- Find all the latest books, toys, games and DVDs from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in our Harry Potter store.
Touch of Power (Avry of Kazan)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Touch of Power (Avry of Kazan - Book 1) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
…a compelling new fantasy series. --Rhianna Pratchett, SFX Magazine on Poison
the story… is peopled by convincing and well realised characters. Verdict: 9/10. --Total SciFi on Fire Study
the story… is peopled by convincing and well realised characters. Verdict: 9/10. --Total SciFi on Fire Study
Product Description
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...
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
58 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As a fan of M. V. Snyder I was really excited to get my hands on the first book in her new 'Healing' series and was not disappointed!
Touch of Power introduces us to the Fifteen Realms, a world ruined by plague that now faces war as its surviving leaders fight over land and power. At the centre of the story is Avry, a healer from the realm of Khazan. As healers were blamed for the plague, Avry is ostracised and hunted, but when she is rescued from the guillotine by a band of men who want her to heal their friend, she begins an epic journey through the realms, uncovering the truth about her rescuers, their friend and the plague itself.
This summary doesn't really give the book justice - as fans of Snyder's 'Study' or 'Glass' series know, her stories are always full of twists, careful detail and most importantly interesting, well developed characters. I felt that a Touch of Power followed a similar formula to the 'Study' and 'Glass' series, with its strong female lead, epic journeys and a vivid, varied and often amusing supporting cast. Its a formula that works and with a whole new world to explore, the first in this series was just as exciting and 'un-put-downable'!
One of the best things about the story was the way in which Snyder introduces and builds her story world as we go along, we learn things as Avry does or as they become important, so there were no long explanations or history lessons, which gave the story excellent pace.
A great start to a new fantasy series - looking forward to the next book!
Touch of Power introduces us to the Fifteen Realms, a world ruined by plague that now faces war as its surviving leaders fight over land and power. At the centre of the story is Avry, a healer from the realm of Khazan. As healers were blamed for the plague, Avry is ostracised and hunted, but when she is rescued from the guillotine by a band of men who want her to heal their friend, she begins an epic journey through the realms, uncovering the truth about her rescuers, their friend and the plague itself.
This summary doesn't really give the book justice - as fans of Snyder's 'Study' or 'Glass' series know, her stories are always full of twists, careful detail and most importantly interesting, well developed characters. I felt that a Touch of Power followed a similar formula to the 'Study' and 'Glass' series, with its strong female lead, epic journeys and a vivid, varied and often amusing supporting cast. Its a formula that works and with a whole new world to explore, the first in this series was just as exciting and 'un-put-downable'!
One of the best things about the story was the way in which Snyder introduces and builds her story world as we go along, we learn things as Avry does or as they become important, so there were no long explanations or history lessons, which gave the story excellent pace.
A great start to a new fantasy series - looking forward to the next book!
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I really enjoyed Maria Snyder's Study series, but was disappointed with her later Glass series. So I came to Touch of Power with some trepidation. To cut a long story short, I found it much better than Glass, although not as vibrant as Study. Although as the first in a series, it shows evidence of more mature world building, and I guess greater potential - if it can be fulfilled.
Avry is a magical healer, one of the very few remaining, in a world where, a few years earlier, a plague struck: one that the healers couldn't cure. The trick with healers is that they themselves heal very quickly, and they heal by taking on a persons injuries. But with a plague that kills healers, this will lead to considerable complications. Due to the circumstances in which the plague spread, the healers became hated and were hunted and killed. Avry has survived so far by running and hiding.
So when Avry is finally captured, she is rescued from execution by a guy who seems to dislike her, and is rude to her. What's more he represents someone who, it is gradually revealed, Avry knows, and strongly dislikes. If you've read Maria Snyder's previous books, you will know where this is going.
As seems inevitable in the first of a trilogy, we end with most of the themes of this series unresolved, but it's not unsatisfying, and certainly not a cliff hanger.
This book is going to appeal to the young adult market, and those who enjoy a strong female lead with a touch of romance. I am looking forward to the sequels; this doesn't yet make up for the disappointing Glass trilogy, but I have my hopes.
Avry is a magical healer, one of the very few remaining, in a world where, a few years earlier, a plague struck: one that the healers couldn't cure. The trick with healers is that they themselves heal very quickly, and they heal by taking on a persons injuries. But with a plague that kills healers, this will lead to considerable complications. Due to the circumstances in which the plague spread, the healers became hated and were hunted and killed. Avry has survived so far by running and hiding.
So when Avry is finally captured, she is rescued from execution by a guy who seems to dislike her, and is rude to her. What's more he represents someone who, it is gradually revealed, Avry knows, and strongly dislikes. If you've read Maria Snyder's previous books, you will know where this is going.
As seems inevitable in the first of a trilogy, we end with most of the themes of this series unresolved, but it's not unsatisfying, and certainly not a cliff hanger.
This book is going to appeal to the young adult market, and those who enjoy a strong female lead with a touch of romance. I am looking forward to the sequels; this doesn't yet make up for the disappointing Glass trilogy, but I have my hopes.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Avry is too much like Snyder's previous character whom I found to be a little irritating. However, the story is interesting, being a general adventure on the way to a bigger one. Avry is a magical healer who has a need to help people when she sees them in pain, but due to a terrible plague, which decimated the population and which was attributed to all of Avry's kind, healers are now despised and anyone whom Avry helps, has the potential to have her arrested and killed.
This is ultimately what happens when she can no longer stand the pain of a small child and heals her. The parents, though grateful, also hate her and, whilst she is still recovering, turn her in to the authorities. But here is where it gets interesting. She is saved by a stranger and his gang of men for a specific purpose and the story centres around their journey to that purpose and the interactions between each member of this gang and Avry. Avry finds unlikely friendships and discovers secrets of her order and of a strange flower called a 'death lily' which could have major repercussions in the future...
This is ultimately what happens when she can no longer stand the pain of a small child and heals her. The parents, though grateful, also hate her and, whilst she is still recovering, turn her in to the authorities. But here is where it gets interesting. She is saved by a stranger and his gang of men for a specific purpose and the story centres around their journey to that purpose and the interactions between each member of this gang and Avry. Avry finds unlikely friendships and discovers secrets of her order and of a strange flower called a 'death lily' which could have major repercussions in the future...
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Touch of Power
Big Fan of Maria and have read all the study / glass series. This was an easy read. maybe not up to the glass / study series but not far off it. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Russell Brown
Not as good as the study trilogy
I really enjoyed much of the study trilogy storyline but found this a little lacking, I'm not even sure what it lacks. I'm in no great rush to read the next book. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Tarkytarks
cant wait for the next one
As a massive fan of the "study" books, i was left roaming to find a new fantasy world to get lost in, until this book, i have viewd many fantasy books but none of them had me... Read more
Published 17 days ago by hazzyb
Loved it!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have read the Poison Study and Spy Glass trilogies and really enjoyed these too. Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Clifton
An Amazing Book
In the land of the Fifteen Realms, healers are not afforded the respect that you would imagine. Instead, they are feared and reviled, blamed for the devastating plague that swept... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Simon C. Bunce
Great Start to New Series!
I got this for my dad for Christmas, and he really liked it. He let me read it after him as he knows I'm a HUGE fan of Maria's, and I loved it!!! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Bekki Louise
Touch of power
BRILLIANT!!!! I really enjoy all the books I have read from this author and have a hard time trying to find books which are as good as hers. Read more
Published 2 months ago by LooLoo
Awesome
This is the first book I've read by this Author and I have to say...Wow.
I finished this in one sitting, it was that good. Read more
I finished this in one sitting, it was that good. Read more
Published 3 months ago by BookWyrm
Outstanding! Reviewed by Ali @ Wingedreviews.com
Touch of Power was everything that I hoped it would be and more! Traditional fantasy at its absolute best. I had no trouble whatsoever rating this book 5 stars. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Miss A. J. Murfitt
An intriguing new series
Touch of Power is the first book in Maria Snyder's latest trilogy. As a fan of her previous works, I was excited to see what new characters she would create, and the abilities she... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sayyida
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
