Chronicles of Ixia Books in Order (Study Series, Glass Series, Soulfinder Series): How to read Maria V. Snyder’s series?

Written by American fantasy and science fiction author Maria V. Snyder, The Chronicles of Ixia is comprised of three series (Study Series, Glass Series, Soulfinder Series) and five short stories. The story takes place in the territory of Ixia, where the government maintains control through the Code of Behaviour, forbidding the practice of magic. Yelena is a twenty-year-old woman imprisoned for murder and awaiting execution.

She is given the chance to live on the condition that she will become the Commander of Ixia’s food taster. Yelena accepts, and soon disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and she develops magical powers she can’t control. The battle for her life has just begun.

How to read the Chronicles of Ixia Series in Order?

The Study Series in Order

1. Poison Study – About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered a reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust, and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and she develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life’s at stake again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear!
   • The Study of Poisons – A companion novel to Poison Study, The Study of Poisons reveals Valek’s side of the story. As Chief of Security of Ixia, Valek has spent the last fifteen years keeping Commander Ambrose and his citizens safe. With his complex network of spies, informers, and soldiers, it’s his job to hunt down and capture criminals, including the intriguing Yelena. Sensing there is more to the story of why she killed a general’s son, Valek arranges for Yelena to become the Commander’s new food taster, training her in the delicate art of detecting poisons. As mysteries and a devious plot to harm the Commander unravel, Yelena’s presence becomes crucial.
2. Assassin Study – short story available in audio format about the trouble Valek is involved in while Yelena is in Sitia.
3. Magic Study – Yelena is on her way to be reunited with the family she’d been stolen from long ago. Although she has gained her freedom, she can’t help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways, and her newfound friends and relatives don’t think it’s for the better. Despite the turmoil, she’s eager to start her magical training. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia’s throne for a lost prince, and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.
4. Fire Study – Yelena’s new role as Soulfinder has made the Sitian Council uneasy. Worried that her new powers will corrupt her, the Council debates her fate. Yelena, though is trying to keep Sitia and Ixia from going to war. In the middle of political wrangling, Yelena receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by Ferde, the Soulstealer who murdered eleven girls and has escaped from prison with Cahil Ixia’s help. Cahil believes if he joins with the new Daviian Clan, he will have enough support to regain the Ixian throne. Testing the limit of her skills, Yelena becomes embroiled in the desperate fight to stop Ferde and the Daviian Clan from siphoning enough power to unleash a Fire Warper on the world.
5. Power Study – short story available in audio format about Ari and Janco as they deal with a Sandseed Magician and a cocky young soldier.

The Glass Series in Order

6. Storm Glass – As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers-particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade-require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it from happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear.
7. Sea Glass – Opal’s unique glass messengers which allow instant communication over vast distances has become a vital part of Sitian society. Once used solely by the Councilors and magicians, other powerful factions are now vying for control. Control of the messengers equals control of Sitia. Unfortunately, that also means control of Opal. If that isn’t enough of a problem, Opal’s determination to prove blood magic is still being used is met with strong resistance. When her world is turned upside down, she begins to doubt herself. In the end, Opal must decide who to believe, who to trust, and who has control-otherwise she will shatter into a million pieces and be swept out by the tide.
8. Ice Study – short story available in audio format, a prequel to Shadow Study.
9. Spy Glass – After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she’s immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had. Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood – and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or know it could be they are lost forever.

The Soulfinder Series

10. Shadow Study – Once a poison taster, Yelena now uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands-and protect her relationship with Valek. Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek’s job-and his life-are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret-or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is-while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers.
11. Night Study – Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana’s life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia is safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear. Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he’s quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he’s been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger.
12. Shattered Glass – eNovella. Opal receives a letter from Master Magician Zitora Cowan requesting Opal’s immediate help. Zitora resigned from the Sitian Council over two years ago to search for her lost sister, and no one has heard from her since. The letter is probably a trick, but Opal refuses to pass up the opportunity to help her mentor, who may be in genuine trouble. Good thing Opal isn’t that easy to fool. With her two soldier friends Nic and Eve providing backup, the three travel to a small town in the Jewelrose Clan. But can they rescue the Master Magician without being caught in the same trap?
13. Dawn Study – Yelena and Valek’s homelands stand on the brink of war, and they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia. Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person’s resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall–and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal. With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician…and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.
14. Diaper Study – short story taking place after the events in Dawn Study.

What to read after Chronicles of Ixia?

• Healer series, also by Maria V. Snyder
• His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers
• Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron

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