Novella November: Power Study by Maria V Snyder

I fell in love with Ari and Janco as soon as I met them in this series. They are a merry pair so different from each other, yet so similar, and despite their constant banter, have a kind of symbiotic relationship. The pair of them, along with Maven, are charged to weed-out worthy opponents for Valek, while he is away on an unknown mission, when trouble arises.

This story is very short, yet miss Snyder managed to put together a decent plot line. An enemy is amongst them and the boys have to investigate the matter while their leader is gone. The plot happens in Ixia, where magic is forbidden, and the boys find themselves a bit at lost when they stubble into a magical deception. I liked how they dealt with the issue, using cunning and original strategies and Janco got to show he also has brains to back his muscles.

The dialogues are of course a stellar point in the novella. Ari & Janco verbally, and mentally, jab at each other every opportunities they get, which makes for an entertaining read. I didn't laugh out loud like I did at times in the novels of this series, but smiles tugged my lips times and again.

Power Study is a side-story that is in no way necessary to the series' plot-line but it's a quick and free read, so why not take a moment to read it if you like the series? Maria is amongst my favorite authors, and I would definitely recommend this series to fantasy lovers!