, honour and desire to protect make up for his arrogance.

Snyder expertly balances adventure, fantasy, drama and romance with interesting characters and a creatively imagined world for a wide audience. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Touch of Power, though probably I shouldn't have been since it has similarities to Poison Study which I liked a lot as well, and I'm already looking forward to the release of the second book expected in 2012. ...more

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