Thursday 30 August 2012

Review- Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Touch of Power
Series: Healer 

Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: December 20th 2011
Book 1 

(Sent by Harlequin Publishers) 
In the enthralling yet mystical tale of Avry, Healers were a hated race of people. They were believed to be the cause of the Plague that took the lives of a large part of the population in the world. They were hunted and treated like animals if they weren't already killed upon sight. Avry is a Healer, she has been running for several years, stopping from town to town and forest to forest. In one of the several towns she has visited, Avry offers to babysit a small child who is extremely sick. In the dead of night, Avry healed the child, absorbing the sickness into herself. Avry became weak with sickness and slept through until the remnants of the illness was out of her system. Her healing abilities allowed her to heal faster than any normal person and by morning, she was in perfect health. Instead of being grateful for the health of their daughter, the parents called soldiers upon Avry because they had a suspicion that she had healed their daughter. The soldiers rained upon Avry, capturing her and putting her in a prison cell while she awaited her execution. During the night of her capture, four men came and visited Avry, requesting her help to heal an important friend of theirs and in return, they would save her from her execution. Avry agreed and accompanied them on their journey to save the life of their friend. Throughout the journey, friendships were made, hardships were faced, battles were fought and betrayals were committed. 

I am going to begin by speaking about the characters. The protagonist, Avry, is extraordinarily created with the sheer talent, imagination and creativity of the author. Along with the protagonist, Maria V. Snyder has also created a talented group of characters that each are unique with different qualities. Aside from the characters, a number of exotic plants and animals have been newly introduced to the readers. Death and Peace Lilies play significant roles in parts of this novel as their properties are, on various occasions, used for different purposes. Towards the end of the novel, there are zombies introduced which gives this novel the extra genre of Paranormal and it makes it all the better. Maria V. Snyder has provided us all with another novel that we must add to our To be Read list.


The only minor thing that I didn't like was the fact that the novel was very slow-paced in various moments. Especially when the group was travelling, the plot of the story became repetitive at rare times but then it improved not long after. Despite these minor drawbacks, the novel was a complete success written by a talented author. 


Overall, I give this novel 5/5 outstanding stars as the plot of the novel was unlike any other that I have read and it was one of my favourites. Maria V. Snyder is an extremely talented author who is obviously passionate about her work and puts a lot of effort into producing an excellent novel.



Rating: 5/5

12 comments:

  1. Great review! I've seen this book around. It's sort of a neat plot line if you actually think about it. Good people being captured and wanted because they can "heal". Looks great and I actually like when tey travell and it takes a slow pace. In my oppinion it brings more background and it brings the reader time to reflect before the climax is exposed. Anyways looks like a great book and once again an amazing review. - Nic.

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    1. Thanks so much Nic,
      It is a very excellent book that you should read. Many people have different opinions about the book, but most people generally like it. I think you would really like it... give it a go.
      Thanks again,
      ~Daniel~

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  2. Wow Daniel, What an excellent review. I will definitely be reading this novel. Thank you for introducing it to me. I also really like the cover.

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    1. Thanks Aaron,
      It is a really good book that you should read. I agree with you about the cover as well...its amazing. The American cover is also excellent.
      Thanks for the comment,
      ~Daniel~

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  3. Another great review. I really like the sounds of this novel. I like the concept of the healers and how they take in other people's wounds and appears on their bodies. Other novels just say that they take in the wounds but it doesn't actually show on their bodies. Great review.

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    1. Thanks Michael,
      I agree totally about the Healer abilities. Some books do overlook the fact that the wounds just disappear but the author acknowledges the side effects of Avry using her abilities. Thanks for the comment,
      ~Daniel~

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  4. Great Review! I've also read this novel and had similar thoughts. The story did become slow-paced but I'm glad that it picked up. It has some great characters. I can't wait for the sequel.

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    1. Thanks Alex, I also cannot wait for the sequel to come out!!! As for the slow-paced bit... I guess that many books do tend to be slow-paced occasionally... Thanks again,
      ~Daniel~

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  5. I've heard many good things about this! I think the concept of 'healers' is very unique and interesting! Will be sure to look into this.

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    1. Thanks Aaron, it is an amazing beginning to what I'm sure will be a much anticipated series. The plot is very uniques and it really is worth the read ;) thanks again,
      ~Daniel~

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Nice review:)

    www.up2date-reviewing.blogspot.com

    :)

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