Fire Study follows Magic Study and Poison Study, a pair of books I discovered last year. This book wraps up the plot threads started in Magic Study. I find that I don’t have a lot to say about this book. It feels a lot like the second half of Magic Study. In this novel, Yelena finds out who is really behind her enemies (and who is behind those puppet masters). And, with some help from her friends and allies, she foils their plots and save her countries. But apart from some revelations about our heroine Yelena’s magic, there isn’t really anything new in this novel. I enjoyed seeing the characters again, though.
One thing I will say about this book is that it’s Dickensian–but not in a good way. In a lot of Dickens’ novels, there are tons of amazing coincidences and things just falling into place and making everything shiny so that the hero and/or heroine can have a happy ending. There was a lot of that at the end of the book. It was remarkable how Yelena’s plan to save the day all comes together with just a few words to her friends. A lot of that master plan happens off-stage, as it were, and very quickly. So quickly, it’s rather unbelievable. The last fifty pages or so felt really rushed.
After I read the ending, I wonder if Snyder is going to write more books in this series. The news from Snyder’s website tells me that she plans a new series–set in the same world–but featuring different characters.